TECHNICAL NOTES:

DESTINATION POSITIONING, BRANDING AND IMAGE DEVELOPMENT

SUMMARY Principles and concepts of destination positioning: What is positioning and

branding, its importance to destination strategy, types of positioning strategies Destination brand development and architecture: Components and structure of a

brand (attributes, value, personality and essence), types of brand architectures and application to destinations, examples of brands

The many determinants and influences of destination image, and how perceptions in the marketplace are shaped

Assessing, designing, correcting and measuring destination image and marketing approaches to modify and expand destination image in various situations: Familiarity-favourability measurement; semantic differential; evaluative maps. Guidelines for measuring a place’s image: valid, believable, simple, appealing

The role and importance of the media. Value to destination of specialist travel and general interest features. Watchdog role. Role in crisis management

Dealing with crises like the tsunami Evaluating marketing effectivenessLECTURE NOTES

Once target markets have been selected, a positioning strategy has to be developed relative to other suppliers of tourism offerings serving the same target markets (Heath and Wall, 1992). Heath and Wall defines regional (destination) positioning as the art of developing and communicating meaningful differences between a region’s tourism offering and those of competitors serving the same target markets (Heath and Wall, 1992:115). The notion of destination positioning as defined by Heath and Wall has strong parallels with the types of competitive advantage highlighted by Grant (1995). Based on the competitive strategy models of Michael Porter and others, Grant identifies various generic strategies of positioning a firm’s product offering in the market, so as to achieve maximum a higher rate of profit over a rival.

Destination positioning strategies

By combining the sources of competitive advantage with the segment scope of the firm, Porter (1985) identifies three generic strategies as bases for firms to compete on. These are cost leadership, differentiation and focus. These could be best illustrated in the diagramme presented below.

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Porter’s generic strategies (Grant, 1995:169, adapted from Porter, 1985)

SOURCE OF COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGELow Cost

Differentiation

The two primary dimensions of competitive advantage are cost leadership and differentiation advantage (Grant, 1995:171). In pursuing a cost advantage, the goal is to become the cost leader in its industry or industry segment. This implies all sources of cost advantage must be explored and that a standard, no-frills product must be sold. Differentiation, on the other hand is achieved when something unique is provided that is valuable to buyers beyond simply offering a low price (Grant, 1995). Grant summarizes the differences between cost leadership and differentiation strategies as follows:

General features of cost leadership and differentiation strategies (Grant, 1995:168)

Generic strategy

Key strategy elements Resource and organizational requirements

Cost leadership Investment in scale-efficient plant; design of products for ease of manufacture; control of overheads; R&D; avoidance of marginal customer accounts.

Access to capital; process engineering skills; frequent reports; tight cost control; structured organization and responsibilities; incentives relating to quantitative targets.

Differentiation Emphasis on branding and brand advertising, design, service and quality.

Marketing abilities; product engineering skills; creativity; capability in basic research; subjective rather than quantitative measurement and incentives; strong inter-functional co-ordination.

The above-mentioned concepts of cost and differentiation advantages are of paramount importance to the notion of destination positioning. They provide the basis for the primary distinction between tourism destinations in the world, namely that of mass-market destinations versus differentiated, experience-based destinations.

Since the travelling costs to a destination is one of the key costs associated with tourism travel, it would be extremely difficult for long-haul destinations to establish a cost advantage in the primary tourism-generating markets of the world, i.e. North America, Western Europe, etc. Apart from its product features and resource advantages a destination such as South Africa would find it almost

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COST LEADERSHIP DIFFERENTIATION

FOCUS

COM

PETI

TIV

E SC

OPE

Industry wide

Single segment

impossible to compete on a cost basis in markets such as the United Kingdom and Germany. The cost of accessing South Africa from these markets is high, compared to that of accessing the Spanish South Coast, France, etc. Therefore, South Africa and other long-haul destinations need to differentiate themselves from their competitors in order to secure a strong competitive position. While the application of the principles of cost versus differentiation advantage to destination marketing requires further exploration, it is not the primary thrust of this study.

The many unusual characteristics of travel and tourism combine with a unique combination of factors to make planning for the tourism destination a highly specialized operation quite different from any other economic sector. The tourism destination is:

one product but also many, it involves many stakeholders with differing objectives and

requirements, it is both a physical entity and a socio-cultural one, it is a mental concept for potential tourists, it is subject to the influence of current events, natural disasters,

terrorism, health scares etc it is subject to historical, real and fictitious events, its value-for-money is a subjective evaluation (based on reality

compared with expectations), and it differs in size, physical attractions, infrastructure, benefits offered to

visitors and degree of dependence on tourism – in fact no two tourism destinations can be treated the same.

Differentiating the destination from its competitors

Grant indicates that differentiation extends beyond the physical characteristics of the product or services to encompass everything about the product or the service that influences the value that customers derives from it. It is likely to be built into the identity, style and values of the destination. The core of differentiation is concerned not only with the products and the services that accompany them but also the relationship with customers. In this regard, a basic distinction is made between tangible (observable) and intangible (unobservable) aspects of the offering. Opportunities for intangible differentiation arise from the fact that the value that customers perceive in a product or service is not dependent exclusively upon the tangible aspects of the offering. The desire for status, exclusivity, individuality and security are extremely powerful motivational forces in choices relating to most consumer choices. Where a product or service is meeting complex customer needs, then differentiation choices involve the overall image of the firm’s offerings. Issues of image differentiation are especially important for those products and services whose qualities and performance are difficult to ascertain at the time of purchase, i.e. “experience good” (Grant, 1995). Since the performance of tourism products is extremely difficult to determine at the time of purchase, tourism destination packages are highly experiential and dependent upon image differentiation.

