Destination Marketing: Strategies, Analysis, and Objectives for Promoting Edinburgh

This summary provides an overview of destination marketing, including situational analysis, objectives, target markets, strategies, and evaluation. It discusses the importance of effective marketing strategies in the tourism industry, focusing on Edinburgh as a case study. The summary also highlights the impact of political, economic, socio-cultural, technological, legal, and environmental factors on destination development. Additionally, it mentions the TALC model, the 10AS model, promotional audits, competitor analysis, and brand audits using the five-stage brand pyramid.

Running head: DESTINATION MARKETING
DESTINATION MARKETING
Name of the student
Name of the university
Author note

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Table of contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
Situational analysis..........................................................................................................................2
Objectives........................................................................................................................................8
Target markets and positioning.......................................................................................................9
Strategies and action plans.............................................................................................................10
Evaluation......................................................................................................................................13
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................14
Reference list and bibliography.....................................................................................................16

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Introduction
The term tourism marketing indicates both the online and offline marketing practices,
based on which different tours, tourist attraction and tourism activities can be effectively
promoted (Pike 2015). Analyzing the emerging tourism business, it can be said that it has
become the major contributor in the GDP rate in every country. As stated by Mariani, Di Felice
and Mura (2016), in this competitive situation, developing effective marketing strategies have
become necessary for making a sustainable position in the industry. The aim of this study to shed
light on Edinburgh, which is a hilly capital of Scotland. Based on the situational analysis,
development opportunities of this particular area have been discussed. In this study, an action
plan has been introduced for implementing the strategies. By highlighting the cultural and
historical uniqueness of this area, the study has introduced different marketing strategies. Based
on the marketing strategies, the evaluation process has been introduced so that the tourism
authority will be able to get the progress updates of the marketing report.
Brand objectives
 To establish strong image in global tourism industry
 To bring socio economic improvements to the local people
 To ensure the standard services to the visitors so that history and cultural values of this
place can be spread
Analyzing the brand objectives, it can be said that through introduction of Edinburgh in the
global tourism market, not only the job opportunities will increase but also it can bring the
improvement in socio cultural status of individuals. Increasing the socio economic status,
education as well as others opportunities can be brought.

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Situational analysis
In the words of Chon (2015), tourism creates enormous stress on the process of land use
and soil erosion. It is also true that for changing the status of natural resources, tourism has
significant impact. The environmental factors for every business plan are being highlighted
based on the political, economic, socio-cultural, technological, legal and environmental factors.
In order to develop the tourism business in Edinburgh, it is very important to understand the
situational impact of such factors in that particular area.
Political
In order to determine the development factors, political situation of the particular location
plays a significant role (Kladou and Mavragani 2015). The political dispute has been aroused
after the Brexit vote incident. However, it cannot be denied that the minor dispute has not
brought strong impact on the development initiatives in this country. In that case it can be said
that the political situation in this country is in favorable condition for developing tourism
industry.
Economic
Analyzing the statistical data of economic growth, it has been identified that in the year
2018, the GDP rate has increased 0.4% than the previous year (Figus et al. 2018). In almost
every sector, the financial growth has been increased. In this situation, it will become easier for
the organizations to expand business in this economic situation.
Socio cultural

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Socio cultural situation in a country can play an important role for driving the business
growth in a country (Viglia et al. 2017). Depending on the attitudes and beliefs of individuals,
role of the marketers may vary. Based on the educational level, power structure of the society
influence the consumption trends. In this situation, with increasing economic opportunities,
living standard of individuals has got improved, which has increased the adaptability rate of
changes. In this situation, introducing tourism business not only improve the earning
opportunities to the people but also it can help to get local support developing new business.
Technological
Globalization has brought both the technological improvement in the tourism industry
(Kladou and Mavragani 2015). Analyzing the technological growth in Scotland, it can be said
that it is one of the popular technologically developed countries in the globe. In this case, it can
be said that based on the current situation, it will be easier for the travel organizations to
introduce technology based operations.
Legal
In the words of Viglia et al. (2017), as per the Tourism Act 1969, the Tourist boards of
Scotland and British Tourist Authority have given the power to the local authorities regarding the
development related activities in different areas. Due to the strict Tourism Act, it will be tough
for the travel organizations to develop business in Edinburgh.
Environmental
The Environmental protection Act has brought strict regulation against waste
management process. Therefore, it can be said that in case of developing the tourism business
will be tough for the organizations in Edinburgh.

