Best Practice Marketing for Regional Tourism Destinations

This article was downloaded by: [Pennsylvania State University]On: 26 August 2012, At: 02:31Publisher: RoutledgeInforma Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registered office: Mortimer House,37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK

Journal of Travel & Tourism MarketingPublication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information:http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/wttm20

Best Practice Marketing for Regional TourismDestinationsCarmen Cox a & Meredith Wray ba Hotel and Resort Management in the School of Hotel, Resort and Tourism Management,Bond University in Gold Coast, QLD 4229, Australiab School of Tourism and Hospitality Management, Southern Cross University, Airport Campus,in Tweed Heads, NSW, Australia

Version of record first published: 20 Jul 2011

To cite this article: Carmen Cox & Meredith Wray (2011): Best Practice Marketing for Regional Tourism Destinations, Journalof Travel & Tourism Marketing, 28:5, 524-540

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10548408.2011.588112

PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE

Full terms and conditions of use: http://www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-and-conditions

This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematicreproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing, systematic supply, or distribution in any form toanyone is expressly forbidden.

The publisher does not give any warranty express or implied or make any representation that the contentswill be complete or accurate or up to date. The accuracy of any instructions, formulae, and drug doses shouldbe independently verified with primary sources. The publisher shall not be liable for any loss, actions, claims,proceedings, demand, or costs or damages whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly inconnection with or arising out of the use of this material.

http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/wttm20

http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10548408.2011.588112

http://www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-and-conditions

Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 28:524–540, 2011Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group, LLCISSN: 1054-8408 print / 1540-7306 onlineDOI: 10.1080/10548408.2011.588112

BEST PRACTICE MARKETING FOR REGIONALTOURISM DESTINATIONS

Carmen CoxMeredith Wray

ABSTRACT. This article reports on destination marketing best practices from 21 regional destina-tions around Australia. The results advocate an integrative approach to destination marketing that alignswith destination management and development objectives. From this, a framework is developed, withinwhich nine best practice principles are identified as essential to successful and sustainable marketing ofregional destinations. The key initiatives used to achieve success are discussed in detail, highlightingthe need for destination stakeholders to foster a cooperative and strategic approach and ensure consis-tent design and delivery of a destination brand and image which is supported by tactical advertisingand promotional strategies, effective visitor information services, and events to support the destinationbrand and image to target appropriate visitor markets.

KEYWORDS. Destination marketing, tourism marketing, best practice, regional tourism, tourismdestination

INTRODUCTION

Tourism is an important contributor to the econ-omy and sustainable development of regionalareas in Australia. It is often advocated asa means to diversify economic conditions inrural and regional areas by providing alternativesources of employment and income generationin times of downturn in traditional industriessuch as agriculture and forestry (Parliamentof Victoria Rural and Regional Committee,2008). This article presents the findings ofa 3-year study funded by the SustainableTourism Cooperative Research Centre (STCRC)conducted in Australia. The aim of theresearch was to determine what regional tourismstakeholders, from 21 regional destinations

Carmen Cox, PhD, is Associate Professor of Hotel and Resort Management in the School ofHotel, Resort and Tourism Management at Bond University in Gold Coast, QLD 4229, Australia(E-mail: [email protected]).

Meredith Wray, PhD, is in the School of Tourism and Hospitality Management at Southern CrossUniversity, Airport Campus, in Tweed Heads, NSW, Australia (E-mail: [email protected]).

Address correspondence to: Carmen Cox, PhD, at the above address.

around Australia, considered to have contributedto best practice for the sustainable planning,management, development, and marketing ofregional tourism destinations in Australia. Thisarticle focuses on the lessons learned specifi-cally about successful regional tourism destina-tion marketing.

For the purpose of this study, best practiceis defined as practices that prove effective inenhancing and improving the sustainable perfor-mance of a destination. These practices may be atechnique, method, procedure, decision, action,or process that has been implemented and shownto be successful. It should be acknowledged, thatwhile the researchers recognized that lessonscan be learned from poor or failed practice, thefocus of this research was specifically aimed

524

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Penn

sylv

ania

Sta

te U

nive

rsity

] at

02:

31 2

6 A

ugus

t 201

2

Carmen Cox and Meredith Wray 525

at identifying and reporting best practice. Asnoted by Yuksel and Yuksel (2005), “the valueof studying and learning from the good practicesof others for destinations in need of assistancecan hardly be debated” (p. 667).

The article begins with a review of liter-ature related to destination marketing, outlin-ing the results of studies to date and existingframeworks proposed to showcase how desti-nations can retain competitiveness and marketeffectively.

LITERATURE ON DESTINATIONMARKETING

Fostering an Integrated and SustainableApproach to Destination Marketing

The need to market a destination has beenwell-established as one of the essential man-agement components required to ensure a com-petitive tourism destination (Crouch & Ritchie,1999; Ritchie & Crouch, 2003). Destinationmarketing has traditionally focused on imagecreation and promotion aimed at achievinggrowth in domestic and international visita-tion. Recent research shows that destinationmarketing should adopt a sustainable approachwhere marketing is integrated with sustain-able destination management and developmentobjectives to ensure the needs of both visitorsand residents are met in regional communi-ties (Buhalis, 2000). Under such an approach,marketing has a “dual responsibility” to con-serve the resources of a tourist destination aswell as to provide a high quality visitor expe-rience (Jenkins & McArthur, 1996). Destinationmarketing should therefore be considered as astrategic tourism management tool that providesa balance between stakeholders’ objectives forthe development of tourism in the region as wellas ensuring the sustainability of the destination’sresources (Buhalis, 2000; Blumberg, 2005).Marketing can also be used as a managementtool to ensure that the “right kind” of tourismis developed within regions, to take account oftourism capacity and visitor management issues.Destination marketing should also serve as amechanism to facilitate regional development

objectives to ensure that the strategic objec-tives of destinations are achieved (Richins &Pearce, 2000).

While a number of studies have focused onspecific aspects of destination marketing, fewhave explored the success of destination mar-keting from an integrated perspective. One ofthe few studies that adopted this approach isthat of Bornhorst, Ritchie, and Sheehan (2010)which explored the overall success factors of 25Canadian destinations. Haven-Tang, Jones, andWebb (2007) sought to identify critical successfactors for business tourism destinations, notingthat research into “best practices” was essen-tial to ensuring a better awareness of how tosucceed in this specific market segment; how-ever, the focus of this study was not specificallyon marketing. Research by Baker and Cameron(2008) focused on a holistic understanding ofthe critical success factors in destination mar-keting, although their conclusions were basedsolely on an extensive literature review with-out seeking the direct views and experiences ofindustry stakeholders.

A destination marketing planning frameworkdeveloped by Laws (1995) proposed five keyphases of marketing a destination that linkedto development objectives. In the “diagnosisphase,” destinations must assess the currentmarket situation including an audit of exist-ing tourist facilities, identification of tourists’preferences and behaviors regarding the desti-nation, and identification of competitor desti-nations. The “prognosis phase” looks more tothe future with regard to plans for the destina-tion’s development. The remaining three phasesinclude: setting objectives for the regional des-tination; implementing marketing strategy (e.g.,formulating destination image and targeting cer-tain tourist markets, etc.); and monitoring mar-keting performance (Laws, 1995). The WorldTourism Organization (WTO, 1999) also pro-posed a model for marketing destinations in asustainable manner. It too suggests that desti-nations begin with the process of inventoryingtheir existing tourism attractions and facilities aswell as identifying potential destinations whichmay be considered as competitors. From this,the WTO (1999) then recommends that des-tinations clarify what the local community’s

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Penn

sylv

ania

Sta

te U

nive

rsity

] at

02:

31 2

6 A

ugus

t 201

2

526 JOURNAL OF TRAVEL & TOURISM MARKETING

objectives are with respect to tourism. Thisshould be followed by an estimation of currentand future demand levels compared to capac-ity levels, assessing the support services andpublic facilities needed to meet this level ofdesired demand, determining which target mar-kets should be the focus for the destination, andfinally—developing a promotional program thatwill match existing facilities to the needs of thetarget market and the objectives of the localcommunity.

