Destination Marketing: Strategies For Tourism And Travel Organizations

What is Destination Marketing?

Destination marketing could be considered as the marketing approach of the travel and tourism organizations that incorporate the promotion of a particular location and its advantages instead of any products or services that the organization offers (Eiseman 2018). Hence, the destination might be a nation, town, or a city and might also be a particular holiday resort or tourism attraction. The main objective of destination marketing is to increase the awareness of customers of a specific destination in such a way that they start thinking about visiting that place. Destination marketing is also helpful in making customers remember the location when they are ready or booking a holiday. Thus, the implementation of effective and sincere marketing principles is imperative in supporting the specific destination’s development and growth.  

            In order to attract more adventurers and travelers to a certain destination, it is imperative for the travel and tourism organizations to present something that is capable of attracting the interest of the customers and making them wonder about the place. An example of appropriate marketing planning implementation is by Jump Florida Skydiving and Skydive city (Teodorov et al. 2020). These are among the two most popular as well as all around the best destinations to consider when skydiving in Florida. Play hard Florida is one such travel and tourism organization that uses destination marketing using its niche marketing technique for showcasing why Florida is superior to other destinations. In order to attract the attention of the customers, Play Hard Florida uses adventure videography production where the organization’s team is dedicated towards assisting the clients thereby demonstrating what their destinations and location have to offer and accordingly attracting more visitors to Florida and the organization side by side. Play hard Florida uses high quality videos for captivating the interests of the audiences visually emotionally and audibly as well.

It is imperative for the travel and tourism organization to understand that tourists are not the same every time. They might have different pictures of their ideal vacations for different contexts. Therefore, tourists are heterogeneous. Marketing segmentation in the case of destination marketing could act as a strategic tool to account for the heterogeneity among the tourists by grouping them into different market segments. Marketing segmentation could be applied to any unit of the tourism industry that comprises of travel agencies, hotels, tourist attractions, local charities, or restaurants (Woyo and Slabbert 2019). Therefore, implementing marketing principles in supporting destination growth and development is imperative as it allows the travel and tourism organizations to develop an effective relationship with the existing customers and reach new and prospective customers at the same time. Hence, in the case of destination marketing, the marketing initiatives must emphasize on the value of memories and value through additional factors and programming.

Thus, the application and implementation of different marketing strategies in destination marketing enable growth and development of the destination as well as provide peace of mind by increasing trust and confidence among the customers (Mariani 2020). It also saves time and enables customers in obtaining a perceived value and benefits of the destination beforehand.  At present, many contemporary tourism marketing strategies make use of digital platforms such as online advertisements, emails, and other social media platforms to captivate the interest and attention of the customers and accordingly promote the specific area or destination. Implementing marketing principles enables tourism and travel organizations in creating and managing a compelling as well as aimed market position for the multi attributed place within a dynamic environment (Ayd?n and Alvarez 2020). Thus, a comprehension of the destination marketing process is imperative for organizations and businesses working within the field or arena of hospitality, housing development, travel, and tourism. Based on consumer insight as well as market insights, an efficient process with the help of solid marketing tools could help the destination in creating a unique position thereby building an effective marketing destination strategy that enables growth and development of the destination side by side. Destinations compete in a crowded and dynamic marketplace against the cluttered noise from alternative options offering similar benefits and activities (Marasco et al. 2018). Thus, effective branding in these cases allows and enhances the salience of the destination through differentiation that is meaningful to the targeted segments. Branding as a marketing principle acts as the heart of the destination marketing strategy thereby enhancing the identity of the brand to a better extent.

Attracting Adventurers and Travelers to a Destination

The prime objective of a destination marketing campaign is to increase awareness of the customers of a certain specific location to help them remember the place when they book a holiday (Femenia-Serra and Gretzel 2020). Many nations have introduced different destination marketing campaigns that are capable of attracting foreign tourism thereby increasing the economic wealth of the nation to a great extent. Incredible India is one such destination marketing tourism campaign launched by India’s Ministry of Tourism for promoting the nation’s tourism. This camp is responsible for covering the important source of marketing for Indian tourism and takes into account the emerging markets that have a high potential for growth (De La Cruz and Guzmán-Sala 2020). This campaign aims to increase the digital presence through mass reach portals, specific genres, and social media along with television as a channel acting as a part of the campaign (Rodrigues 2018).  Social media accounts such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube Instagram are used for promoting the destination marketing event with informative posts and updates.

In the same way, Maldives has also launched a destination marketing campaign that aims to promote the Maldives as an ideal travel destination catering to the needs and wants of the travelers in the era of the new normal. This marketing campaign uses dedicated emails with the formation of the destination to collect data from the database and advertisements thereby posting informative posts on different social media channels. Hence, the approach of Maldives is slightly different as compared to Incredible India (Aktan et al. 2022). However, both the destination marketing campaigns are capable of communicating the business objective by being more creative towards the campaigns acting as core elements of the destination campaign. In addition to this, both the marketing campaigns are capable of attracting the right set of audiences who would boost the sales and understand the value proposition likewise.