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Tourism area life cycle (TALC)
In the talc model, the region evaluation process is being designed for assisting the
destination manager so that problems in the destination area can be understood properly. In the
words of Kubickova and Li (2017), by supporting this, it can be said that this theory is being
considered as one of the popular destination management theories for bringing the concrete
development in the tourism sector. In the year 1980, Butler proposed the TALC model for
exploring the massive development procedure in the tourism sector.
Figure: Tourism area life cycle
(Source: Tang, Zhong and Ng 2017)
In the above diagram, the growth cycle of tourism destination has been described by
using the ‘S’ shape curve. Analyzing the curve, it can be said that here the growth curve has been
classified into four stages such as exploration, involvement, development, stagnation and or
decline. In case of destination management, the stagnation stage and decline stages are being
strictly avoided (Tang, Zhong and Ng 2017). However, in most of the cases, a destination
developer prefers the rejuvenation approach. Analyzing the situation in Edinburgh, it can be said
that the designation can be position in the development stage in the tourism are life cycle. In

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order to sustaining the continuous growth in this sector, increasing amount of investment is
required in this area (Kubickova and Li 2017).
10As model
Depending on the 10 important aspects such as the awareness, attractiveness, availability,
access, appearance, activities, assurance, appreciation, action and accountability, the tourism
destination development plan is being done. Based on the geographic scope and information of
the area, the 10AS model is being developed. Analyzing the destination popularity of Edinburgh,
it can be said that with the increasing uses of internet in thee tourism business, the area has
started gaining its popularity to the global visitors. Based on the geographic scope of this area, it
can be said that cultural wealth is the major attraction of this place. After the new waterfront
development process, the view of this destination has got improved. In the words of Corrigan
(2018), the mesmerizing sea view as well as uncovered grisly history of Edinburgh is enough for
grabbing the attention of the visitors. Due to various tourism development initiatives, hospitality
industry has got flourished. In case of analyzing the accessing availability, it has been identified
that parking facility is still an important concern in the Edinburgh castle. However, in case of
availability of internet and others communication accessibility, it can be said that the location is
growing in the fastest manner. It is true that visitors have full access in this area. Due to
involvement and active initiatives of local authority, hospitality industry has been appreciated in
Edinburgh. In order to increase the tourist engagement Camera Obscura is one of the popular
tourist attractions (Vanhove 2017). Modern Art gallery and the museum of childhood grab the
attention of every age of people. In order to increase the accountability of this destination, the
local government has also introduced various opportunities for the local travel organizations so
that performance efficiency can be maintained.

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Promotional audit
Based on the current promotional activities in Edinburgh, it has been identified that in
order to increase the publicity across the world City Centre marketing campaign has been
introduced by highlighting its shops, restaurants and others tourist attractions. Different program
on marketing and promotions have been done through the official website of Edinburgh tourism
namely ‘The official guide to Edinburgh’. On the other hand, advertise through Facebook,
Instagram and twitter is common in the Edinburgh tourism sector. In order to develop strong PR
relation, different PTR agencies have been developed in Edinburgh, those works to promote the
Edinburgh touriam attractions to the global people. Holyrood is one of the popular multi-award
winning PR agency in Edinburgh. . In order to increase the media attention, most of the travel
organizations highlights the Edinburgh Hogmanay Party and The Edinburgh Military Tattoo
events so that large numbers of customers’ attention can be grabbed (Stylidis, Belhassen and
Shani 2017).
Competitor analysis
In the competitor analysis of Edinburgh, it can be said that the others tourism destinations
in Scotland such as Glasgow, Loch Ness and Skye are highly popular. Based on the availability
of visitors, it can be said that these places are the highly visited places in Scotland. As stated by
Vanhove (2017), it has been identified in every year near about 2 million people visit Glasgow
by spending £482 million. On the other hand, In case of Loch Ness, it has been identified that
near about 1 million people visit this place in every year, which contributes almost £25 million in
the local economy (Durie 2017).
Brand audit using the five-stage brand pyramid