There are two elements to creating profitable differentiation: on the supply side the firm must be aware of the resources and capabilities through which it can create uniqueness (and do better than its competitors); on the demand side, the key is to have insight into the understanding of customers, their needs and preferences (Grant, 1995).

Heath and Wall (1992) propose a four-step approach towards developing a positioning strategy for tourism destinations, i.e.

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Steps in the destination positioning strategy development (after Heath and Wall, 1992:119)

Step 1: assess the current position with respect to its major competitors, by surveying relevant tourism groups who are in a position to make such a comparison. Apart from determining what the comparative positions are, such research would also indicate what the key attributes are that tourists and other clients use when comparing destinations.

Step 2: Select the desired position with regard to a particular market segment or in general, by interpreting the requirements of existing and potential markets and the resource strengths of the destination. The options arising from this analysis may be to:

Keep the current position based on its strength and reliability, Develop a new or clarified position for the destination and communicating

it; or Where appropriate, position the destination offering on a new dimension,

one that tourists may value but that they do not routinely use in evaluating the region’s tourism offering.

Steps 3 and 4: Planning and implementing the strategy could be a challenging task, as old perceptions are hard to change. It may be necessary to support the new positioning by all means available. Heath and Wall cite the example of a tourism region wanting to position itself or improve its image as a region rich in cultural heritage. It will have to examine its current regional product portfolio and select areas for development or change. The regional authority may decide to launch a communications campaign so as to emphasize the region’s cultural diversity. It may also decide to develop a regional campaign aimed at stimulating the restoration and development of all cultural aspects of the region’s tourism product. These and other activities need to be carefully orchestrated to obtain the desired effect (Heath and Wall, 1992: 120).

Signalling the destination positioning through branding

The substitutability of tourism destinations allows tourists in search of most types of experiences a wide range of choices. As a result the need for destinations to create a unique identity so as to differentiate themselves from competitors is more critical than ever.

In marketing terms a brand represents a unique combination of product characteristics and added values, both functional and non-functional, which have taken on a relevant meaning which is inextricably linked to that band, awareness of which may be conscious or intuitive. Brand managers differentiate their products by stressing attributes they claim will match their target markets’ needs more closely than other brands and then they create a product image more consistent with the perceived self-image of the targeted consumer segment. There is an increased focus among marketers on differentiation through loyalty and emotional appeal of brands, rather than through discernable, tangible benefits.

Within this context destination marketers are faced by a number of key challenges in differentiating their destinations, namely:

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1. Assess current position

2. Select desired position

3. Plan strategy to achieve desired position

4. Implement strategy

Limited funding compared to consumer goods and services – need to outsmart rather than outspend;

Politics – balance between cutting-edge brand promotions and the management and bureaucratic red tape of local, regional and national politics;

An unstable external environment – global, regional and national conflicts, disasters and economic changes;

Changing consumer preferences – from products to emotional experiences – how to package destinations to become living experiences;

Tourism competition – finding a point of differentiation that is credible and that competitors cannot usurp or surpass.

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On any positioning map brand winners are those places which are rich in emotional meaning, have great conversation value and hold high anticipation for potential tourists. The message is that rich, strong destination brands sing a song of difference and have a sense of being somewhere worth visiting (Morgan, Pritchard & Pride, 2002).

Recognising that branding is a two-way process done with and not to the consumer, Weinreich (1999: 25-6) has suggested that instead of thinking in terms of the traditional product or brand life cycle, brand managers should be thinking of the S-curve which charts a brand's life and development through birth, growth, maturity, decay and death (although, of course, the time frames are elastic and could encompass anything from weeks to centuries). Instead of seeing the S-curve as tracking sales volume over time, managers should consider it as a series of stages in Ihe brand's relationship with its consumers, revealing useful insights into a brand's communications requirements. Developing this concept and translating it to tourism destination brands, we can see that at first the market is small and many places become trendy and fashionable in spite of (or due to) their lack of advertising activities because the destination is new and exclusive. Its visitors are trendsetters who, although few in numbers, are influential opinion-formers. Yet, as the destination becomes famous and loses its cutting-edge appeal, these tourists move on to the next new place since they do not want to be seen somewhere which has become popular and rather passe. In the famous phase, a destination brand's consumers are loyal and affluent but at any time the destination's brand values may become irrelevant to them - hence the ongoing need for them to remain fresh and appealing. If the place fails to remain contemporary, it will drift into the familiar zone where everyone knows about the destination, but it has lost its appeal - it has become 'overwarm, cuddly and sentimental, the antithesis of. . .cool' (Weinreich, 1999: 28). Becoming familiar can ultimately lead a destination to fatigue - a place which finds it difficult to attracts lucrative market segments. If it becomes very badly damaged, a destination brand's core values will need to be reassessed and its relevance to target markets redefined and revitalized.

