The role of the DMO in the future

1. The DMO of the future Team Exercise 4 Davide Antonelli, Mirko Chianesi, Andrea Scacchioli, Stefania Sossi, Simone Marco Vaglica

2. Whatis a tourismdestination? “A destinationis a space (city, region, major hotel), whichischosenby the guestas the goal ofhistravel. The destinationincludesallfacilitiesnecessaryforaccommodation, catering and entertainment/occupation”1. “A destinationis a pattern ofattractions, relatedtourismfacilities and services, which the tourist or a groupchoosesfor a visitation and which service provider markets”2. Bieger, T., Management von Destinatione und Tourismorganisationem. 2. ed. 1997, Munchen: Oldenburg WTO, SustainableTourismDevelopment. Guide forLocalPlaners. 1993, Madrid

4. …offers a multioptionalproduct in ordertomeetdifferentcustomerneeds;

5. …is a set ofproduct/experiences, influenced in a critical way by the roleofcompanies’ attitudes and theirwillingnessto cooperate;

6. …isanentitywhosecomponentparts are interdependentwhereby a change in onehasramificationsforallof the others;

7. …differsfromeachotherbysize, geographical position, culture, attractions and services.SO, A TOURISM DESTINATION… C.P. Schucan - The roleofan Information concept in relation toDestinatio Management

9. A DMO manages:

10. the processofdefinition, promotion and commercialisationof the tourismproduct;

11. Incomingtourists’ flows in a sustainable and sufficient way tomeet the economicneedsof the localsuppliers;

12. A DMO actsas a catalyst and a facilitatorfor the realizationoftourismdevelopments;

14. A “community marketer” communicating the most appropriate destinationimage, attractions and facilitiestoselected visitor markets;

15. An “industrycoordinator” providing a clear focus and encouraginglessindustryfragmentation so asto share in the growingbenefitsoftourism;

16. A “quasi-publicrepresentative” addinglegitimacyfor the industry and protectiontoindivdual and groupvisitors;

17. A “builder of community pride” byenhancingqualityof life and actingas the chief “flagcarrier” forresidents and visitorsalike.3. Morrison, Bruen and Anderson - 1998

19. 18% Attractions, Culture , Institutions;

20. 18% events’services/suppliers;

21. 17% Restaurants;

22. 11% Retail network;

24. Onemain office and severalout-of-town/satellite offices;Source: DMAI

26. Taxrevenues (Hotel occupancy, Restaurants, CarRental, etc…)

27. Private funds (membershipfees);

29. 13% Administrativeexpenses.Source: DMAI

30. Internet & Social media THREATS OR OPPORTUNITIES?

31. INTERNET GROWTH TREND Source: Internet System Consortium

33. On line travel agencies are real travel agencies which run their business only on the web. Some of these OTAs are now becoming true giants of the travel intermediation (i.e. Travelocity, Expedia, Booking.com).

34. Furthermore, airlines are cooperating to develop new portals for online selling (i.e. Opodo, Orbitz) which, thanks to the technical possibilities offered by the GDS, want to increase their market shares, competing against travel agents on costs’ structure.

36. Social Media (i.e. Trip Advisor, Facebook, Twitter) have changed the way to interact, business and people have become a lot more “open”, having now the possibility to share information and opinions.

39. THE DMO OF THE FUTURE DMOs will have Virtual Spaces in which customers would be able to interact with the product and “taste” or “simulate their trip experience in advance (Web 2.0) DMOs will have a Social media strategy: With their presence on Social Media they will reach obviously the enormous number of members, they will have useful real-time feedbacks and the possibility to benefit from e-word-of-mouth and other indirect mean of advertisement and communication.

40. THE DMO OF THE FUTURE DMOs will be Mobile: They would develop new apps for mobile device softwares (i.e. Apple, Android) in order to give an “interactive destination service” to their customers. These apps would provide real-time updated information about history, museums, emergency, attractions, hospitality, restaurant daily menus to the customer, directly from the palm of his hand. DMOs will continue to receive Public and private funds: Their core work is not so easily replicable, so public government won’t to loose these powerful allies. Furthermore partnerships between DMOs and new tourism actors (OTAs, Social Media, etc) will continue to growth.

41. CONCLUSION The increased Tourism’ complexity described in the slide before, means that DMOs would have to be taken more seriously and professionally. DMOs would become an elite of people. Their unique skills, experiences and professional attributes with the higher flexibility and technological power will create a very different but more powerful and evolved structure able to lead its destination through this always changing and challenging future .