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In order to define the useful essence of a particular brand, the Branding Pyramid is being
considered as one of the popular tools. In the words of Durie (2017), based on the five features of
The Brand Pyramid, the branding audit is being done. In every stages of the brand pyramid,
service as well as the design of the products introduced by the company are being described.
Figure: Five-stage brand pyramid
(Source: Nadeem 2018)
In the above diagram, it is mentioned that based on the design of the service and products
provided by the organization, the business practices features and attributes of a company can be
analyzed. In case of highlighting the importance of the destination area namely Edinburgh, it can
be said by utilizing the cultural and historical resources of the area can help to drive the attention
of the visitors. Analyzing the emotional benefits of this location, it can be said that with growing
numbers of green space in this area, positive mental health can be enhanced (Durie 2017). In
terms of functional benefits, it can be said that Edinburgh has brought economic as well as socio
cultural opportunities to for the local people. Describing the brand persona, it can be said that

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Edinburgh is the popular tourist destination that has strong cultural value and mesmerizing
scenic beauty, which has made the destination popular to the global visitors. Analyzing the brand
idea of this area, it can be said that due to availability of natural resources, the government has
decided to develop the tourism business in this area.
Marketing factors for influencing the destination marketing
In the words of Tussyadiah, Wang and Jia (2016), travel and tourism marketing process
have strong impact on the business performance. Based on the marketing factors such as events,
seasons, development, government support travel trends and currency rate the destination
marketing gets influenced. Special events like annual festivals and holiday markets can play an
influential role in case of dragging the attention of the customers. In order to increase the media
attention, most of the travel organizations highlights the Edinburgh Hogmanay Party and
The Edinburgh Military Tattoo events so that large numbers of customers’ attention can be
grabbed (Stylidis, Belhassen and Shani 2017). On the other hand, the currency rate is another
important marketing factor that drives the destination marketing process. Currency rate
in Edinburgh is reasonable. In that case, due to its reasonable currency exchange policy, global
customers can be easily attracted by the destination area. Analyzing the continuous economic
and socio cultural growth in the area, it can be said that increasing rate of employment will help
to develop the hospitality industry in proper way. By following the tourism legislations, the
funding of Edinburgh is being done by local tourism authority. In order to increase investment in
the tourism sector, the local government has taken the initiatives for bring various development
in the place.

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Objectives
 To increase the rate of profitability 5% within coming 3 years
 To grab the attention of global visitors so that the availability of visitors’ rate can be
increased
 To identify the development opportunities in Edinburgh destination business so that
better strategies can be implemented for grabbing large numbers of customer attention
Target markets and positioning
Based on the three segments the target market is being developed. Due to changing
consumption pattern of the customers, people have started investing in the tourism business
(Hartman 2016). Due to increasing amount of development opportunities people have started
investing in the tourism sector. In that case, from the demographic segment, every age group of
people can be attracted towards Edinburgh. Mostly the honeymoon couples and the bachelors
between the age group of 20 to 35 will be attracted towards the destination. By continuing this,
analyzing the currency exchange rate as well as hospitality facilities in this area, middle class and
upper middle class people can be targeted for the business. On the other hand, based on the
psychographic segmentation, those people will be targeted who prefer to invest money in
tourism and have passion for travelling. Based on the living standard, technology freak and
adventurous people will attracted towards the destination. Adventure freak people will be
attracted towards the destination for its landscape. Based on the behavioral segmentation, the
people who have interest in the cultural and historical resources of designation area will be
attracted (Line and Wang 2017). Based on the availability of natural resources and accessibility
facilities, the positioning map has been developed, which can help to understand the situation of
the travel destination in the competitive business environment.

