Sessione #3 of YAC course on Responsible Tourism Management

1. online course in responsible tourism development Destination marketing Stefano Andreotti

2. Agenda What is destination marketing? Why destination marketing? How to do destination marketing? 2

3. What is destination marketing? 3

6. Destination marketing vs. mass products marketing 6 Destination marketing differs because: In the tourismsector - diffrentlyfromotherssectors, in which the distributionchannelsdeliver the productsto the consumers - the consumersmoveto the destinations; The tourism product is made up by different components (resources) managed by different stakeholders; Decisions do not belong to one person/manager; The image of the destinations can be influenced by external factors that can not be managed; Vs.

7. What influences competitivity 7

8. Why destination marketing? 8 DEMAND OFFER

9. Why destination marketing? 9

11. Respond to the demand needs positioning the destination on the market;

12. Coordinate the activities and the offers of the destination, working for distribution;

14. Definition of a pricing strategy of the destination (positioning)

15. Implementation of promotion and marketing strategies;

17. How to do destination marketing? Product It is the first and foremost key for a successful destination marketing strategy: people go to a destination because “they want to do something there”; It is therefore important for destinations to move from a logic of “destination” to a on of “motivation” 14

18. How to do destination marketing? Personalization Nowadaysis the customerthatlloks and findwhathewants, we can onlytrytoinfluencetheirchoice; Tourists are becoming more independent and consciousaboutwhattheywantto do and wheretheywantto go: the tourismproductbecomesoneof the mostinfluencingfactorwhendecidingwhereto go/whatto do; Itisnecessarytounderstand the expectations, the needs and wantsoftoursits in ordertobeabletorespondadequatelytothem; The destinationitselfloosesitsimportance and whatbecomesdeterminant are the tourismproductsthat the destination can offer. 15

19. How to do destination marketing? Price The price of a tourismproductshouldbedecidedtakinginto account quality and fariness; in factwhat people look formostof the timeis a productwithgoodqualityforanaccessible price; Quality, in thissenseshould take intoconsiderationnotonlyitsfunctionalcomponentsbutalsoitsemotionalsones; The pricing policy shouldconsider the followingindicators: Maximizationof the profit; Competitor’s pricing policy; Market segmentation; 16

20. How to do destination marketing? Distribution Accessibilityisanother key factorfor success becausebeing the market so competitive ifproducts are readilyavailableforpurchasemakesiteasiertowin the competition; Multi channel distribution strategy: tour operators, travel agencies, on line distribution; The distribution strategy needs to take into consideration the selected targets and markets; 17

21. How to do destination marketing? Position Identify the competitive context in which the destination is located; Identify which are the destinations that directly compete with ours; Identify which are the motivations and the needs and wants that tourist look for before arriving at the destinations (expectations); Identify motivations,, needs and wants for tourist chosing a competitor destination; Identify strengths and weaknesses of the offer, opportunities and threats for developing further the destination offer; Develop a new positioning starting from the opportunities individuated; 18

22. How to do destination marketing? Promotion Promotion can be very expensive both in terms of time and money; it is therefore important to selects channels and tools that are more appropriate for promoting the offer; Some criteria for choosing the most suitable toots for promotion: Audience: number of people that can be reached by that mean of communication; Opportunity to see: the chance that a person interested in our product see the message 19

24. Target groups;

25. Budget;

26. Goal of the promotion campaign (ex: brand awareness or sell?

28. How to do destination marketing? People Nowadays we talk of word of mouse vs. word of mouth; still people are the main protagonist of the holiday experience and are those that most certainly can convince someone to follow their step; Therefore it is important to ENGAGE with customers and potential customer in order to favor the word of mouse; A positive comment on the destination said by a visitors is definitely more effective than one said by a DMO; Be careful, people can also criticize… it is necessary to learn how to face criticism and how to respond to it. 22

29. How to do destination marketing? Planning Develop a strategic marketing plan(every 3 years) in whichidentifygoals and targetsfor the next operative period; In ordertobeeffective the strategic marketing planshouldbefollowedbyanoperative marketing planidentifying the detailed operative stepstobedoneforreaching the determinedgoals Monitorresults and adapt the operative strategywhenitshowstobeineffective; 23

30. Steps to successful destination marketing 24

31. Thank you very much! Stefano Andreotti mail: stefano.andreotti@antipoditourism.com skype: standreotti 25