A similar process is also presented by Pike(2004) and Seaton and Bennett (1996). Morerecently, Elbe, Hallen, and Axelsson (2009) pro-pose an integrated destination marketing pro-cess which they suggest revolves around threekey functions. Their research suggests that inorder to reach “destination success,” DMOsmust cleverly apply their marketing activi-ties while simultaneously focusing on resourceacquisition and development as well as fos-tering networks and alliances related to thedestination.

Critical Success Factors for DestinationMarketing

A number of success factors are identifiedin the marketing literature as being criticalto the process of destination marketing. Forexample, a study of marketing strategies con-ducted by destination marketing bodies in morethan 35 states in the United States, revealedapproximately 80 different marketing activitiesranging from traditional forms of advertisingto development of unique destination “iden-tities,” commissioning of marketing research,and providing formal assistance to communi-ties who are attempting to develop a tourismindustry (Hawes, Taylor, & Hampe, 1991).The principal components of destination mar-keting from the literature are summarized inTable 1. As illustrated in this Table, existingresearch on destination marketing has generallyfocused on specific aspects involved in promot-ing and marketing an area rather than focusingon an integrated approach toward this criticalactivity in tourism. Some of the most impor-tant aspects of destination marketing are nowdiscussed.

Cooperation and Coordination ofMarketing Effort

As part of this broader destination man-agement context, it is important to recognizethat there are multiple players involved inthe marketing of destination regions (Buhalis,2000; Prideaux & Cooper, 2002). Studies thathave explored the role of destination man-agement organizations (DMOs) have acknowl-edged the challenge of marketing destinationsthat contain many products, producers, andattributes and consequently require many mar-keting activities to be considered (Blumberg,2005; Buhalis, 2000; Elbe et al., 2009; Pike,2004). Cooperation in destination marketingtherefore requires partnerships to be developedbetween public and private sector stakeholdersin tourism (Buhalis, 2000; Prideaux & Cooper,2002). Achieving an integrated approach tomarketing—whereby potential visitors receiveconsistent, themed messages about what aregion has to offer—is considered critical tothe effectiveness and success of its marketingefforts (McDonnell, 1999). DMOs are rarelyever the sole organization involved in market-ing activities as individual private and publicsector organizations will often also undertaketheir own, independent promotional activities(Crouch, 2000; Morgan & Pritchard, 2005; Pike,2004). Tourism destinations can be described ascomprising human activity systems that involve“people and other resources organized into awhole in order to accomplish a purpose. Peoplein the system select and carry out activities—individually and collectively—that will enablethem to attain a collectively identified purpose”(Banathy, n.d., p. 8). Several authors have notedthat possibly the largest challenge for desti-nation marketers is how to bring all of thevarious people together to cooperate in theirmarketing efforts rather than send confusingmessages to the marketplace about their region(Blumberg, 2005; Buhalis, 2000; Pike, 2004).Regional tourism bodies are particularly chal-lenged in terms of coordinating and implement-ing cooperative marketing initiatives (Shields &Schibik, 1995). Case studies of two destinationregions in Queensland (the Sunshine Coast andthe Gold Coast) highlighted that cooperation

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Penn

sylv

ania

Sta

te U

nive

rsity

] at

02:

31 2

6 A

ugus

t 201

2

TAB

LE1.

Des

tinat

ion

Mar

ketin

gA

ctiv

ities

Mar

ketin

gta

sks

Sou

rce

Coo

pera

tive

mar

ketin

gP

ursu

ing

coop

erat

ive

initi

ativ

esbe

twee

nst

akeh

olde

rsw

ithin

the

dest

inat

ion

and

com

plem

enta

ryde

stin

atio

nsto

deve

lop

attr

activ

epa

ckag

es/pr

oduc

toffe

rings

Bha

t&M

ilne,

2008

;D’A

ngel

la&

Go,

2009

;Rei

d,S

mith

,&M

cClo

skey

,200

8;W

ang,

2008

Pro

mot

ing

uniq

ueto

uris

mfe

atur

es,c

lear

imag

es,a

nda

solid

dest

inat

ion

bran

d

Con

duct

ing

audi

tsof

exis

ting

tour

ism

attr

actio

ns/fa

cilit

ies/

serv

ices

inth

ere

gion

Law

s,19

95;S

eato

n&

Ben

nett,

1996

Iden

tifyi

ngun

ique

dest

inat

ion

feat

ures

tobe

used

toes

tabl

ish

ast

rong

posi

tion

inth

em

arke

tpla

ceB

lack

man

etal

.,20

04;B

uhal

is,2

000;

Cro

cket

t&W

ood,

1999

;Min

ghet

ti,20

01;M

orga

n,et

al.,

2003

Und

erst

andi

ngth

epe

rcei

ved

dest

inat

ion

imag

ehe

ldby

the

mar

ketp

lace

and

deve

lopi

nga

stro

ngbr

and

imag

eof

dest

inat

ions

asde

sire

dby

stak

ehol

ders

Ahm

ed,1

991;

Bla

in,L

evy

&R

itchi

e,20

05;E

chtn

er&

Ritc

hie,

1993

;Mor

gan

&P

ritch

ard,

2005

;Prid

eaux

&C

oope

r,20

02;S

eato

n&

Ben

nett,

1996

Est

ablis

hing

tour

ism

“the

mes

”fo

rre

gion

sB

lack

man

etal

.,20

04;B

uhal

is,2

000

Targ

etm

arke

tsE

valu

atin

gva

rious

tour

ists

egm

ents

and

thei

rre

spec

tive

dest

inat

ion-

fit(i.

e.,

targ

etm

arke

ting)

Dol

nica

r&

Leis

ch,2

008;

Kas

tenh

olz,

2004

;Pik

e,20

04

Pro

mot

ion,

dist

ribut

ion,

and

pric

ing

ofth

ede

stin

atio

nP

rom

otin

gth

ede

stin

atio

nan

dge

nera

ting

publ

icity

for

ade

stin

atio

nto

both

cons

umer

san

dth

etr

avel

trad

eM

cDon

nell,

1999

;Mor

gan

&P

ritch

ard,

2005

;Prid

eaux

&C

oope

r,20

02P

rovi

ding

advi

ceon

pric

ing

stra

tegy

toin

divi

dual

tour

ism

oper

ator

s/di

strib

utor

sB

uhal

is,2

000

Iden

tifyi

ngan

dco

nnec

ting

with

the

mos

tsui

tabl

edi

strib

utio

nch

anne

lsto

faci

litat

epr

omot

ion

ofth

ede

stin

atio

nK

ing,

2002

Est

ablis

hing

Vis

itor

Info

rmat

ion

Cen

ters

Pea

rce,

2004

Mar

ketin

gre

sear

chC

ondu

ctin

gva

rious

form

sof

mar

ketr

esea

rch

toen

sure

ongo

ing

visi

tor

satis

fact

ion,

appr

opria

tede

stin

atio

nim

ages

,etc

.R

itchi

e&

Ritc

hie,

2002

Mea

surin

gm

arke

ting

perf

orm

ance

/ev

alua

tion

Alfo

rd,2

005

Iden

tifyi

ngan

dm

anag

ing

seas

onal

itypa

ttern

sin

dem

and

Buh

alis

,200

0Q

ualit

yex

perie

nces

Man

agin

gqu

ality

and

sust

aini

ngth

ede

stin

atio

nS

imps

on&

Sig

uaw

,200

8

527

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Penn

sylv

ania

Sta

te U

nive

rsity

] at

02:

31 2

6 A

ugus

t 201

2


between destination stakeholders is essential toenable destinations to grow through marketing(Prideaux & Cooper, 2002).