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Availability of
natural resources
is High
High Accessibility
Availability of
natural resources
is Low
Low Accessibility
Edinburgh
Glasgow
Loch Ness
Figure: Positioning Map
(Source: Created by author)
The above positioning map has been divided into four sections. In the above diagram, the
major competitors of Edinburgh have been placed in high accessibility and high availability of
natural resources. Analyzing the position of Glasgow and Loch Ness, it can be said that in order
to develop the destination management initiatives in Edinburgh, these destination areas can
create high threat. In order to compete with the competitors, the tourism developers of
Edinburgh, need to focus on developing effective marketing strategies so that potential visitors
can be attracted. Based on its natural resources and scenic beauty, it can be assumed that
Edinburgh can be able to establish its attractive image on the global customers’ mind. Analyzing
the nearest destinations such as Glasgow and Loch Ness, it has been identified that modern art
gallery and wild swimming facilities are the major attractions of these places, which have strong
contribution in case of dragging the attention of global visitors. Comparing these areas with

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Edinburgh tourism it can be said that not only the Museum but also the scenic beauty of the place
can play an important role for dragging customer attention.
Brand statement
In order to create the virtuous circle brand statement is being introduced, which helps to
ensure the imperative key message for the area. ‘Connecting Scotland to the world’ will be the
brand statement of Edinburgh tourism.
Strategies and action plans
In order to build effective tourism marketing practices, it is important to develop effective
strategies, so that tourism development goals can be easily achieved. Analyzing the marketing
trend in tourism industry in the year 2018, it has been identified that digital media has brought
huge revolution in the tourism industry. Due to various innovation in the tourism marketing
process, promoting the destination area can be beneficial to highlight it on the world map.
Digital media has become one of the effective marketing platforms in which beauty and
attraction of the destination areas can be developed. In order to achieve the marketing objectives,
it is very important for the tourism developers to develop the strategies that to can help to
convince the visitors to revisit the place.
Strategy 1
By creating an amazing guide idea of Edinburgh, the marketing can be developed.
Based on the needs and demands of the visitors the tourism marketing process needs to be
developed (Giaoutzi 2017). By developing an easy guide planning map, details information
about the destination area can be provided to the visitors. Based on this idea, it can be assumed
that if the marketing strategies will focus on creating the guide for Edinburgh, in that case, the

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safety and security of the particular destination area can be increased. By getting the proper
guide map, it will be easier for the tourism development authority to increase the availability of
visitors.
Strategy 2
Through the social media platforms life Facebook, twitter and Instagram, discussion
with the visitors can be developed. People have become fond of technology and large numbers
of people are connected with different social media platforms (Moutinho and Vargas-Sanchez
2018). Before visiting a particular area, plenty of questions come on visitors’ mind, which needs
to be clarified properly. In such cases, by developing a different social media platforms, it will be
easier for the destination developers to solve the quarries of individuals. By contributing in
different search engine optimization process, marketing authority of Edinburgh, can be able to
maintain the transparency with the visitors. With this initiative, visitors will get to know about
different tourist attraction in Edinburgh, which will help to increase the economic benefits of this
particular area.
Strategy 3
Developing a separate destination page on Edinburgh, where the scenic beauty as well
as accessibility information will be provided. In this page, different destination videos can be
included. By adding huge amount of information in the page, informational guide regarding the
area can be created (Pappas 2016). By adding graphics and designs, attractive webpage can be
beneficial for grabbing the attention of technology freak target market. In the webpage, pictures
and videos will be added. By highlighting the cultural unique in the webpage, competitive
advantage can be gained by the marketing developers of Edinburgh.