Brand building

The first stage in the process of building or refreshing any destination brand is to establish the core values of the destination and its brand - these should be durable, relevant, communicable and hold saliency for potential tourists. This stage should consider just how contemporary or relevant the brand is to today's tourism consumer and how it compares with its key competitors. For instance, when the Oregon Economic Development Department began its revival of Brand Oregon in the mid-1990s, it initiated a series of research projects which surveyed local businesses, regional economists, other US states with similar programmes and previous visitors - as well as visitors who had never actually been to the state (Curtis, 2001). This process (similar to recent exercises conducted by the branddevelopers of, among other places, Switzerland, Hawaii, Wales, Western Australia and New Zealand) assisted Oregon's brand managers to build brand value and salience with existing and potential consumers.

Once this market investigation is complete, the next phase is to develop the brand identity. Of primary importance to this phase are the concepts of the brand benefit pyramid and brand architecture (more of which below). Once the brand's core values have been established, they should underpin and imbue all subsequent marketing activity - especially in literature text and illustrations - so that the brand values arc cohesively communicated. A logotype or brand signature and a design style guide, which ensures consistency of message and approach, should also reinforce the brand values. The vision (which must be shared and 'bought into' by all its stakeholders and potential consumers) should be clearly expressed in the brand's core values which are consistently reinforced

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through the product and in all marketing communications - both above and below the line - every execution in all media contributes to maintaining brand presence. To successfully create an emotional attachment a destination brand has to be:

. credible

. deliverable

. differentiating

. conveying powerful ideas

. enthusing for trade partners . resonating with the consumer.

Five phases in destination brand buildingPhase 1 Market investigation, analysis and strategic recommendations Phase 2 Brand identity developmentPhase 3 Brand launch and introduction - communicating IIIl' vision Phase 4 Brand implementationPhase 5 Monitoring, evaluation and review

Brand personality and the benefit pyramid

Critical to the success of the destination brand is the extent to which the destination's brand personality interacts with the target markets. All brands should be complex and rich. Unfortunately rich brand personalities such as Nike, drawing a wide variety of interactions from a range of customers, are quire rare in a world where band attributes are often arbitrarily and superficially constructed.

Traits such as 'friendly', 'cultural', 'natural' and 'contemporary' are popular hoped-for descriptors, but they hardly help to build an engaging or aspirational brand. Destination brand building is all about developing a rich, relevant brand personality.

A brand's personality has both a head and a heart - its head refers to the logical brand features, while its heart refers to its emotional benefits and associations. Brand propositions and communications can be based around either a brand's head or its heart: head communications convey a brand's rational values, while heart communications reveal its emotional values and associations. Brand benefit pyramids sum up consumers' relationships with a brand and are frequently established during the consumer research process where consumers are usually asked to describe what features a destination offers and what the place means to them. Using the research, it should then be relatively straightforward to ascertain what particular benefit pyramids consumers associate with the destination in question. The benefit pyramid can be instrumental in helping to distil the essence of a destination brand's advertising proposition. This refers to the point at which consumers’ wants and destination’s benefits and features intersect – any brand communication should then encapsulate the “spirit” of the brand.

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Brand Architecture

A brand architecture should reflect all the key components of a destination brand including its positioning, its rational (head) and emotional (heart) benefits and associations, together with its brand personality. A brand's architecture is in essence the blueprint which should guide brand building, development and marketing and is a device which can be used by all destination brand managers. More and more tourism destinations are looking to establish their brand architecture in order to put themselves ahead of competitors. Of course, when they are whole countries, destinations are often composite brands (being composed of many different places).

Yet consumer research which reveals and establishes a destination's brand architecture should enable marketers to clearly see the elements and contributions of these various composite brands. It is a device critical to the development of destination suprabrands and sub-brands. Thus, Britain is a destination suprabrand and the sub-brands (England, Scotland, Wales, London) are both part of, and at the same time, distinct from it. Thus the positioning of Scotland as a land of fire and stone is translated into the rational benefit of encountering rugged un spoilt wilderness, romantic history, heritage and folklore, and warm and feisty people. At a deeper, emotional or salient level these benefits offer the overseas visitor the emotional benefits of feeling in awe of the elements, embraced by the warmth of the people and rejuvenated by the experience of Scotland. Finally, the culmination of these brand attributes is a destination

6. What is the essential nature and character of the destination

5. What does the value mean for the typical repeat visitor

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4. What key traits and characteristic s of the destination are communicated by the brand –

both head and heart?

3. What psychological rewards or emotional benefits do tourists receive by visiting this destination? How does

the tourist feel?

2. What benefits to the tourist results from this destination’s feature?

1. What are the tangible, verifiable, objective, measurable characteristics of this destination?

personified by independence, mystery and warmth. This becomes the essence of Scotland the Brand, with values rooted in the experience of past visitors, credible and relevant to potential visitors and, most crucially, which the product can deliver (BTA, 1997).

One of the most successful destination suprabrands, however, must be that of Spain. Once a destination with an image for poor quality service and facilities, in the early 1980s the Spanish government began what was to become one of the most consistent and successful brand-building exercises in destination marketing supported by a significant financial commitment - which is ongoing today. The suprabrand of Spain is an example of an established destination which attracts 51 million visitors a year and has the world's third largest promotional budget for tourism. While Espana is the main brand, its cities (mainly Barcelona and Madrid) and regions (such as Andalusia and Galicia) are the second-level brands. At the country level Spain has remained remarkably constant in its advertising with each campaign promoting the diversity and variety of the country, focusing on its heritage and culture, as well as the staple sun and sand product. At the heart of the brand for almost twenty years has been Miro's logo, designed in 1983 (the year he died) by mixing elements from his own pictures and his own alphabet. As a piece of modern art, this logo symbolizes Spain's past and looks to the future, and incorporates representations of the sun (yellow and red), the stars and the bullring.