The development of coordinated or integra-tive frameworks that foster stakeholder coop-eration provides an opportunity to fulfill goalsof equity, and provide a decision-making pro-cess that is more inclusive of the full rangeof values, opinions, and interests for tourism(Hall, 2000). Rather than this occurring at astate or regional level, there is an opportu-nity for this coordination to be developed at adestination level involving public and privatesector actor agencies and actors and interested“attentive public” groups (Wray, 2009). Thisprovides “a clearer space for public argumentand debate” (Smyth, 1994 cited by Hall 2000,p. 280) where destination stakeholders withan interest in tourism planning and decision-making “find a common platform or pur-pose for negotiation and compromise” (Dredge,2006, p. 570).

Promoting Unique Tourism Features, ClearImages, and a Solid Brand

One of the ultimate requirements of a suc-cessful destination marketing strategy is for theregion to be able to present a unique identity topotential visitors (Morgan, Pritchard, & Piggott,2003). A case study of destination branding inNew Zealand determined the need for key brandvalues to be clearly articulated and translatedinto an emotionally appealing and enticing mes-sage to attract visitors (Morgan et al., 2003).In a review of 11 case studies of successfultourism developments in peripheral regions, oneof the themes that emerged was that a uniqueset of experiences should be provided to poten-tial visitors that will set the region apart fromits competitors (Blackman, Foster, Hyvonen,Kuilboer, & Moscardo, 2004). It is also rec-ommended that rather than just promoting acollection of attractions available within an areato potential visitors in an ad-hoc manner, regionswould be much more successful if they couldestablish “themed” promotions and brochures,etc., that provide the visitor with a real senseof identify about what the region’s key offeringsare all about (Blackman et al., 2004).

Establishing a clear market position andstrong destination image in the minds of touristsis essential for destinations to gain top of mindawareness when they are considering where totravel to (Crockett & Wood, 1999; King, 2002).As such, providing a destination experience forvisitors that is both unique and appears to beauthentic in light of the destination brand pro-moted is one of the key challenges for tourismmarketers (King, 2002; Morgan & Pritchard,2005). A strong destination image will ensurethat consumers perceive the destination prod-uct correctly, as opposed to being disappointedwhen they arrive at the destination only to findit does not offer what they expected it would(Ahmed, 1991).

Targeting the Right Type of Tourist

Obviously, not all types of tourists are equallysuited and welcomed by any given tourism des-tination. Various segments of the tourist marketshould be considered by the destination stake-holders in terms of their relative “fit” with theattractions available at the destination and thelocal communities’ objectives for tourism (Pike,2004). Based on research conducted in a ruraltourism region, Kastenholz (2004) provides auseful set of criteria that destinations can useto evaluate various tourist segments and assesstheir relative fit with the desired type of destina-tion development and image. As such, one of theearly decisions that a destination must identify is“what kind of visitor are we hoping to attract?”

Promotion, Distribution, and Pricing theDestination Region

Three of the key marketing strategies thatdestinations must plan quite strategically inorder to be successful are (a) how they are goingto promote the destination and its various attrac-tions and facilities, (b) the distribution channelsit needs to access to reach potential visitors,and (c) a general assessment of the overall pricestrategy that may be used to signal the type ofdestination it is and the type of visitor it wantsto attract.

Of these three, pricing is no doubt the mostcontentious issue as individual stakeholderseach control the price offered to visitors for their

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Penn

sylv

ania

Sta

te U

nive

rsity

] at

02:

31 2

6 A

ugus

t 201

2


respective products and services. While there isno such thing as a singular price strategy fora tourist destination, tourists still form percep-tions of the relative expense or affordability of agiven destination based on the various price cuessent to them by individual operators within theregion (Crouch, 2000). Those responsible formarketing the destination, however, rarely havemore than a very limited influence on pricesoffered to visitors (Pike, 2004).

Another key element of destination mar-keting is how to continue to connect withvisitors once they have already arrived inthe regional destination. Establishing effectiveVisitor Information Centers (VICs) in promi-nent locations within smaller, regional tourismareas is critical to promoting the destinationregion (Pearce, 2004; Deery, Jago, Daugherty,Carson, & Adams, 2006). These centers servenot only to promote the region’s tourist attrac-tions and facilities, but also take on the role oforientating visitors to the region and controllingthe flow of tourists within an area. Essentially,they should act not only as promoters of tourism,but also protectors of key natural assets thatrequire visitor numbers and flows to be con-trolled to avoid serious detrimental effects oftourism (Pearce, 2004).

Marketing Research as an Integral Activity

The integral role of research as part of thedestination marketing process was noted byRitchie and Ritchie (2002) in their study ofhow the tourism industry in Alberta, Canadadeveloped a destination marketing informationsystem. Three key areas of research that des-tinations need to engage in as part of theirmarketing processes are noted as (a) an assess-ment of information needs of the destina-tion; (b) developing an inventory of existinginformation resources; and (c) specification ofprimary research tasks needed (e.g., trackingvisitation levels, measuring travel motivations,measuring visitor satisfaction, and evaluationof marketing activities’ effectiveness; Ritchie &Ritchie, 2002). Scanning the market for keychanges that are likely to impact on a tourismregion is also noted as an essential activity tostrategically market a destination by Soteriades

and Avgeli (2007). The need for good mar-ket intelligence and research in order to designeffective marketing strategies was also a keyrecommendation in Blackman et al.’s (2004)study of success factors in peripheral tourismregions.

While the research discussed above has iden-tified many critical factors required to mar-ket destinations, many of these studies havebeen based on destinations with significantresources and well-established tourism indus-tries that have existed for some time. Few havefocused on the marketing initiatives used bysmaller, more regional destinations. As such thisstudy adds to existing research by exploringwhat best practices are considered to have con-tributed toward successful marketing of regionaltourism destinations based on the knowledgeand experience of relevant tourism industrystakeholders.

METHODOLOGY

A case study methodology was used todevelop an understanding of the practices thathave shaped the sustainable planning, man-agement, development, and marketing of the21 regional destinations selected for analysis.The case study approach is considered to bea highly suitable research strategy to under-stand and develop in-depth understandings ofcomplex social phenomena and unfolding pro-cesses within contextual situations (Yin, 2009).The process of identifying best practices forsustainable destination planning, management,development, and marketing of regional tourismdestinations for this research involved the fol-lowing five phases: (a) destination selection,(b) destination workshops, (c) destination casestudies, (d) cross-case analysis, and (e) pilotcases.

Phase 1: Destination Selection

An Industry Reference Group, comprisinga representative from each state and terri-tory tourism organization, was first establishedto guide the research project. The Industry

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Penn

sylv

ania

Sta

te U

nive

rsity

] at

02:

31 2

6 A

ugus

t 201

2


FIGURE 1. Destinations Selected for Analysis of Best Practice (color figure available online)

Reference Group were asked to nominate threedestinations from each of their jurisdictions torepresent a mix of specific destinations whichrepresented different stages of development(emerging, growth, or mature); were known tohave initiated “best practice”; and were interest-ing and varied case studies. The selected casesare shown in Figure 1.

