HE212 Destination

Marketing
Learning Unit 2
Destination Marketing
Organisations

Chapter 3 Destination Marketing Organizations

Steven Pike. (2008). Destination Marketing: An Integrated Marketing Communication Approach, Routledge
Chapter 3 Destination Marketing
Organisations
Learning outcomes to enhance
understanding of:

the proliferation of DMOs

the rationale for the existence of DMOs
the challenge of marketing multi-attributed
destinations in dynamic and heterogenous
markets
DMO history
Lack of literature relating to the history of
DMOs

1864 first RTO (Switzerland)

1896 first CVB (USA)
1901 first DMO (New Zealand)
1903 first STO (USA)

Now over 10,000 DMOs world wide

Rationale for DMO establishment
Many of the first DMOs were primarily
boosters
However, the common rationale has been
to enhance destination competitiveness
Signals a tourism community becoming
organised
to 'co-operate to compete
National Tourism Offices

New Zealand Department of Tourist & Health

Resort represented the worlds 1st NTO in 1970.
1st regional Government Tourist Bureau was built
in Rotorua.
Australia government involve in tourism
marketing in 1929 when a grant was provided to
the newly-form Australia national Tourist
Authority.
French NTO established in 1910, Italian NTO
established in 1919, Hon Kong Tourism
Association in established in 1957, Japan &
Thailand in 1959,Singapore in 1964.
State tourism organisation

The Hawaii Visitor Bureau established in 1903.

The state government of Tasmania intiated the
Tasmania Tourist Association in 1893.
The state of South Australia and Victoria
established in 1908.
STOs to be formed as separate government
agencies, rather than as part of other
departments, occur in Australia in 1919.
Regional Tourism Organisation
Switzerland, the 1st RTO was established
in St Moritz in 1864.
English Tourist Board estalbish in 1969
and old industrial cities like Bradford,
Sheffield, Birmingham and Manchester in
1980s.
Convention & Visitor Bureaus (CVB)
Tourism Vancouver CVB is 100yrs old
Infrastructure development enable
regional tourism in north-eastern USA
during the late 1700s and early 1800s, the
development of place promotion
organisations did not occur for another
century.
Destination competitiveness
Not yet a widely accepted causal model of
destination competitiveness
Agreement the construct comprises economic,
social, cultural and environmental dimensions.
A competitive destination is one that features
profitable tourism businesses, an effective
market position, an attractive environment,
satisfactory visitor experiences, and supportive
local residents.
Difficult to sustain without effective organisation
Destination competitiveness
The multidimensional nature of destination
competitiveness highlights:
Sustainable competitiveness
Price competitiveness
Managed destinations
Responding to competition
The destination product and its impact on traveler
perceptions
The role of public transport in destination development
Environmental management
Integrated quality management
Regional positioning
Marketing the competitive destination of the future
Marketing multi-attributed destinations
in dynamic and heterogenous markets
The supply-side perspective:
Destinations commonly contain a myriad of small family
owned businesses
and a diverse and often eclectic range of tourism
resources
over which the DMO has no control
but must somehow present to the market in a way
that interests target consumers, and appeases tourism
operators and intermediaries
DMO and stakeholder opinions on how to do this
are not always congruent
Politics of DMO decision making can inhibit marketing
theory
Marketing multi-attributed destinations
in dynamic and heterogenous markets
Demand-side perspective:

Markets are not homogenous in terms of needs

Heterogenous and dynamic
The greatest challenge facing DMOs is cutting through
the noise of the market and getting noticed at travel
decision time

How can a DMO produce succinct messages that

i) encapsulate the essence of place, ii)
differentiate the destination from the myriad of
competitors offering the same features, iii) at the
time households are making holiday decisions,
and iii) be meaningful to heterogeneous and
dynamic markets?
Career opportunities & skills
DMOs usually enjoy a high profile within destination
community and this carries political implications for
customer service skills
DMOs are now recognized as increasingly providing career
opportunities
In terms of professionalism level, lack of formal tourism
qualification, little prior tourism industry experience and
high turnover are some questions raised.
Some difficulties faced by local government tourism officials
are:
Limited / no internal promotion opportunities
Isolation from counterparts
Under-staffing
Under-funding
Unrealistic expectations from elected council representatives
Career opportunities & skills (cont)
Personal qualities for involving at DMOs level are
creativity, flexibility, friendliness, honesty,
motivation, outgoing personal and honesty.
Characteristics of successful DMO Manager
(OHalloran, 1992):
At least 6 years experience with DMO
A minimum bachelor's degree
Excellent communication skills
Ability to work well with people at all levels
Knowledge of tourism system and its potential impacts
on the community
Leadership and strategic planning
Political savvy (relationship between public and private
sectors)