STRATEGIC IMAGE MANAGEMENT

Tourism has a huge range of direct and indirect impacts – at its simplest it is a temporary addition to the population of a given location, with tourist having all the needs and impacts that the permanent population does, plus a few more besides. Government planning, regulation etc is therefore needed. Tourism is an economic sector executed by the private sector. Tourism activity involves direct contact with the local population. Tourism, then, involves a triumvirate of destination interests – state, private sector and community. As such, tourism planning for development and marketing is unlike any other economic sector and requires special approaches, procedures and institutions.

“You can rent a lovely life in Jamaica by the week. It starts with a country house or a beach cottage hill-top hideaway that comes equipped with gentle people named Ivy or Maude or Malcolm, who will cook, tend, mend, diaper and launder for you, who will ‘Mr Peter, please’ you all day long, pamper you with home-made coconut pie, admire you when you look ‘soft’ (handsome) giggle at your jokes, and weep when you leave.”

(Jamaican Tourist Board, 1970s brochure. Quoted in Erisman (1983): ‘Tourism and Cultural Dependency in the West Indies’. Annals of Tourism Research 10: 337-361)

A place’s image is the sum of beliefs, ideas and impressions that people have of that place. The images that different people hold of a place can vary widely. Any major city can be seen as a childhood hometown, a bustling city, an urban jungle, a shopping mecca, a centre of entertainment and culture or a great weekend getaway destination. There are many influences in shaping an individual’s image of a destination:

education parents/friends/peers – personal contacts, including word-of-mouth

from other travellers’ to the destination media – different types, general editorial features, specific travel

features (including destination-assisted)

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advertising – by the destination itself, by the foreign travel trade featuring the destination

brochures and website – again both of the destination and about the destination by commercial operators

own experience. The concern for marketers is how to identify, measure and control our product’s image to attract consumers and build market share?

Kotler, Haider and Rein (1993) define strategic image management (SIM) as the ongoing process of:

researching a place’s image among its audiences, segmenting and targeting its specific image and its demographic

audiences, positioning the place’s benefits to support an existing image or create

a new image, and communicating those benefits to the target audiences.

Place images are identifiable and change over time, so the place marketer needs to be able to track and influence the image held by different target audiences. Images usually change slowly but can be rapid as a result of major events and the power of the media eg Iraq moved from being perceived as an ancient, exotic Middle Eastern nation to a pariah state thanks to the actions of Saddam Hussein. Image management is an ongoing process of researching image changes and trying to understand their dynamics.

Assessing a place’s image involves: first, selecting the target segments; and, second, measuring the image held by these segments. Kotler, Haider and Rein (1993) describe three approaches to measuring images.

Familiarity-favourability measurementTo establish familiarity, respondents are asked to check one of the following:Never heard of it

Heard of it Know a little bit about it

Know a fair amount about it

Know it very well

Those respondents with some familiarity of the place are then asked to describe how favourable they feel about the destination:Very unfavourable

Somewhat unfavourable

Indifferent Somewhat favourable

Very favourable

If a destination receives a lot of respondents checking the first two or three of the categories, it has a serious problem with respect to awareness (ie familiarity) or positive perception (favourability).

Semantic differentialThe semantic differential technique of measuring image involves testing respondents’ perceptions on a set of relevant dimensions for a particular theme such as the factors considered when choosing a destination for a holiday (eg weather, historical interest, shopping, cost, service). These dimensions are then assessed on a five-point bipolar scale with adjectival extremes at each end eg weather: always poor, more often poor than good, mixed, more often good than poor, always good.

Evaluative mapsOne measure of how individuals in targeted segments view a place is to inventory their visual impressions. This can be done at a micro level about different areas in a country or within a city. Words that represent opposites are placed at either end

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of the scale and respondents are asked to indicate where between the two extremes the place fits.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7Cold X FriendlyInteresting

X Uninteresting

Natural X ArtificialSimple X Sophisticat

edetc Etc

Guidelines for designing a place’s image For an image to be effective, it must meet the following criteria:

valid believable simple and used consistently appealing distinctive

Tools to communicate an imageThere are three broad categories of tools for communicating an image:1. slogans, themes, positions – one of the classic successes in tourism being New Zealand’s recognition more than a decade ago of the advantage its environemnt gave it, leading to its use of the slogan: “The Environmental Destination of the 1990s”. However, reflecting its leadership role it gave up and moved on from this theme while other destinations were only recognising its relevance. Another tool is image positioning, where a destination places itself in regiuonal, national and international terms as aplace for a certain type of activity, or where it claims a leadership role. Kotler et al (2002) cite the examples of Hong Kong – Asia’s World City, singapore – Tourism Capital and Sydney – Cultural Capital. Australia has sought to stress its cultural diversity through campaigns such as “Never mind Waltzing Matilda, you should see her Samba.”2. visual symbols – many places have icon landmarks (such as the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the Great Wall of China, and more recently London’s Eye) but it is important for the visual image to be consistent with the place’s slogans, themes etc. There are four commonly-used visual strategies – diverse (eg Singapore: not just a business centre), humorous (eg the industrial city of Bradford used a visual showing extensive clean-up and redevelopment leading to the arrival of “the first tourist” to fanfare and a mayoral welcome), denying (eg the use by the South African Tourist Board used a video prior to the ending of apartheid showing black and white people mixing freely together) and consistent (to link together a place’s very different attributes).3. events and deeds – the former Soviet Union used the Bolshoi Ballet and the performance of its gymnasts to boost its image during the Cold War period, while the holding of major sporting and cultural events has been positive for many countries in recent years, most noticeably Sydney, Australia and Athens, Greece.