Phase 2: Destination Workshops

Representatives of stakeholder organizationsand groups actively engaged in the planning,management, development, and marketing oftourism were invited to participate in focusgroup workshops undertaken in each of theselected destinations. Workshops explored whatparticipants had learned from practice, andwhat they considered to have contributed tobest practice in the areas of planning, man-agement, development, and marketing of theirdestinations.

Phase 3: Destination Case Studies

In-depth case studies were then developedfor the 21 destinations. Case studies sought toexplain a range of factors that had shaped the

evolution of the selected destinations; the coreand supporting resources of each destination;tourism visitation analysis; and the roles, activ-ities, influences, and interactions of stakeholdergroups (across national, state, regional, and des-tination levels) engaged in the planning, man-agement, development, and marketing of theselected destinations. They also sought to findout what destination stakeholders had learnedfrom practice, and what they considered to havecontributed to “best practice” for their desti-nation region. Analysis involved the review ofsecondary data and in-depth interviews. The in-depth interviews with key informants includedrepresentatives from stakeholder organizationswith considerable knowledge in relation to themarketing of the selected case study destina-tions across local, regional, and state/territorylevels. These informants were nominated bythe focus group participants. Interviews wereconducted in a semi-structured format, withquestions varying between destinations, giventhat the aim was to gather additional infor-mation about issues that had emerged duringPhases 1 and 2 of the research. Interviews wererecorded with the permission of participants andlater transcribed before compiling the final case

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Penn

sylv

ania

Sta

te U

nive

rsity

] at

02:

31 2

6 A

ugus

t 201

2


studies containing all data collected during thefocus groups, secondary data collection, andinterviews.

Phase 4: Cross-Case Analysis

A cross-case analysis was then undertakenby the lead researcher. This involved collat-ing the common best practice principles thatemerged from the workshops and case studyresearch for the 21 destinations. For each prin-ciple, the strategies and key influences thathad been undertaken by the 21 destinations toimprove performance and achieve sustainabletourism were identified.

Phase 5: Pilot Cases

Two important regional strategic tourismplanning processes provided the major pilotstudies for this project. Best practice princi-ples and stages derived from the study wereintegrated into the strategic tourism manage-ment plans for Daylesford (Victoria) and ByronShire (New South Wales). Plans included spe-cific strategies and actions for the short-term(1 to 3 years), medium-term (3 to 5 years), andlonger-term (5 to 10 years).

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Nine best practice marketing principlesemerged from the cross-case analysis. Figure 2presents a framework illustrating these practicesand their various components. This frameworksuggests that successful destination marketing isunderpinned by the need for a cooperative andstrategic approach. Within this approach, fourcore practices were identified: (a) establish adestination marketing committee, (b) develop astrategic destination marketing plan that alignswith existing destination plans, (c) conduct rel-evant and on-going research, and (d) identifyand develop new products and experiences.Underpinning this is the essential practice offostering cooperation, which is underpinned byseven key strategies. At the tactical marketinglevel, a further five best practices were identi-fied. Destination branding and positioning (BestPractice 5) is depicted as central to all market-ing activity for regions, impacting on the waya destination selects appropriate target markets(Best Practice 6); develops innovative promo-tions (Best Practice 7); ensures the provisionof quality visitor information and interpretationservices (Best Practice 8); and develops festivals

FIGURE 2. A Framework of Best Practices for Marketing Regional Tourism Destinations

Best Practice 5: Consistent Destination Branding & Clear PositioningEstablish brand objectivesArticulate region’s unique pointsConvey the lifestyle & experience of the regionEnsure “brand fit” with State and/or National brandsIntegrate brand into all collateral and websiteTrack the health of the brand through market awareness and perception research

Best Practice 6Target Appropriate Visitor Segments

Best Practice 9Develop Festivals

& Events

Best Practice 8Provide Quality

Visitor Information & Interpretive

Services

Best Practice 7: Develop Innovative Promotions

Convey key icons Regional identities/celebritiesOnline promotions Highlight local heritage/culture

Consistent messages Itinerary planners/themed trailsAttend trade shows Address misperceptions

Best Practice 1Establish a Dedicated Destination Marketing Committee

Integrate with RTO &

STO

Encourage operator buy-in

Cooperate with

nearby regions

Pool resources

Educate local

community

Identify key

operators as

ambassadors

Strategies to foster

cooperation

Adopt a Cooperative & Strategic Approach to Destination Marketing

Best Practice 2Develop Strategic

Destination Marketing

Plans

Best Practice 4

Identify & Develop

Appropriate New Products &

Experiences

Core Requirements

Tactical Marketing

Foster strong local leadership

Best Practice 3 Conduct

Relevant & On-Going Research

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Penn

sylv

ania

Sta

te U

nive

rsity

] at

02:

31 2

6 A

ugus

t 201

2


and events to showcase the region (Best Practice9). The approaches used to achieve these bestpractices, as reported by destination stakehold-ers, are now discussed.

A Cooperative and Strategic Approach toDestination Marketing

The need for cooperation and coordinationof efforts was noted as integral to all aspectsof successful destination marketing. While thissupports previous studies by Buhalis (2000),Crouch (2000), and others, the results extendresearch regarding cooperative marketing byidentifying seven key drivers of successful coop-eration.

Evidence from the case studies suggeststhat the establishment of a dedicated andexperienced marketing committee who willinform decisions about destination marketingfor a regional destination is an essential prac-tice. Case study regions highlighted that anyRegional Tourism Organization (RTO) or otherregional marketing group require outstandingleadership and strong tourism community cham-pions who have not only the experience tomarket a region, but also a vision for wherethe region should be headed with its market-ing direction. This involves encouraging andsupporting local leaders with extensive tourismor professional expertise to drive collaborativeapproaches to destination management and mar-keting through sound decision-making, analyti-cal capabilities, and engagement with stakehold-ers (across local, regional, and state levels) andtheir local community.

The destination must also lobby for supportfrom their State Tourism Organization (STO)and seek assistance in leading cooperative mar-keting efforts. This cooperative marketing bodyshould be lead by, or at least well-integratedwith, an RTO which has a rapport with localoperators and businesses to enable successfulcooperative marketing initiatives to be devel-oped. Whether formally established as an RTOor less formally as regional marketing commit-tees, a strong coordinating body was noted toresult in continuity, focus, and enduring part-nerships in regional tourism. Strong leadershipof these marketing bodies was noted as critical,

with direction needed from one of more individ-uals who have a clear vision for the future oftourism in the region. RTOs were considered toplay a key role in motivating and inspiring localbusinesses within a region to work together.Strategies employed by RTOs to achieve thisincluded recruiting personnel with strong pub-lic relations skills, not only to market the region,but also to promote and develop operator buy-into the idea that cooperation between a multi-tude of stakeholders involved in the destinationis needed.

Having established the importance of localleadership in destination marketing, researchparticipants noted that the next fundamentalpractice was to ensure marketing was drivenvia a strategic destination marketing planningprocess. To facilitate the development of strate-gic marketing plans regional destinations needto gain the support of their STO to assist withfunding and expertise for strategic marketingplanning. Consultation with local government,business, and community stakeholders is alsoessential to assess their views and preferencesand determine a vision and direction for market-ing of the region.

During the strategic marketing planningprocess, stakeholders viewed ongoing and rel-evant research as an essential practice. Regularprofiling of tourism capacity within the regionalong with visitation performance, visitor sat-isfaction, and market awareness studies wereconsidered essential to the planning process.Such studies enabled regions to detect changesin travel preferences and identify new or futureniche markets. Regions took advantage of thevarious research made available via their STOs,noting that research could only be relied onwhen it is of high quality.

