Destination Marketing: Principles, Key Elements, Digital Marketing Tools, Role of DMOs

This article discusses the principles and key elements of destination marketing, including product, price, place, and promotion. It also covers the different digital marketing tools used for promoting and advertising a specific destination, such as simple bookings, lead enrichment tools, customer engagement, social media, email marketing, and influencer marketing. Additionally, it examines the role and services of DMOs in destination marketing, including assuring sustainability, enhancing tourism culture, restricting over-tourism, and establishing a powerful brand image.

Destination Marketing

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................................3
Main Body.......................................................................................................................................3
Principles of Marketing Planning...........................................................................................3
Key elements of Destination Marketing.................................................................................5
The different digital marketing tools for promoting and advertising....................................6
Role and services of DMOs in Destination Marketing..........................................................7
Challenges faced by DMOs in Destination Marketing...........................................................9
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................10
References .....................................................................................................................................11

INTRODUCTION
Destination marketing is the form of marketing in which a destination is promoted to the
visitors so that the people travel to that location with a purpose of increasing the number of
visitors for a specific location. All the places have some plus points which are important to be
highlighted. This project will talk about the major role of marketing planning which helps in
marketing of a specific destination. It further elaborates about the different digital marketing
tools which are required for advertising and promoting the destination. This project will help in
examining the role of DMOs in marketing destination and all the challenges which can be faced
by DMOs in the marketing process ( Pechlaner, Innerhofer and Erschbamer, 2019).
Main Body
Destination Marketing is a concept of promotional marketing in the Travel & Tourism
sector. This marketing concept facilitates strategic planning for promoting a particular location
as travel destinations. These strategies are regulated for promotion to attract more visitors to the
city or the particular location, students for universities, attracting skilled workforce, investors.
These organisations dealing in Destination marketing are known as Visitors and Convention
Bureaux(Chung and et. al., 2020). Destination Marketing organisation's first and foremost aim is
to provide knowledge and information to travellers willing to explore these locations or
destinations. For example: case studies over cities, advertising special locations of a city,
providing guidance over tourism, campaign over social media, etc.
Principles of Marketing Planning
The concept of determining aims and objectives of the company and developing
appropriate strategies for the promotional activities to achieve the desired goals. These planning
and strategies have various principles which are as follows:
 Product :- Product in destination marketing is meant by expressing what a company is
attempting to promote or market. These products mostly conveys the local speciality of
the particular location or city. It is comprised of various components such as Speciality
Food and Beverages, Accommodation, sceneries, historical monuments, etc. Product
basically covers every activity experienced during that tour by the visitors and tourists.
For example: Tour & Travels company XYZ is organising a Travel Package to London

for 9Days & 8 Nights. The activities offered in this trip would be visit to Buckingham
Palace, Bus Tour of London City, Breakfast and Dinner at prominent restaurants, a
luxurious stay in 5 star hotel, and much more(Kalandides, 2020).
 Price :- This factor determines the cost to be incurred for visitors for their travel package
or journey. Price allows tourists to decide whether the travel package to particular
location is high priced or low priced. It allows visitors to analyse the costs to be incurred
and organise a estimated amount for travelling to a City or a location. Price is the major
element of competition between the destination marketing consultancy firms. Moreover,
low pricing factor could lead in attracting more customers as compared to higher pricing
factor. For example: A trip to London costs 2300 Euros for 8 days and 7 nights. Scotland
and Jewels of UK's travel package would cost 1500 Euro for the same duration of 8 days
and 7 nights.
 Place :- Place in destination marketing conveys the distribution system of services
provided by the travel guide to the tourists. It involves several activities to allow the
customer tourist to be able to have the services when and where travellers and tourists
want it. It also includes the place the tourists visits and stay. Place is considered as the
biggest attraction for tourists in purchasing a travel package(Önder, Gunter and Gindl,
2020). For example: Trip to Amsterdam with luxury accommodation and dining in
renowned and expensive places.
 Promotion :- Promotion in destination marketing is meant by escalating awareness for
the presence of tourism destinations, accommodation, facilities, travel packages, etc. This
element is essential to increase business by attracting visitors and tourists for the
packages offered. This factor includes advertising hotels, activities in that area,
Restaurants, etc. Promotional activities are performed over various platforms such as
Social Media, Print media, advertisements, posting articles, etc. These activities enhances
profitability for the tour organisers and results in developing a good reputation of the
destination. For example: Sponsored promotion of travel pages on social media, radio and
television ads promoting locations or travel destinations, Posters over street boards, and
many more (Roy, Dryl and de Araujo Gil, 2021).