Kotler, Haider and Rein (1993) identify six image situations for destinations: positive (ie no need to change; focus on amplifying the image and

delivering it to more target groups); weak (ie places that are small, lack attractions or do not advertise – in

some case deliberate on the community’s part); negative (ie as a result of crime, drugs, poverty, pollution etc, requiring

fundamental change prior to image redevelopment); mixed (ie part positive, part negative – indicating the need for a strategy

to emphasise selected aspects and rectify others); contradictory (ie different population groups with opposing images,

necessitating the emphasis of the positive elements to the groups holding negative views); and

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overly attractive (ie excessive demand for the destination threatening its attractiveness, leading to the need to withdraw publicity, impose planning restrictions etc).

It is always easier to develop a positive image from a weak situation rather than to correct a negative image; while addressing a crisis is more readily achieved by an established destination than for a newly emergent tourism destination. By way of example, Egypt (with its long history of tourism) was able to re-establish its tourist volumes more quickly following the tourist killings at Luxor in 1997 than the Dominican Republic was in respect of the widespread outbreak of tourist food poisoning it suffered at the same time.

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Prevailing destination image themesA study of themes used by destinations in the UK marketplace in the period between the terrorist attacks of September 11 2001 and the summer campaign for 2005 shows seven main categories:

WARM WELCOME - smiling, positive body poses (eg Portugal, Jamaica), use of visual images associated with friendliness like an avuncular looking man (Dominican Republic) and dolphins (which westerners identify as the friendliest of animals)

DIVERSITY - combining many features, attractions and not solely a beach holiday destination but able to cater for varied tastes (eg Spain over the past decade, Greece with its new emphasis on the cultural as well as coastal and recreational elements using the theme “Live your Myth in Greece”, Turkey “Time to Discover”). Also, Hong Kong, Thailand (Amazing Thailand), Cyprus (The Island for all Seasons)

UNSPOILT - stressing pristine natural and social-cultural aspects with suitable visual images (eg New Zealand – “100% Pure New Zealand”; Croatia (“Imagine a Country untouched by Commercialism”); Northumbria – “Hush Hour”, accompanied by visuals of undeveloped countryside; and rural areas in many countries)

ESCAPE, SIMPLICITY - often combined (eg Ireland – “live a different life” and “come and see Ireland’s wild side”, Wales – “area of outstandingly bad mobile reception”) but sometimes focused on self-pampering (eg Dubai) using terms like fun, happiness etc

OLD & NEW, TRADITIONAL AND MODERN - Malaysia (old theme)

CULTURE - Malaysia (changed theme – “truly Asia”), China (“Folk Arts”)

SAFETY - increasingly important since September 2001 events, symbolised through children playing unattended, use of words like "new", "international", "safe", "welcome" (eg Egypt –“ there has never been a better time to travel”)

Bland, generic, undifferentiated imagery has no impact, though destination marketing brochures and websites remain littered with terms like “paradise” and “sun and sandy beaches”. “Me-too” tourism marketing images lead to destination commoditisation!

Changing image and segmentationDestinations change their positioning and image to realise market opportunities and to target new segments. Tourism companies can do likewise, two current examples illustrating the growing importance of the young traveller. Both Contiki Holidays and Club 18-30, renowned for their “sex and sangria” form of tour offering, are seeking to move upmarket. Launching a marketing campaign to promote youth holidays that do not focus on drinking and casual sex, Contiki argues that “today’s younger market is much healthier and more discerning” and “no longer wants to spend a week in basic accommodation getting hammered.” Club 18-30’s campaign is aimed at convincing its target market that its holidays bear more resemblance to an exclusive club than an alcohol-fuelled free-for-all. It is responding to what it claims is an increasing sophistication in the club, fashion and holiday scene of young people. The widespread negative median reporting and fly-on-the-wall documentaries associated with both companies’ clientele in the Greek resort of Faliraki has undoubtedly also provoked this change of positioning and marketing approach.

Personality endorsement

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Destinations recognise that in the age of the personality, custom from respected (even otherwise famous) individuals heightens reputation and improves market perception. The key, of course, is to identify those personalities who your target market segments most admire and/or seek to emulate. The Dominican Republic, as a mainstream resort market destination looking to widen the range of socio-economic groups attracted to the destination, unashamedly “name drops” in its marketing approach. It features 7 individuals seen as “important” by targeted segments in different source markets in its press release recorded in a March 2005 edition of the travel and tourism e-newsletter service eTurbo News:

“ Celebrities Make the Dominican Republic a Top Vacation Destination” From presidents and royalty to actors and tycoons, the Dominican Republic is attracting the rich and famous from around the world. Forget Hollywood. The Dominican Republic is fast becoming one of the world's top destinations for star-sightings. In recent months, this Caribbean country has become the retreat of choice for a host of celebrities looking for a wide variety of leisure activities. From golfing to scuba diving, gambling to hiking, the world's most well-known residents are finding that the Dominican Republic has countless amenities in a breathtakingly beautiful landscape.