Significantly, such research was oftennoted to lead to identification of new prod-uct development opportunities or needs fornew visitor experiences within the region, thefourth best practice of the destination market-ing planning process. Developing new prod-ucts in peripheral parts of the region wasfound highly effective to disperse visitors morebroadly through a region, often having the sec-ondary benefits of avoiding overvisitation of keyicon attractions and also extending the guests’

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Penn

sylv

ania

Sta

te U

nive

rsity

] at

02:

31 2

6 A

ugus

t 201

2


length of stay in the region. Any development ofnew products and experiences in the region hadto be carefully considered, however, to ensurethat it will fit well with the existing brand imagedesired by the destination as a whole.

An example of these destination market-ing practices was demonstrated by the Noosaregion, a significant coastal destination locatedin Queensland. Noosa is predominantly mar-keted by its RTO “Tourism Noosa.” Noosa hasreceived a number of awards recognizing itssuccess in destination marketing and promotion.Participants acknowledged that this was mainlydue to the implementation of successful mar-keting plans and strategies in conjunction withongoing collaboration by regional stakeholders.Their plan clearly articulates a set of marketingobjectives for the region including: the need tobuild a strong regional tourism brand, even outthe seasonal troughs associated with visitation,enhance the visitor experience through promo-tion of a diverse set of attractions, increasingvisitor yield, and influencing conversion to visitthe region. Stemming from this plan and itsobjectives, Tourism Noosa then devised a clearset of strategies to achieve these aims, rangingfrom the launching of new festivals and eventsto boost visitation in quiet periods through toputting in place strategies to improve the levelof services and training provided by all busi-nesses associated with tourism in the region.Another key initiative of Noosa’s strategic mar-keting plan was the promotion of a clear anddistinctive tourism brand for the region, an issuewhich is subsequently discussed as it emergedfrom the research as the fifth best practice forregional tourism marketing.

Further strategies to foster a cooperativeand strategic approach to destination market-ing included the encouragement of operatorbuy-in opportunities. Developing operator buy-in was noted as one of the greatest challengesfor regional destinations. The first element nec-essary to overcome this challenge was the devel-opment of education programs aimed at makingall stakeholders aware of the difference betweena “destination” versus an “attraction.” Operatorbuy-in was achieved in many regions throughthe development of advertisements targeted atindividual businesses illustrating the benefits of

working together toward a common destina-tion marketing strategy or theme. Some regionsalso reported developing consultation programsspecifically aimed at up-skilling tourism opera-tors and building their own capacity to markettheir businesses as a way to bring them onboard with the need for cooperation across thedestination.

The conducting of training programs madeavailable to all businesses within a regionto improve customer service levels was alsoviewed as an effective way to not only up-skillindividual business operators, but also educatethem of the need for a “friendly” destinationto be experienced by its visitors. Further buy-in was secured through the development ofavenues for all operators to promote their ownbusinesses in cooperative marketing collateralgenerally developed by the RTO. Provision ofeasy-to-access resources which individual busi-nesses can add to their own website to pro-mote the “destination” as well as their particu-lar products and services was also an effectivetactic used to improve buy-in rates. Severalregions noted the importance of providing oper-ators with various templates which could beused in their own marketing activities to show-case the destination brand associated with theregion they are in. The establishment of regionaltourism industry awards was also noted as anideal strategy to continue to engage individualstakeholders as well as showcasing their market-ing achievements. Other tools such as provisionof accommodation statistics and other industrysector performance figures were delivered bythe RTO to continue engagement with opera-tors and assist them with their own marketingdirection.

Another strategy was to work coopera-tively with neighboring regions to developstronger campaigns to attract visitors to thearea and provide a critical mass of attrac-tions and experiences. Working together withother regions was found to deliver maximumimpact when attempting to attract visitors toregional areas. Smaller regions were found torely heavily on well-developed self-drive touritineraries to facilitate cooperation between,and within, regions. An example case is theGreat Ocean Road region in Victoria. The

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Penn

sylv

ania

Sta

te U

nive

rsity

] at

02:

31 2

6 A

ugus

t 201

2


creation of Tourism Victoria’s campaign regionsand the establishment of the Great OceanRoad Marketing Committee (GORM) in 1993provided impetus for effective regional mar-keting. The State Government tourism orga-nization, Tourism Victoria, provided ongoingfunding for cooperative domestic marketingcampaigns matched by industry operators andlocal councils through their respective RTOs.The commitment of tourism operators and localcouncils further enabled the region to lever-age sufficient funds to implement marketingcampaigns. A cooperative marketing alliancewas formed with two other Victorian campaignregions (Grampians and Goldfields) in 1991 toestablish “The Great Southern Touring Route.”This product is marketed at key internationaltravel and trade shows and links the GreatOcean Road, the Grampians, and Ballarat in aself-drive tour, targeted at high yield interna-tional tourists. The success of this long-runningcampaign partly explains the rapid and con-tinued growth of international tourism to theregion.

The pooling of resources was the nextkey strategy used to ensure effective cooper-ation. In many cases, where a tourism regioncrossed local council boundaries, the region hadstrengthened its ability to marketing effectivelyby drawing on funding from all councils as wellas sharing resources to standardize visitor infor-mation services and tourism signage to portraya more consistent image to visitors. Educationof local communities was also noted as impor-tant to achieving successful cooperation as itwas explained that not all members of manyregions understand neither the value of tourismnor their own impact on the tourist experience.Awareness campaigns aimed at engaging localresidents with a region’s tourism initiatives wereconsidered to be critical in areas where tourismactivity is relatively new. Finally, identificationof key operators who can act as ambassadorsfor the region, typically those from larger busi-nesses such as accommodation providers, wasa strategy used by many case study regions tohelp engage other tourism businesses with thevalue of joining forces to market the destination.Operator ambassadors were generally found tohave the resources to promote not only their own

businesses, but also the destination as a whole,with many of them being happy to showcase thedestination and other key suppliers, particularlyvia their websites. Using these ambassadors topromote the destination via quality informationat events such as travel trade shows was consid-ered an effective way to encourage other, gener-ally smaller, operators to start cross-promotingother businesses rather than just their own.

Consistent Destination Brand Image andClear Positioning

Figure 2 portrays destination branding andpositioning as central to the entire frameworkof best marketing practices for a regional des-tination. Ultimately, a strong destination brandis an essential element for any successful des-tination. When asked to explain the ingredientsto a strong destination brand and market posi-tion, industry stakeholders identified six keyareas, with the starting point being establish-ment of clear objectives of what the brandshould achieve. Some brands were establishedprimarily to increase awareness of, and visi-tation to, a region, while others were put inplace with a primary aim to increase the lengthof stay and expenditure of visitors. Participantsnoted that whatever changes are made to thedestination brand over time, its key purposeshould always remain the same—to provide astrong purpose to the market for visiting thearea and achieving maximum yield for industrystakeholders.

Ensuring that the brand imagery projectedabout the destination actually matches the expe-rience is even more essential. This requiresclearly identifying and communicating what isunique about the region’s tourism experience.Participants in various destinations reported thatmarketing of a region must present a strongbrand and regional images that are “live” sothat visitors feel the authenticity and uniquenessof the region. Another essential element of asuccessful tourism brand, according to industrystakeholders, is that the regional tourism brandpromotes the lifestyle of the region and experi-ences rather than actual tourist attractions andfeatures. A sense of emotion needs to be trig-gered by the destination brand which can be

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Penn

sylv

ania

Sta

te U

nive

rsity

] at

02:

31 2

6 A

ugus

t 201

2


easily applied to, and adopted by, all relevanttourism industry operators. The brand imagemust also focus on the competitive strengthsof the destination and promote the iconic fea-tures of the region. A region must also aimto ensure that it has a strong brand fit whichcomplements, rather than works against, otherexisting tourism brands at State or National lev-els. Once the brand is developed it is essentialto communicate the brand and image to indus-try operators and encourage them to considerthe destination brand when developing prod-ucts and their own marketing initiatives. Thiswas achieved in regions by developing brandtool kits and style guides which could easilyintegrate into operators’ own marketing col-lateral and websites. Online marketing of newdestination brands was noted as one of the eas-iest ways to raise awareness of new campaigns,with several regions using initiatives such asonline competitions offering appealing travelprize incentives to encourage visitation to theregion’s tourism website.