Taking the Maldives into consideration, it is evident that the vision of the destination marketing campaign is to expand and strengthen Maldives tourism as an instrument of social and economic development that benefits all the Maldivians (Vlassi and Papatheodorou 2020). In the same way, it operates with a mission of promoting and getting the best example of sustainable tourism development in harmony with its natural environment, several citizens, and cultural resources.

Digital marketing assists in developing brand awareness by having various presences on social media platforms. In addition to this, digital marketing in tourism also enables marketers in identifying the current travel and tourism trends, identify and comprehend the customer behavior and enhance their travel experience thereby extending the scope for continuous development. Therefore, destinations could use digital platforms and channels for promoting purposes in tourist product marketing in order to reach the potential and prospective tourists (Alghizzawi 2019). For the chosen destination (Maldives), it is imperative to use different digital marketing tools such as SEO, lead enrichment tools, social media marketing as well as email marketing, these digital tools will enable Maldives in nurturing leads and building better relationships thereby increasing the overall search presence of the destination before the targeted audiences.it would also enable Maldives in understanding the leads and highlighting key information to reach out to them effectively. The sudden outbreak of the COVID 19 virus has affected the tourism industry all over the globe in an adverse way. In order to combat the adverse effects of COVID, Maldives has launched a comprehensive marketing campaign all over the globe to revitalize the key economic sector of the nation (that is tourism) (Sae-Tang and Yamchuti 2021). The Maldives (an island country in a South Asia that is considered as a tourist paradise) is significantly impacted by the sudden outbreak of the virus. The arrival of the nation fell 11 percent in February and 63.4 percent in March after the virus hit the globe. However, after several months of closing the border, the government of Maldives has now announced the opening and welcoming of international tourists. In addition to this MMPRC (Maldives- Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation) has launched a marketing campaign named “rediscover the Maldives, the sunny side of life” in order to attract new and international tourists. MMPRC (Maldives- Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation) had recently conducted a press conference in order to announce this campaign and, make people aware thereby attracting top international media from over 21 nations around the globe.

Marketing Segmentation in Destination Marketing

This digital marketing campaign developed by the Maldives government aims at strengthening the market presence in order to welcome the tourists back thereby emphasizing the distinctive isolation of islands acting as safe destinations for tourists (Oxford Analytica, 2021). Maldives- Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation has also conducted several digital marketing and promotion campaigns that would help in doing the same successfully. A few of the digital marketing strategies are as follows:

1. Global advertising campaign with CNN: in order to increase the presence of Maldives all over the globe, MMPRC has partnered with CNN in a 3 month global advertising campaign that allows a better and world wide coverage reaching to a large number of the global audience. It also provides a platform for a few local personalities to express their passion and accordingly narrate their respective stories about the Maldives.
2. Promotion campaign with Sky scanner: sky scanners displays advertisements for Maldives destinations on the homepage along with different platform from search results to increase the reach to the customers.
3. Programmatic advertisement software: the Maldives also utilized software to build digital advertising in which an algorithm determines where the Marketing money should be spent by the MMPRC (Laigsingh 2020). For this, the MMPRC enters the required information into the software about the digital marketing campaign (form promoting the destination) along with KPIs. This enables MMPRC in identifying the places to advertise and accordingly the advertisers to display, video, in-app and native advertising campaigns using a desktop or mobile device.

In addition to these, the destination has a number of other promotion strategies starting from outdoor advertising to digital marketing to travel fairs that have assisted the destination in bringing the image of the place as a safe destination for foreigners thereby attracting more arrivals in the nation (Prathapan, Sajin Sahadevan . and Zakkariya 2018). These digital marketing tools are effective and successful in identifying the target audience of MMPRC and make the marketing campaign management easy and successful. These digital marketing strategies have helped the Maldives as a destination in connecting with more customers and tourists thereby experiencing a global reach. The implemented marketing strategies also enable Maldives (as a destination) to expand the overall recognition of the brand and attract more revenues at the same time. Other than this these marketing strategies enabled the Maldives in engaging with the customer and gain their trust thereby making them come back for more information, and gradually make a purchase.  

However, there are few other digital marketing techniques and tools which if implemented by (Maldives- Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation for promoting the destination could help in attracting more tourists both on the local and national level. Email marketing is one such digital marketing tool that could be used by MMPRC to keep the target audience updated and build a long lasting association with them. This marketing strategy is flexible and would suit eh requirements of MMPRC in a better way (Alves, Sousa and Machado 2020). This is because email marketing would enable MMPRC in segmenting the audience and reach out to the most relevant individuals on the list. This in turn would help in attaining consistent attention across all the online channels with fewer efforts. Social media marketing is another digital marketing strategy that could be recommended to MMPRC. This approach will assist in building a systematic approach toward sharing content by suiting effectively with the needs and the budget of MMPRC. Hence, the corporation could plan and publish posts on different social media platforms including Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and others where MMPRC will later receive performance reports in order to monitor and track the engagement of international tourists across all these social platforms.