Most recently, former U.S. president George H. Bush visited the Dominican Republic. For the second year in a row, the president and his family stayed in a private villa at Casa de Campo in La Romana on the country's southeast side. When asked why he chose to return to the Dominican Republic, the president expressed his fondness for the country's climate and biodiversity. During his stay President Bush participated in a range of activities, including the "Challenge Cup" golf tournament where he cheerfully spoke with local Dominican and American participants.

Other recent visitors to the country include Bill Gates, Vanessa Williams, George Hamilton, Chris Tucker, Gloria Trevi and the King of Morocco, his Majesty Mohammad IV. Celebrating New Year's Eve in the Dominican Republic, Mohammad IV held an exclusive party featuring 300 guests of his Court.

Already, countless celebrities have made plans to visit the Dominican Republic during the upcoming months. They join more than 3.4 million tourists who have made the country one of the world's top Caribbean destinations. With the rapid growth of tourism in the Dominican Republic, the country has aggressive plans to continue adding new attractions and hotels without spoiling the natural beauty that has made it so popular.

Rich in history, the Dominican Republic's first tourist was Christopher Columbus in 1492. Since then, it has developed into a diverse destination offering both Dominican and European flavors. At 10,000 feet, the Dominican Republic is home to the highest point in the Caribbean. It also features some of the best golf courses and beaches in the world, the largest marina in the Caribbean and is a chosen escape for celebrities, couples and families. For more information on the Dominican Republic, visit http://www.dominicanrepublic.com/

Of course, personalities can also be used to galvanise action against destinations targeted by organisations supporting issues such as human rights to dissuade tourists from visiting and thus contributing towards the economies of what these campaigners see as immoral regimes. South Africa of the apartheid period was a primary target while current campaigns are being waged against China (in respect

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of Tibet) and Burma. The Burma Campaign UK has lined up politicians and celebrities to back the "I'm Not Going" campaign. British Prime Minister Tony Blair joined stars like US actress Susan Sarandon and British actor Sir Ian McKellen in backing the campaign, pledging not to take holidays in Burma and urging others to do the same.

The lure of Burma arising from the pre-military junta image (offering the cultural experience of Asia of the past) is in sharp contrast to that portrayed in the anti-tourism campaign. While pro-democracy campaigners are urging both the travel trades in source countries and independent tourists to stay away from Burma, the campaign is having only limited success as the country’s appeal remains strong. Growing numbers are ignoring the call. Nearly 657,000 foreigners visited the country last year, up from just under 600,000 in 2003, according to tourism authorities whose goal is to raise numbers to 750,000 this year, and who are in the midst of a Rangoon airport expansion that could see the facility handle Boeing 747s and up to 2.7 million passengers per year by 2006.

KEY READING Destination branding, niche marketing and national image projection in Central and Eastern Europe by Hall, D. (1999) in Journal of Vacation Marketing, 5 (3), pp. 227 – 237.

THE ROLE OF THE FOREIGN MEDIAThe various forms of media in tourist generating countries provide extensive and growing countries of destinations (ie countries, regions within countries and, increasingly, individual resorts and facilities). Consider the following:

most large circulation national and even local newspapers have regular travel supplements,

there are ever expanding numbers of magazines dedicated to one aspect or another of travel and tourism (ranging from independent travellers targeted through Wanderlust to luxury-oriented tourists via Conde Nast Traveller and including special interest segment publications geared to scuba divers, surfers, golfers, gourmets etc),

guide books maintain a central position and also are increasingly written with particular types of traveller in mind,

independent websites providing information, guidance and consumer ratings for destinations and tourist facilities are growing, and increasingly consulted by travellers.

Such exposure is widely welcomed by national tourist offices and operators alike and they seek to assist the journalists and crews producing material for their various publications. There is the risk, however, that the journalist or TV crew will not present a positive picture. It is important to remember that while the subject, through building up a good relationship with the media people, can exercise influence on the feature, ultimate control rests entirely with the newspaper, magazine, guide book or television company. The objective of the media is to maximise circulation/viewership, and to “sell” advertising space. They rarely have more than minimal commitment to the destination.

CRISIS MANAGEMENTThe other main occasion when foreign media are involved with travel and tourism is in the event of some form of disruption to the normal functioning of the industry, whether through transport or other form of accident, crime, terrorism, internal political and civil disorder, health problems or natural disaster. The key in dealing with the foreign media is openness, honesty, consistency, and speed and accuracy of response. The 10 golden rules presented by public relations expert Bronwyn Gold Blyth at the WTO’s 1997 General Assembly remain valid and were built on by de Villiers (2001):

1. never underestimate the possible harm a crisis can do to your tourism

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2. never discount the scale and influence of the media3. be prepared – have a crisis plan, and update it regularly4. establish a communications centre to be the prime source of

information during the crisis5. act fast, then issue regular update bulletins6. do NOT impose a news blackout7. train your spokespeople8. put the crisis in context9. recognise that it is not over when it is over! Ensure that the follow-up

coverage is positive10. do not lie! Trust is the key component of destination: foreign travel

trade/media relationship

To deal with any crisis contingency plans need to have been prepared in advance. Prideaux (2003) gives a good example of how Australia responded to the US and Bali bombings, while Cushnahan (2003) looks at it from the small operator perspective.

