University Destination Marketing Report: Gold Coast, Australia

This report provides an in-depth analysis of destination marketing, focusing on the Gold Coast of Australia. It begins with an executive summary and table of contents, introducing the concept of destination marketing and its importance in the tourism industry. The discussion section evaluates the strengths of the Gold Coast's current image, highlighting its appeal as a tourist and entertainment spot, known for its beaches, surfing, and nightlife. It then examines the weaknesses, including crime records and environmental issues affecting its image. Recommendations for strengthening the brand image are provided, such as controlling crime, improving infrastructure, and increasing local business development. The report concludes by summarizing the Gold Coast's image as a leisure and recreational destination and emphasizing the significance of effective destination marketing and image building to attract more tourists. References are included for further reading.

Running head: DESTINATION MARKETING
Destination Marketing
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Authors note

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DESTINATION MARKETING
Executive Summary
This report presents the aspect of destination marketing in the tourism business. The
selected destination is Gold Coast and the destination image of this tourist spot is
evaluated in this study. The strength and weaknesses of the brand image of Gold
Coast is examined and the recommendations for better image building is suggested
accordingly.

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Table of Contents
Introduction...................................................................................................................3
Discussion....................................................................................................................3
Strength of its current image..................................................................................3
Weakness of its current image..............................................................................4
Recommendation for strengthening the image...................................................4
Conclusion....................................................................................................................5
References...................................................................................................................6

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DESTINATION MARKETING
Introduction
Destination marketing is basically promotion of a place in order to attract more
visitors in that place. In tourism industry, the idea of destination image is gaining
popularity in recent times. The purchase decision of the travelers depends on the
destination image that they have in their mind. When they are given choices of travel
destination, they prefer to choose the travelling point which have the most positive
image in their mind.
Discussion
The destination selected for this report is Gold Coast of Australia.
Strength of its current image
Brand image is one of the most important aspect of any product marketing.
The definition of brand image states that it is the reflection of the brand that exists in
the memory of the consumer (Hosany, Ekinci and Uysal 2007). The creation of this
image could be done through direct contact or information source or inference from
pre-existing associations. The travelers have a positive image of Gold Coast as a
tourist and entertainment spot. The place is known for its wide beaches, surfing
facilities and beautiful and affordable hotels.
If one thinks of the name Gold Coast the first image that comes to the mind of
people is surfing. This site has become center of attraction even for the school
students. This place is almost known as a “Schoolies Week institution”. The tourism
companies has been successful to build the image of this place where people of
each age can have a lot of fun.
The place is also known for its nightlife, hinterland and shopping destination.
Business events are organized in this place for its scenic beauty and attractive
accommodation combinations (Abodeeb, Wilson and Moyle 2015). Sports events like
Magic Millions Raceday is the source of entertainment for many visitors. International
entertainment and sport events are organized in Gold Coast which gives the place
great exposure.

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DESTINATION MARKETING
The experiences of the tourists that provides the destination competitive edge
are surfing, local cuisine, nightlife, sports and games and the cultural amalgamation
in the coast. The destination image is therefore quite attractive and strong, giving it
the status of premier holiday’s destination.
Weakness of its current image
Positive brand image of a place could give it competitive advantage. At the
same time, negative image could reduce the number of tourists at a tourist place
(Kim and Perdue 2011). The first negative image that has been built in the mind of
consumers is its crime record. This place had bad reputation for its “out of control”
life styles. Tourists who come to visit this place sometimes call it trashy and tacky.
The young students of Schoolies who come to Gold Coast for after-exam relaxation,
often involve themselves in binge drinking, sexual promiscuity and rowdiness.
Again the golden beaches of Gold Coast is disappearing because of the
natural calamities. The beachfront private properties are also being effected by the
severe cyclones (Morrison 2018). The wildlife of sea is being effected by the noise of
the beach races and sports. This spot has been unable to attract the interest of the
local people.
The wildlife variations of this coast has been a reason of attraction for many
people. The recent incidents of human and Jelly fish encounters are not pleasant.
There are more than 5000 people each year who suffered from giant Jelly fish
stinging. Other than that one might get in touch with the deadly stone fish and bull
sharks in the beaches. This is one of the reason that some tourists are not interested
to visit the coast.
Recommendation for strengthening the image
The first thing that Gold Coast government need to do to increase its brand
image is controlling crime. The infrastructure of a place is crucial to attract the
tourists. This place already have beautifully built hotels and beaches. But there is a
lack of control.
Superstructures of Gold Coast are famous among tourists, but sustainability is
an important issue. Again, local business development and local tourist involvement

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is not there in Gold Coast. This issues need to be addressed by the government to
get more profitable business from this tourist spot.
Correcting the image of this place through sustainable building practices could
be a good plan (Kock, Josiassen and Assaf 2016). For this improvement schemes
there could be a private and public partnership. The range of product offering need
to be increased to get competitive advantages. This will increase the average
spending and length of stay at Gold Coast.
Conclusion
Gold Coast is considered to be a place of leisure and recreational activities by
the external visitors. To the internal people of the country, it is a place that have
good work culture and quality of life here is great. This tourist destination has the
image of a city that is full of vast environmental diversities and leisure activities.
Destination marketing and image building could be effective in attracting more
tourists.

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References
Abodeeb, J., Wilson, E. and Moyle, B., 2015. Shaping destination image and identity:
insights for Arab tourism at the Gold Coast, Australia. International Journal of
Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research, 9(1), pp.6-21.
Hosany, S., Ekinci, Y. and Uysal, M., 2007. “Destination Image and Destination
Personality”, International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research,
1(1), 62-81.
Kim, D. and Perdue, R. R., 2011. “The Influence of Image on Destination
Attractiveness”, Journal of Travel and Tourism Marketing, 28, 225-239.
Kock, F., Josiassen, A. and Assaf, A.G., 2016. Advancing destination image: The
destination content model. Annals of Tourism Research, 61, pp.28-44.
Morrison, A., 2018. Marketing and Managing Tourism Destinations, pp. 84-85 & 89-
91.