A destination case that has created a strong,regional tourism brand image is the Launcestonand Tamar Valley region located in the northernregion of Tasmania. A cooperative approach todestination marketing underpinned the successof this region’s marketing strategy which culmi-nated in a new brand being launched known asthe “Sensational” campaign. Lead by the statetourism organization (Tourism Tasmania), thecampaign was developed with the involvementof three local councils, a regional developmentbody (Northern Tasmania Development), and arange of tourism industry stakeholders in thecombined region. The brand is anchored on theconcept that the region tantalizes the senses ofvisitors through the various experiences it offersrevolving around food, wine, and history. Thekey objectives of the new brand were explainedby an industry stakeholder as follows:

This new brand is about confidence,about optimism, and about pride. It’s abrand that any operator can use whetherthey’re a restaurant, a hotel or pub, aB&B, a retail shop, a heritage attraction,a wildlife park, a museum—it works foreveryone, wherever they are in the area

Launceston, West or East Tamar it doesn’tmatter because our visitors will see usas one.

To promote the new brand, a website waslaunched with new imagery and better accessto accommodation, attractions, and tours as wellas events information, maps, and touring routes.A series of e-postcards can be accessed fromthe website and are used by the region as anadditional promotional tool targeted at visitorsto the site.

Throughout the destination branding process,brand research was seen as critical not only inthe development of the regional brand but alsoin tracking its health and the market’s awarenessand perceptions of the brand along with theirresponse to it. Industry consultation must beperiodically conducted to ensure the brand stillfits the experiences offered within the region.A strong regional destination brand must ulti-mately influence the remaining best practicemarketing tactics as all must align well to themessage behind the brand, as Figure 2 depicts.

Target Appropriate Visitor Segments

One of the early decisions that a destinationmust identify is the type of visitor market ormarkets they are hoping to attract. Participantsin the study clearly articulated that not all typesof tourists are equally suited and welcomedby any given regional destination. Destinationsmust consider and establish the kinds of visi-tors they are willing and able to target throughtheir marketing. Visitor markets should be con-sidered by the destination stakeholders in termsof their relative “fit” with the attractions andexperiences available at the destination and withthe local community’s objectives for tourism.Practitioners noted that while attracting visitorsto the region through destination marketing isessential on one hand, it must be done in a waythat will not ruin the experience and negate theinitial aim of marketing the region to tourists byattracting the “wrong type” of visitor. Severalregions noted that they had strategically cho-sen to target one specific niche market as theywere able to deliver a very clear brand mes-sage to this group of travelers which ensured

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Penn

sylv

ania

Sta

te U

nive

rsity

] at

02:

31 2

6 A

ugus

t 201

2


their marketing cut through beyond competingregion’s brand messages.

A region which has clearly devised a mar-keting campaign aimed at connecting with aspecifically desirable target market is that gen-erated by the STO, Tourism Victoria, for theGrampians region. The aim of the “Space toThink” campaign was to shift the perception ofthe Grampians as a camping and relaxation des-tination, and position the region as a place wherevisitors can reconnect with nature in an envi-ronment free of commercialism. The campaignwas based on market research into existing andpotential new markets, targeting 20–44 year oldsfrom Melbourne and Adelaide who are drawn tonatural experiences. Further research indicatedthat this primary target market wanted holidaysthat provide an “escape from the everyday rou-tine” in a place that is “raw and uncommercial-ized,” where they can be “touched by nature.”In response to this research, “Space to Think”promotes the Grampians as a premier touristdestination for nature-based experiences, witha focus on the region’s unique natural attrac-tions and adventure activities. The tagline—“Big nature gives me the space and perspective Ineed”—has been reinforced with iconic imagesfrom the Grampians National Park which con-vey the region’s purity and natural environ-ment. Results of the Regional Awareness andPerceptions Study indicated that awareness ofthe Grampians region increased from 45 to 48%in 2005 as a result of the brand campaign.Results also indicated strong awareness of theGrampians key attributes among the targetedhigh yield segments.

Develop Innovative Advertising Sales andPromotion Strategies

As part of the strategic planning process fordestination marketing, consideration must begiven to how the destination region and its var-ious attractions and facilities are going to bepromoted and the distribution channels neededto access and reach potential visitors. Innovativepromotional and advertising campaigns wereconsidered important by case study participantswho suggested that such initiatives must lever-age the unique features of the region as well

as result in a consistent portrayal of the regionacross all promotion activities. An essentialingredient conveyed by many regions was theneed to not lose sight of the role of key iconattractions in tourism promotions. Some regionshad learned via trial and error that attemptingto move promotional images away from the keyicons actually confused the markets they wereselling to, leading to a loss of destination appeal.Quick responses were needed to restore focuson the icons while marrying them together withother small and often lesser known attractionsin marketing collateral. The use of celebritiesand locals who had a strong regional identitywas also common across regional destinationsto draw media coverage to the region to supporttourism marketing campaigns. These personal-ities attracted high levels of market responseand were often used to sell a particular tagline,such as Daryl Somers (an Australian media per-sonality) who was employed to market regionswithin the Northern Territory via the campaignslogan “If you never never go . . . you will nevernever know!” Ensuring that promotional cam-paigns send consistent messages to the marketabout a region is another key element of success.Marketing materials that portray the same lookand feel help to build a clear image of a regionas does ensuring operators and marketing repre-sentatives retain a consistent attendance at anyrelevant travel trade shows.

The Snowy Mountains (NSW) region andPort Arthur region (Tasmania) are two destina-tions that have illustrated these practices. TheSnowy Mountains region has leveraged of itswell-established image resulting from the pow-erful Man From Snowy River story that can betraced back to 1890. This image has been rein-forced recently through film and media imagesused to promote the region as an appealingplace to visit. Targeted campaigns aimed at seg-ments such as the motorcycle tourist have beendevised to reinforce this image and promote theregion as an appealing and adventurous touringdestination. Similarly, the Port Arthur historicpenal region in Tasmania has marketed itselfas an experiential holiday destination using thetagline “where history is just part of the story”to lure people to engage in key attractions suchas its convict trail itinerary. Both regions have

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Penn

sylv

ania

Sta

te U

nive

rsity

] at

02:

31 2

6 A

ugus

t 201

2


illustrated that identification of a unique promo-tional feature is a key ingredient which drivesmarketing success for the destination.

The final two components noted by regions asessential to innovative promotion and advertis-ing were the development of effective itineraryplanners for visitors along with online webpromotions. Most regions had developed aninteresting series of holiday planners and sug-gested travel itineraries, particularly for thedrive tourism market. These touring itinerariesand accompanying maps were carefully devel-oped to highlight the diversity of the regionwhile also showcasing iconic attractions andother individual operations and attractions in away that provided a clear experiential visit forthe traveler. Online marketing strategies con-sidered essential included the establishment ofeasy to use booking systems for travelers plan-ning their itineraries via the internet, as wellas interactive regional tourism websites that notonly informed the prospective visitor about theregion’s tourism offerings, but also educatedthem about how to maximize the value of theirvisit through their itinerary.