KEY READING Chapter 12 The Media in Swarbrooke, J. (1999) Sustainable Tourism Management. CAB International, pp 135 – 141.

RESPONDING TO THE TSUNAMIThe twelve months since the December 2005 tsunami have seen concerted action on the part of the tourism authorities of the Asian countries affected to restore their tourism sectors both through re-development assistance and through marketing activities to persuade the tourist to “come back”. Most destinations, affected (or perceived by prospective tourists to be affected) by the tsunami saw a fall of between 30 to 50% in bookings in three month following the event. Emergency marketing measures undertaken included familiarisation trips for travel staff of source markets, daily website updates, and price cutting (eg $399 for a week in 3* accommodation in Maldives as against the normal price of £800).

The countries have been assisted in their image recovery campaigns by international and regional bodies like the World Tourism Organization (WTO) – see Case Study below - and the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) respectively. Within a couple of weeks PATA compiled and circulated a comprehensive list to all its members (including its 350 in the UK travel industry) of resorts and regions that were unaffected or back in business. This was designed to counter confusion in the trade by providing an “accurate picture of the recovery process so you can make informed decisions.” The newsletter contained maps, facts and figures from each region and testimonies from people in Thailand and the Maldives. See http://www.pata.org/tsunami.

CASE STUDY: WTO response to the tsunamiIn the immediate aftermath of the tsunami WTO urged the media to look hard at its coverage of humanitarian relief to destinations afflicted by the tsunami in order not to cause misunderstanding among potential travellers and slow the recovery of tourism. It argued that the best way to help the Indian Ocean destinations, in particular Sri Lanka, Maldives, Thailand and Indonesia, was to encourage tourists to return, fearing that saturation coverage of the tragedy in the most damaged areas could lead to misunderstanding among consumers when the reality was that around 80 per cent of hotels and resorts in these destinations remained fully operational.

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In seeking to avoid another 'infodemic', as happened two years ago during the SARS crisis, WTO stressed the need for all tourism stakeholders to fulfil their responsibilities as laid down in WTO’s Global Code of Ethics for Tourism. It calls on the press “to 'issue honest and balanced information on events and situations that could influence the flow of tourists'; and to provide accurate and reliable information to consumers of tourism services." It urged the media to take care in distinguishing between two different issues: the global humanitarian campaign to help people regain their homes, normal conditions of life and work and overcome the loss of their loved ones; and the story about tourism recovery and the contribution it could bring to those local people for whom it is the sole source of employment and income.

In Indonesia, for example, the tsunami hit hardest in areas of no significant tourism, the leading destinations in the country - Bali, Lombok, Yogyakarta and Jakarta – being thousands of kilometres away from the epicentre off the province of Aceh in northern Sumatra and unaffected by the tidal wave. Nonetheless the tourism image of these places was facing a serious challenge resulting from the tsunami.

As part of its Phuket Action Plan for tsunami recovery, WTO launched an awareness campaign  -"Holiday with your heart - travel to Sri Lanka, Maldives, Thailand and Indonesia" - at the March 2005 ITB travel trade fair in Berlin in March, conveying the message that "we must look to the future, and it is the duty of the international community to support the affected countries as they embark on the arduous road to recovery".

WTO invited a group of tourism journalists to visit the four countries and provide them with a balanced report on what work is being done. In mid-May a regional conference on tourism communications (TOURCOM) will be staged in Bali. WTO's partners in the Phuket Action Plan, are Visa International, CNN Traveller, Thai Airways, several governments and donor organisations. For further information see http://www.world-tourism.org.

Perhaps it is a sign of the growing understanding by increasing proportions of consumers of the consequence of their tourist activity and spending on the people of the places they visit, that recovery is already well-established within four months of the tsunami. Perhaps, also, the saturation media coverage has served to sensitise more people in tourist source markets of the importance of tourism for these destinations. These are (possibly) positive signs for a greater opportunity for the principles of responsible tourism marketing to be followed in coming years.

KEY READING Chapter 7 ‘Designing a Place’s Image’ pp. 227-253 in Kotler, P et al (2002) Marketing Asian Places: attracting investment, industry, and tourism to cities, states and nations. John Wiley & Sons (Asia) Pte Ltd., Singapore.

EVALUATING MARKETING EFFECTIVENESSArguably the biggest challenge faced by marketers is making the case for the budgets they require to carry out the programme of advertising, promotion, public relations and other marketing activities designed to implement the marketing strategy decided upon by the organisation. It is difficult to prove that any specific marketing activity has produced an increase in demand and – importantly – revenue. There are tools that can be used to examine individual campaigns eg

coupon response rates as a basic measure, followed up through tracking surveys (see below) or more detailed group or individual research,

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website hit rates, tracking surveys whereby contact is made with individuals who

responded via a telephone enquiry, coupon response or online request to an advertisement carrying a code by which enquiries can be traced to the particular advertisement.