Key elements of Destination Marketing
Destination Marketing is a wide concept comprised of various key elements affecting its
activities and practices. These aspects result in influencing visitors positively as well as
negatively in choosing a destination for their trip. These key elements also known as 5A's of
Destination marketing are as follows:
 Access :- This factor conveys the feasibility in approaching the destination offered in
travelling package by tour and travel organiser. Feasibility in reaching to destinations will
attract more visitors while on the other hand complexity in approaching the destination
will affect negatively for the travel organisers. For instance, people prefer to go for
travelling at locations with feasible reach and comfort. This factor also includes facilities
provided by the travel organisers and transportation provided for journey. Destination
marketing consultancy could develop favourable strategies to attract more tourists. For
example:, travel package of Beach destination will attract more tourists than tour
packages of mountaineering and hiking(Bastiaansen and et. al., 2020) .
 Accommodation :- Accommodation is meant the place where the visitors will stay in the
destination travelling. This influencing factor plays a major role in attracting tourists with
manifesting adequate quality accommodations in their travel package. Accommodation is
one of the major part of tourism as every visitor or tourist travelling will look after
favourable and suitable accommodation facilities. For example: A trip to London with
beach facing accommodations and luxury stay for a week.
 Attractions :- Attractions in Distance marketing is meant by the speciality that attracts
visitors and tourists to that location. Attraction could be anything special about that
particular location such as their Culture, infrastructure, festive events, architecture, etc.
Primarily people plan trips and tours with the excitement of these attractions of any
destination. These attractions contribute in increasing tourism and visitors in that location
which results in development of the location as well as generating employment
opportunities. For example: Attractions in UK are considered as Stonehenge, Tower of
London, Georgian City of Bath, The British Museum, etc.
 Activities :- Activities available in any particular location are essential for travel
organisers to attract people for their package offered. These activities are basically
divided into 4 segments such as Food Tourism, Wellness Tourism, Adventure Tourism,

and Recreational Tourism. Activities available in that particular determines the
experience of tourists and visitors during their tours and travelling. For example: In a trip
to UK several activities are Italian style village in Wales, perch on Arthur's seat, view of
seals at Blakeney Point in Norfolk, Scottish highlands, etc.
 Amenities :- Amenities are the necessary and essential facilities that are required for
general public as well as tourists in that location(Sotiriadis, 2021) . This factor facilitates
comfort and ease in experience of that trip and tour to that particular destination. For
example: restrooms, connectivity, transportation, emergency services, drinking water, etc.
The different digital marketing tools for promoting and advertising
The tourism market is huge where digital marketing shares the relevant information about
the marketing campaigns in real-time. Nowadays, all the travel companies can easily capture the
large and target audience which they were not able to do before. Digital marketing allows to
record the data so that it can be analysed to understand the customers better and give them what
they want. The different digital marketing tools which are used for promoting and advertising a
specific destination are as follows-
 Simple bookings- Giving a hassle-free and fast online booking experience is a good way
to treat them. Customers read reviews, compare prices with services offered because they
have multiple options for inquiry about room availability. It also includes content, video,
website page or other marketing efforts to help the guests to book a travel destination that
can surely help them relax and be stress-free. Automated SMS and email reminder
messages can be used to tell the key features about the prices and facilities (Marascoand
et.al., 2018).
 Lead enrichment tools- Attracting the customers in tourism business is a complex
process and also the most challenging part is generating the high quality leads. Engaging
the customers is a tricky task where happy and well taken care customers will become
returning customers. The company can get in tough of customers no matter where they
will be in the world and by reviewing the customers it can be understood about their
experiences and expectations to serve them better. Leads can also be created by a good
website to drive the quality traffic to potential customers on website. It is also necessary
to make sure that the website is is optimized for mobile devices so that it can load fast.

 Customer Engagement-The advancement in technology helps to record and share their
experiences as people can now stay in their bedrooms and watch a guy or group of people
doing various activities like adventure or eating which inspires them to do the same
experiences. It is also preferable to ask for customer reviews to maintain the level of their
satisfaction. A well designed appreciative emails for thanking them for visiting and
choosing their company can also keep them engaged (Ryan, 2018).
 Social Media- Post at any social media allows the travellers to get featured with the help
of reviews or comments. Main information can be shared through the review, feedback or
testimonials. Both good and critics feedback helps to further improve the service quality
so that the customers can be served better. The world is becoming more inclined towards
digital lives as the billions of people are using the social media.
 E-mail marketing-It plays a major role in the tourism marketing as it helps to capture
the warm leads and turn them into the customers. E-mail marketing is best and effective
way for lead generation channel. Moreover, it allows the travel companies to provide all
the updates and details to the customers(Ying and et. al., 2021). It is one of the easiest
way to retain he customers by communicating with them on a regular basis by using
email marketing and software programs.
 Influencer marketing- By using influencer marketing it is easier to draw the social
attention and gain fame. The brands and marketers have found it easy to use influencer
marketing because there are countless social media users which get inspired and affected
by their influencers. There are varieties of ways through which the brand holds attention
such as posts, stories, IGTV or live. It allows the travellers a high resolution and social
appearance. During an influencer campaign, it is important to being responsible for what
the influencer says and suggests(Inkson and Minnaert,, 2018).
Role and services of DMOs in Destination Marketing
Destination Marketing Organisation (DMOs) is referred to a organisation that regulates
the promotion of a particular location to attract visitors and tourists towards that location and
enhancing tourism. These organisation promote tourism and provide essential information to
people so that people could prepare themselves accordingly. Role of DMOs in Destination
Marketing are as follows:

 Assuring Sustainability :- Travel and tourism council and authorities are uplifting the
need of preserving travel destination for tourists as well as localists. These organisation
facilitates sustainability in by increasing tourism and acknowledging need for
maintaining environmental sustainability(An, Choi and Lee, 2021). The revenue and
income generated from tourism is used for development of location's infrastructure and
maintenance. This income could be used for maintaining several resources such as
historical, natural, and cultural in a sustainable manner. Therefore, DMOs provide
additional value to the tourism industry in any nation.
 Enhancing Tourism Culture :- DMOs facilitates in regulating a healthy tourism culture
and increasing efficiency in tourism. Enhancement in tourism culture is meant by
providing better facilities to tourists, reducing costs incurred, increasing profitability,
maintaining sustainability, etc. People easily get attracted towards a healthy and efficient
tourism culture as it has least complications and highest comfortable experience of tours.
DMOs are aimed at providing quality experience and increasing tourism in that particular
location or city. This function of DMOs result in enhancing the tourism in both quantity
as well as quality basis (Pachucki, Grohs and Scholl-Grissemann, 2021) .
 Restricting Over tourism :- Over tourism is meant by gathering of people higher than
the availability of accommodation and facilities. DMOs has been raising awareness for
the negative impacts of Over tourism and take complete precautions for maintaining
tourism on quantity basis. Over tourism generates several problems such as Worst travel
experience, corrosion over heritage builds, barriers from residents of that location, etc.
This would lead to make public places conjuncted and bad experience for every person
present there. Therefore, DMOs maintain healthy tourism as bad experience of people
affects tourism in quantity(Jin and Cheng, 2020) .
 Establishing a powerful brand image :- DMOs supports in maintaining a smooth and
appropriate tourism culture. Visitors and tourists are experiencing delightful pleasure in
their trips and tours. When the people are satisfied with the experience of travelling it
results in building a positive brand image of the location or destination. Maintaining
resources, controlling over tourism, enhancing facilities, regulating a smooth flow of
tourism culture, and much more are the practices that allows DMOs to provide additional
value to the tourism sector(Johar and et. al., 2021) .

Challenges faced by DMOs in Destination Marketing
Destination Management Organisation in its regular activities and practices faces some
issues or challenges. These challenges enforces DMOs to make appropriate strategies to cope up
with these issues and eliminating deviations in the smooth flow of tourism. These challenges
affecting DMOs are as follows:
 Adaptation of changes in Technology :- Technology has universal presence with
immense up gradations and constant growth. Technological aspects are needed to be cope
up with working of DMOs to improve efficiency in tourism culture and maintaining
healthy tourism. Tourism culture is a vast atmosphere in its own, and to regulate changes
in working of this culture needs time and huge efforts. Implementation of new
technological aspects into working is not a easy task in terms of activities and practices in
tourism culture. For example: Booking system has been rapidly growing electronically
over internet but its not that easy for authorities to regulate these into working(Demirkol
and Cifci, 2020) .
 Meeting Visitor Expectations :- Every tourists and visitor arrive to the destination with
one or many expectations from that location or trip/tour. Customer satisfaction is an
essentially important element in tourism industry which requires fulfilment of tourist
expectations. These expectations sometimes develop into challenge for the tourism
department when the tourists demands irrelevant facilities or services. For example: A
jungle safari will never allow a visitor to step down the vehicle at any cost even also if
the tourists is demanding for it(Mariani, 2020) .
 Impact of Pandemic over Tourism :- Tourism industry has been the most affected in
the duration of pandemic Covid-19 as people were not even stepping out of houses.
Every single person has avoided tourism and travelling to any city or location. Tourism
has incurred huge losses in this duration of Pandemic and also it has been the most
significant and horrific experience. DMOs are trying every ounce of their potential in
recovery from this disastrous pandemic(Cooper and Buckley, 2021) . This challenge has
been faced by every nation's tourism culture and every element of this culture is putting
efforts for recovering from the huge damage. For example: Travel organisers have been
clearly determining safety precautions in their tours and travelling to eliminate the risk of

people getting infected. This positive initiative develops a safety belief among tourists
and attracts them towards their travel package.
Conclusion
The above report concluded that tourism marketing is helpful in teaching the techniques
and strategies which help in promotional activities. It is the business discipline of attracting
visitors to a specific location. Hence, as a result of this, it is easy to identify the target market and
attract new customers so that loyalty can be developed and identified. The report also inferred
that there are several challenges which can be faced by DMOs and the role of DMOs in
marketing a destination.

References
Books and Journals
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