Provide Quality Visitor Information andInterpretation Services

A number of the case destinations clearlyindicated that having good systems and strate-gies in place to connect with visitors once theyarrive at the destination is an essential practicefor regional areas. Establishing effective VisitorInformation Centers (VICs) in prominent loca-tions within regional tourism areas is critical topromoting the destination region (Pearce, 2004).VICs serve not only to promote the region’stourist attractions and facilities, but also takeon the role of orientating visitors to the regionand controlling the flow of tourists within anarea. Participants in this study reinforced theimportance of VICs in increasing length ofstay and ensuring quality visitor experiences.In addition, quality interpretation programs canenhance visitor experiences, strengthen publicrelations, protect sites from visitor impacts, andprotect visitors from on-site hazards. Ultimately,what was learned in this study is that marketingto visitors should continue through VICs while

they are in the region, rather than consideringmarketing to have stopped once their decisionto visit has been made.

The provision of quality visitor informationrequires that a region ensures its VICs are well-managed and are staffed by people who havea comprehensive understanding of the regionand the attractions and experiences on offer.Networking between VICs within the region,and those in nearby areas, was also consid-ered essential to enable a proactive approach toadvising the visitor on travel options and oppor-tunities throughout their entire itinerary. Otheressential elements of information provision forvisitors to the region included having a user-friendly website for the destination, informativevisitor guides, and clear tourist signage (bothdirectional and interpretive) to ensure visitorsflow easily around the region. The provision ofinteractive interpretation experiences was alsoconsidered to be an essential destination mar-keting practice for regional areas given that theyheighten the involvement of the visitor withthe destination, providing a more memorableexperience.

Two regions that illustrated these best prac-tices are the Hunter Valley in New SouthWales and the Cradle Mountain region inTasmania. The provision of information to trav-elers in the former destination is facilitatedvia a website (http://www.winecountry.com.au)administered by Hunter Valley Wine CountryTourism Incorporated which operates an accred-ited Tourism and Visitors Information Centerin Cessnock. An integrated set of informationresources is provided to travelers and mem-bers of the local industry through comprehen-sive visitor guides which are available throughthe regions many attractions, tour providers,accommodation properties, wineries, and cellardoors. Specialized guides were also producedto provide information to niche markets includ-ing wedding groups and conference organizers.Sample travel itinerary and touring times arealso made available to prospective visitors andmultimedia tools (web/DVDs/CDs) are usedto showcase the region. The Cradle Mountainregion has adopted a similar approach, rely-ing on the Sheffield Visitor Information Centeras a centralized point of contact for visitors

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Penn

sylv

ania

Sta

te U

nive

rsity

] at

02:

31 2

6 A

ugus

t 201

2


to the region seeking information about thedestination’s experiences. Operating as part ofthe Tasmanian Visitor Information Network,the center provides opportunities for businessesthroughout the region to promote their ser-vices and showcase promotional materials. Thecenter ensures a high standard of service isreceived by visitors with staff predominantlybeing local residents who are well-experiencedand familiar with the destination’s attractions.The center is also supported by a dedicated web-site (http://www.cradleinfo.com.au) that pro-motes local tourist attractions and incorporatesan online booking service.

Develop Festivals and Events ThatSupport the Destination’s Image

A number of destinations illustrated the sig-nificance of developing festivals and events toenhance the region’s image, enhance the visi-tor experience, extend lengths of stay, and fillbusiness in traditional low season periods. Bestpractice in regional destinations recommendsthe development of a special event or festivalthat is linked to an iconic attraction and cele-brates community values, that can help shape adestination image, attract like-minded visitors,and provide entertainment and recreation oppor-tunities for residents. Participants suggested thatany events strategy must be well-coordinatedwithin a region to leverage off the area’s exist-ing tourism highlights, as well as avoidingor attracting unsuitable or conflicting eventsthat deter from the region’s desired destinationimage. Another essential consideration to ensurethat events contribute positively to the market-ing initiatives of the destination, is to ensurethat both residents and visitor markets find someappeal in the event. Destination stakeholdersalso noted that any festival or event developedshould be supported by a suitable research strat-egy to enable organizers to assess the economic,environmental, and social impacts of festivalsand events and the visitor profile and satisfac-tion data.

Byron Bay, in New South Wales, is a goodcase of one of the destinations that illustratedbest practice in the development of a suite ofevents that supported its’ image as a cultural

destination. Key events and festivals include:the East Coast Blues and Roots Festival (since1990), the Byron Bay Writers Festival (since2001), Splendour in the Grass Music Festival(since 2001), annually planned New Year’s EveCelebrations (since 1994), and the monthlyByron Bay Markets.

CONCLUSIONS

According to the practices displayed andreported by the 21 case studies involved in thisresearch, each of the nine best practices are criti-cal to the effectiveness of a regional tourism des-tination’s marketing approach. The results addto existing research on destination marketingsuccess by incorporating the critical perspectiveof tourism industry stakeholders who possessdirect knowledge of the essential processes andapproaches that have lead their respective desti-nations to achieve such success. The frameworkdeveloped adds to the literature by highlightingthe underpinning need for strategies to securea cooperative approach to marketing a regionaltourism destination, given their smaller size andscope than more established tourism destina-tions. This key theme supports previous studiesby authors such as Buhalis (2000), Pike (2004),and Prideaux and Cooper (2002) who argue thatcooperation is the key to destination market-ing success. The current study contributes toexisting research on cooperation in tourism, byacknowledging some of the essential practicesneeded to achieve such cooperation. It also high-lights the potential for future research on thespecific topic of cooperation in destination mar-keting which would benefit from more in-depthstudies of this issue on other destinations out-side of the Australian scope of the current study.Drilling down to the practices which overcomesome of the challenges of achieving a coopera-tive approach toward marketing a regional des-tination is one area that would enhance under-standing of this critical component of marketinga destination.

The results of this study have clearly shownthat marketing of regional tourism destina-tions must integrate with planning, manage-ment, and development objectives. Furthermore,

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Penn

sylv

ania

Sta

te U

nive

rsity

] at

02:

31 2

6 A

ugus

t 201

2


destination stakeholders should aim to develop,brand, promote, and deliver an experience thatsets the destination apart in some way as beingunique compared to other regions. Having aclear point of difference underpins several of thebest practice themes which emerged—includingdeveloping a consistent brand image and clearmarket position, developing innovative advertis-ing and promotion strategies, as well as estab-lishing key festivals and events that supportthe unique features of the region. Additionally,establishing integrated and interpretive visi-tor information centers and systems is anotheressential best practice that industry practition-ers involved in this study saw as an effectiveway to market the destination better than areasthat do not provide these facilities. While thenine best practice destination marketing themeswhich emerge from the research are based onthe experience of Australian destinations alone,it is envisaged that other countries and regionscan adapt some of the practices reported hereto continue to improve their own destinationmarketing efforts. The challenge for regionaldestinations is how to facilitate best practiceacross all nine best practice principles.

REFERENCES

Ahmed, Z. U. (1991). The influence of the components ofa state’s tourist image on product positioning strategy.Tourism Management, 12(4), 331–340.

Alford, P. (2005). Destination marketing. Travel & TourismAnalyst, 5 (April), 1–54.

Baker, M. J., & Cameron, E. (2008). Critical success fac-tors in destination marketing. Tourism and HospitalityResearch, 8(2), 79–97.

Banathy, B. H. (n.d.). The Primer Project: The evolutionof systems inquiry. Retrieved from http://www.isss.org/primer/003evsys.htm

Bhat, S. S., & Milne, S. (2008). Network effects on coop-eration in destination website development. TourismManagement, 30 (5): 1131–1140.