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Strategy 4
Celebrity endorsement as well as user generated content can be introduced for
grabbing the attention of large numbers of visitors (Moutinho and Vargas-Sanchez 2018). In
order to make the promotional activities successful, celebrity endorsement through different
digital campaigns, not only help to generate the trust but also it can help to encourage the old
visitors to revisit the place. The major significance of this strategy is, based on the fan base of the
celebrity, customer base of the destination can be increased. By continuing this, it can be said
that by focusing on user generated content development initiative, it will be easier for the
destination developers to gain the trust of individuals.
Strategy 5
In order to establish the strong reputation in the tourism market, email marketing as
well as developing relationship with the tourism business partners can be beneficial for the
Edinburgh tourism authority to develop the strong distribution process (Giaoutzi 2017).
Action plan
In order to achieve the business objectives, it is important for the destination developers
to follow particular steps.
Step 1: In the initial stage of developing the marketing plan, proper designing of the strategies
will be done.
Step 2: In the second step, the financial budgeting will be done, in which promotional cost will
be decided for different platforms

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Step 3: In this step, legal formalities will be clarified to the travel organizations, which aims to
develop tourism business in Edinburgh. By making the clear agreement with the travel
organizations, it will be easier to distribute the business in proper manner.
Step 4: Using different webpage designing tools, the graphic designer will develop an attractive
webpage. A different section will be developed in the webpage, in which the visitors will share
both the positive and negative experience that have gathered after visiting Edinburgh.
Step 5: In this step, social media platforms will be included in the promotional process. In this
step, the webpage, which will be developed by the graphic designers, will be introduced through
different social media platforms. By providing 24hrs to customer services, the executives will
solve all the quarries asked by the visitors.
Step 6: This is the final step, in which the tourism authority of Edinburgh recruit some efficient
workers in the administration, who will look after the entire marketing process. By continuing
this, it can be said that, in case of improving the service standard, training and development
initiatives will be introduced by the tourism authority of Edinburgh.
Evaluation
Evaluation process is being considered as the final stage in the marketing plan in which
the final outcomes are being measured for understanding if the marketing has brought any
improvement in the previous situation or not (Keegan and Rowley 2017). The evaluation process
also very important to understand if thee marketing plan has the ability to achieve the objectives
or not. Marketing evaluation is being considered as the lengthy process, in which the both the
sales and profitability reports are being analyzed (Jiang, Luo and Kulemeka 2016). In case of

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understanding the tourism business growth in Edinburgh, different evaluation steps need to be
followed for understanding the growth in this destination area.
Step 1: In the first step, the sales report as well as profitability rate of the past 3 years will be
collected properly. Based on the report, both the positive growth and negative growth will be
analyzed. Based on the total numbers of visitors before and after thee marketing plan will be
beneficial for the authority to understand if the marketing initiative has brought any positive
impact on the Edinburgh tourism business or not.
Step 2: In order to improve the business performance, it is very important to understand, if the
visitors are satisfied with the accommodation and accessibility facilities in the destination.
Understanding the experience of the visitors is important for analyzing the chances of
revisiting.in that case, questionnaire can be distributed to the visitors for understanding their
opinion as well as customer service facilities provided by the destination.
Step 3: By comparing the strategies with the competitors, it will be easier for the marketing
developers, if the marketing strategies will be able to achieve the business objectives or not
(Jiang, Luo and Kulemeka 2016).
Step 4: A monitoring team can be developed for understanding the activities introduced by the
internet (Keegan and Rowley 2017). Based on the numbers of visitors in the webpage per day, it
will be easier for the marketing developers to understand, if the digital marketing campaign
initiatives have attracted to the viewers or not
Conclusion
In the situational analysis, it has been identified that with increasing tourism
opportunities in all over the world, Edinburgh needs to focus on implementing effective

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marketing plan so that it will be able to grab the attention of global visitors. Based on the
situational analysis, it has been identified that in both the marketing and business environment in
Edinburgh are in the favorable condition for developing tourism business in this place. In order
to establish Edinburgh as the popular tourist destination in the world map, digital marketing will
be beneficial for attracting the large numbers of visitors. Depending on the above analysis, it can
be assumed that if the strategies will be properly implemented by the Edinburgh tourism
authority, in that case, it can establish its strong image in the global visitors’ mind.

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