DMO stands for destination marketing organizations and is responsible for engaging local communities to make sure that tourism development and growth is mutual between the residents and the tourism stakeholder in the destination (Williams and Hristov 2018). Therefore, destination marketing organization plays a critical role in preserving the cultures of the destination using appropriate strategies based upon a balance of interests of all the stakeholders inside the tourist destination (Lemy and Yustisia Kristiana 2020). As a whole, a destination marketing organization ensures a prominent player in the management and development of tourism at a destination level with several fruitions. Based on the potential requirements, these functions might incorporate execute on of destination tourism policies, tourism product development, crisis management, strategic planning, quality improvement, and workforce development thereby sustaining the cultural heritage of that specific destination. Thus, DMOs are responsible for promoting the long ter development as well as marketing of the destination with key element such as accommodations, restaurants, events, guided tours, thereby serving travelers in an exact model.  DMOs are also responsible for enhancing the number of visitor by promoting a specific destination.

Digital Platforms in Destination Marketing

Destination marketing organizations are capable of developing a significant competitive edge by developing attractions and resources of destinations in such a manner that it highlights the attributes and authenticity enabling the destination to thrive. This is done by allowing tourists to push their limits and venture outside their comfort areas thereby ensuring positive experiences for the visitors (Zaman, Vo Thanh, and Botti 2020).  Destination marketing organizations are also responsible for ensuring sustainability by preserving the destinations for visitors and locals alike. Stimulating the development of destinations by new transport services infrastructure, historical resources, cultural attributes, and more in a better and more sustainable manner.

However, threats in the external environment along with changes in the marketing and strictures within the tourism industry have challenged destination marketing organizations to alter in several manners. The strategic responses to these establishments are essentially required for proactively making decisions, and shaping, them while struggling through crises. Thus, in response to the escalating requirement for a new vision of the future of tourism and specifically destination marketing, leading destination marketers are identifying a few better strategies with effective objectives that would effectively address the challenges encountered by DMOs and find ways of combating the same successfully (Gowreesunkar, Séraphin and Morrison 2018). Few major challenges encountered by destination marketing organizations incorporate, economic slowdown, changing industry markets and structures, wars, natural disasters such as tsunamis and hurricanes, climate changes, and issues associated with diseases (such as COVID, SARS, bird flu, and others).

It was evident that the sudden outbreak of the viruses resulted in a severe slowdown in the economy (Gowreesunkar, Séraphin, and Morrison 2018). As a result, many destination marketing organizations had to lay off their employees and over 38 percent of all the destination marketing organization travel employees are now out of work (Gowreesunkar, Séraphin, and Morrison 2018). These DMOs are ineligible for the paycheck protection program and this has become difficult for the DMOs to sustain their survival in the dynamic environment primarily due to a lack of support and funding.  In the same manner, natural calamities are also responsible for impacting the destination marketing organization adversely. This is because most of the flights would be canceled, local transportation would be paralyzed and tourists’ attractions might also get damaged due to natural situations such as tsunamis, landslides, and cyclones. On a chain reaction, the overall economy of the destination would also be hampered primarily in the regions that depend entirely or majorly on tourism such as Maldives, Bali, and others. Understanding how and when to start recovery planning is another major challenge encountered by destination marketing organizations (Foris et al. 2020). Crisis management is a core element of destination marketing organization, however, without appropriate strategies to combat the risks would make it difficult for the organizations to operate successfully by only addressing the queries a concern of the situation and its associated stakeholders.

Therefore, destination marketing organizations must identify and accordingly implement strategies that would support the recovery planning of the destination thereby supporting the destination while emerging from huge losses and at the time of crisis. It is recommended to enhance the experience of the customers by concentrating more on conducting them with innovative strategies and concepts. It is also recommended that the destination marketing organization have a proper disaster management plan as this would make it easier for the organization to operate during the crises and accordingly serve positive experiences to the customers (Gretzel 2022). Leveraging conceptual marketing is also recommended for destination marketing organizations. This would help in making tourists aware of the crises the organization is going through and attract them in colder months (or at the time of economic slowdown as well). Creating a personal connection with the audience is also recommended.  Changing staff arrangements during an economic slowdown is recommended for destination marketing organizations. This would enable the organization in finding alternative and flexible solutions thereby lowering the operational costs of the organization during an economic slowdown.

Competing in a Crowded and Dynamic Marketplace

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