Blackman, A., Foster, F., Hyvonen, T., Kuilboer, A., &Moscardo, G. (2004). Factors contributing to success-ful tourism development in peripheral regions. Journalof Tourism Studies, 15(1), 59–70.

Blain, C., Levy, S., & Ritchie, J. (2005). Destination brand-ing: Insights and practices from destination manage-ment organisations. Journal of Travel Research, 43(4),328–338.

Blumberg, K. (2005). Tourism destination marketing—Atool for destination management? A case study fromNelson/Tasman Region, New Zealand. Asia PacificJournal of Tourism Research, 10(1), 45–57.

Bornhorst, T., Ritchie, B. J. R., & Sheehan, L. (2010).Determinants of tourism success for DMOs & des-tinations: An empirical examination of stakeholders’perspectives. Tourism Management, 31, 572–589.

Buhalis, D. (2000). Marketing the competitive destinationof the future. Tourism Management, 21(1), 97–116.

Crockett, S. R., & Wood, L. J. (1999). Brand WesternAustralia: A totally integrated approach to destina-tion branding. Journal of Vacation Marketing, 5(3),276–289.

Crouch, G. I. (2000). Services research in destinationmarketing: A retrospective and prospective appraisal.International Journal of Hospitality & TourismAdministration, 1(2), 65–85.

Crouch, G. I., & Ritchie, J. R. B. (1999). Tourism, com-petitiveness and societal prosperity. Journal of BusinessResearch, 44, 137–152.

D’Angella, F., & Go, F.M. (2009). Tale of two cities col-laborative tourism marketing: towards a theory of des-tination stakeholder assessment. Tourism Management,30(3): 429–440.

Deery, M., Jago, L., Daugherty, S., Carson, D., & Adams,K. (2006). Investigating potential tourism yield fromvisitor information centres. Gold Coast, Australia:Sustainable Tourism Cooperative Research Centre.

Dolnicar, S., & Leisch, F. (2008). Selective market-ing for environmentally sustainable tourism. TourismManagement, 29(4): 672–680.

Dredge, D. (2006). Local destination planning and policy.In D. Dredge & J. Jenkins (Eds.), Tourism planning andpolicy (pp. 300–355). Sydney, Australia: John Wileyand Sons Ltd.

Echtner, C.M., & Ritchie, J.R.B. (1993) The measurementof destination image: an empirical assessment. Journalof Travel Research, 31(4): 3–13.

Elbe, J., Hallen, L., & Axelsson, B. (2009). Thedestination-management organisation and the inte-grative destination-marketing process. InternationalJournal of Tourism Research, 11, 283–296.

Hall, C. M. (2000). Tourism planning, policies, processesand relationships. Essex, United Kingdom: PearsonHall.

Haven-Tang, C., Jones, E., & Webb, C. (2007). Criticalsuccess factors for business tourism destinations:Exploiting Cardiff’s national capital city status andshaping its business tourism offer. Journal of Traveland Tourism Marketing, 22(3–4), 109–120.

Hawes, D. K., Taylor, D. T., & Hampe, G. D. (1991).Destination marketing by state. Journal of TravelResearch, 30(1), 11–17.

Jenkins, O. & McArthur, S. (1996). Marketing protectedareas. Australian Parks and Recreation, 32(4), 10–15.

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Penn

sylv

ania

Sta

te U

nive

rsity

] at

02:

31 2

6 A

ugus

t 201

2


Kastenholz, E. (2004). ‘Management of demand’ as a toolin sustainable tourist destination development. Journalof Sustainable Tourism, 12(5), 388–408.

King, J. (2002). Destination marketing organisations—Connecting the experience rather than promoting theplace. Journal of Vacation Marketing, 8(2), 105–108.

Laws, E. (1995). Marketing tourist destinations. In E. Laws(Ed.), Tourist destination management: Issues, analysisand policies (pp. 104–133). London, United Kingdom:Routledge.

McDonnell, I. (1999). The intefrag marketing continuum:A tool for tourism marketers. Journal of Travel &Tourism Marketing, 8(1), 25–39.

Minghetti, V. (2001). From destination to destination mar-keting and management: Designing and repositioningtourism products. International Journal of TourismResearch, 3(3), 255–257.

Morgan, N. J., & Pritchard, A. (2005). (PR)omoting place:The role of PR in building New Zealand’s destinationbrand relationships. Journal of Hospitality & LeisureMarketing, 12(1–2), 157–176.

Morgan, N. J., Pritchard, A., & Piggott, R. (2003).Destination branding and the role of the stakehold-ers: The case of New Zealand. Journal of VacationMarketing, 9(3), 285–299.

Parliament of Victoria Rural and Regional Committee.(2008). Final report: Inquiry into rural and regionaltourism (Parliamentary Papers No. 124 Session 2006–2008) Victoria, Australia: Government of the State ofVictoria.

Pearce, P. L. (2004). The functions and planning of visitorcentres in regional tourism. Journal of Tourism Studies,15(1), 8–17.

Pike, S. (2004). Destination marketing organisations.Amsterdam, The Netherlands: Elsevier.

Prideaux, B., & Cooper, C. (2002). Marketing and des-tination growth: A symbiotic relationship or simplecoincidence? Journal of Vacation Marketing, 9(1),35–51.

Reid, L.J., Smith, S.L.J., & McCloskey, R. (2008). Theeffectiveness of regional marketing alliances: A casestudy of the Atlantic Canada Tourism Partnership2000–2006. Tourism Management, 29(3), 581–593.

Richins, H., & Pearce, P. (2000). Influences ontourism development decision-making: Coastal local

government areas in eastern Australia. Journal ofSustainable Tourism, 8(3), 207–225.

Ritchie, J. R. B, & Crouch, G. (2003). The compet-itive destination: A sustainable tourism perspective.Wallingford, United Kingdom: CABI Publishing.

Ritchie, R. J. B., & Ritchie, J. R. B. (2002). A frameworkfor an industry supported destination marketing infor-mation system. Tourism Management, 23(5), 439–454.

Seaton, A. V., & Bennett, M. M. (1996). The marketing oftourism products: Concepts, issues and cases. London,United Kingdom: International Thomson BusinessPress.

Shields, P. O., & Schibik, T. J. (1995). Regional tourismmarketing: An analogical approach to organizationalframework development. Journal of Travel & TourismMarketing, 4(1), 105–113.

Simpson, P.M., & Siguaw, J.A. (2008). Destination word ofmouth: the role of traveler type, residents and identitysalience. Journal of Travel Research, 42(2): 167–182.

Soteriades, M. D., & Avgeli, V. A. (2007). Promotingtourism destinations: A strategic marketing approach.Tourism Review, 55(3), 335–345.

Wang, Y. (2008). Collaborative tourism marketing:Understanding the dynamic process. Journal of TravelResearch, 47(2), 151–166.

Wray, M. (2009). Policy communities, networks andissue cycles in tourism destination systems. Journal ofSustainable Tourism, 17(6), 673–690.

World Tourism Organization. (1999). Marketing tourismdestinations online: Strategies for the information age.Madrid, Spain: Author.

Yin, R. K. (2009). Case study research: Design and meth-ods (4th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Yuksel, F., & Yuksel, A. (2005). Managing relations ina learning model for bringing destinations in need ofassistance into contact with good practice. TourismManagement, 26(5), 667–679.

SUBMITTED: October 6, 2010FINAL REVISION SUBMITTED:

February 15, 2011ACCEPTED: March 8, 2011

REFEREED ANONYMOUSLY

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Penn

sylv

ania

Sta

te U

nive

rsity

] at

02:

31 2

6 A

ugus

t 201

2

Documents

Best Practice Marketing for Regional Tourism Destinations