The key with all forms of effectiveness measurements is to establish whether the marketing campaign conducted achieved its goals in raising awareness and interest, and in converting that increased knowledge into desire and actual purchase. The key text (Kotler et al) outlines methods related to the various marketing and promotional techniques (pp. 582, 603, 621, 702, 776-779) while the readings below provide case studies. Particular attention is drawn to the method outlined by the Australian State of Victoria which uses a combination of pre-testing through focus groups, visitor surveys, omnibus surveys weighted to the whole population, tourist accommodation surveys and research among regional, national and international markets. Its key performance indicators (KPI) related to different forms of marketing activity (MA) are:

MA KPIAdvertising (print) Reach – numbers of potential customers

exposed to the ad.Frequency – numbers of times the ad is seen by potential customersNB measures obtained via consumer response and bookings via ads

Brochures Numbers producedNumbers distributedNumbers requestedConsumer reaction

Internet sites Numbers of “hits”, visitors to siteNumbers of e-mail addresses collectedNumber/value of bookings made

Direct mail Numbers distributedNumber of responsesNumber/value of bookings generated

PR & publicity Value of exposure generatedNumber/value of bookings generated

Travel shows Number of visitors to showNumber of visitors to booth/standMaterial distributed

Familiarisation visits Number of participants

USEFUL READINGS1. The Marketing Planning Index: a Tool for Measuring Strategic

Marketing Planning Effectiveness. Paul Phillips & Luiz Moutinho (1998). Journal of Travel and Tourism Marketing, Vol.7, Issue3, pp.41-60. Haworth Press, Inc.

2. An Expanded Framework for Measuring the Effectiveness of Destination Advertising. E.G. McWilliams & J.L. Crompton (1997). Tourism Management, Vol.18, No.3, pp.127-137. Elsevier Science.

3. How Potential Tourists React to Mass Media Advertising: Advertising versus Publicity (2005). Research note. M.D. Loda, W.Norman & K. Bachman. Journal of Travel and Tourism Marketing, Vol.18, Issue3, pp.63-70.

4. Evaluation of a Tourist Brochure (2005). K.L. Andereck. Journal of Travel and Tourism Marketing, Vol.18, Issue2, pp.1-13.

5. Website Evaluation in Tourism and Hospitality (2003). A.M. Morrison, J.S. Taylor & A. Douglas. Journal of Travel and Tourism Marketing, Vol.17, Issue2/3, pp232-251

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6. Evaluating Marketing Campaigns (2000). Tourism Victoria. Access through: www.tourismvictoria.com.au/images/assets/All_PDFs/evaluating_marketing.pdf

KEEPING UP-TO-DATEThe tourism marketer is faced with the inevitability that events & developments occur on virtually a daily basis to require him/her to re-assess the approach and delivery of marketing actions. It is important, therefore, for anyone involved in tourism to keep an eye on developments around the world and to be aware of the implications of such developments for destinations and operators far away from the scene of these events. Witness the impact of the September 11 terrorist attacks on the USA. Apart from the travel trade magazines published in each country and regional organisations like PATA, there are a number of websites that provide updated tourism news:

www.eturbonews.comwww.travelwirenews.com

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REFERENCESCushnahan, G. (2003) Crisis Management and Small-scale Tourism. Journal of Travel and Tourism Marketing, Vol.15,Issue4, pp.281-298. Haworth Press Inc., New York

de Villiers, D. (2001) Strategies for overcoming the crisis: Building confidence through security, communications and promotion. Tourism Recovery Committee of the World Tourism Organization, Madrid – access through www.world-tourism.org/mkt/committees/recovery/london2001/devilliers_london.htm

Erisman, M. (1983) Tourism and Cultural Dependency in the West Indies. Annals of Tourism Research 10, Elsevier Science, London, Amsterdam & New York.

Fabricius, M. (2001) Competitive Strategies for Tourism Destinations. Dissertation Master’s Degree in Business Leadership, University of South Africa.

Goodwin, H & Francis, J. (2003). Ethical and Responsible Tourism: Consumer Trends in the UK. Journal of Vacation Marketing, Vol9, No.3, pp.271-284. Henry Stewart Publishing, London.

Grant, R. M. (1995) Contemporary Strategy Analysis: Concepts, Techniques, Applications. 2nd Edition, Blackwell Publishers, Massachusetts.

Hall, D. (1999) Destination branding, niche marketing and national image projection in Central and Eastern Europe in Journal of Vacation Marketing, 5 (3), Sage Publications, London

Heath, E. T. and Wall, G. (1992) Marketing Tourism Destinations: A Strategic Planning Approach, John Wiley and Sons Inc. New York.

Kotler, P., Bowen, J. and Makens, J (2003) Marketing for Hospitality and Tourism. Prentice Hall – Pearson Education, New Jersey

Kotler, P., Hamlin, M.A., Rein, I. and Haider, D.H. (2002) Marketing Asian Places: attracting investment, industry, and tourism to cities, states and nations. John Wiley & Sons (Asia) Pte. Ltd., Singapore

Kotler, P., Haider D.H.and Rein, I (1993) Place Marketing. Free Press, New York

Middleton, V.T.C. with Clarke, J. (2001) Marketing in Travel and Tourism. Butterworth Heinemann, Oxford.

Mills, J.E & Law. R (eds.) (2005) Handbook of Consumer Behaviour, Tourism and the Internet. Haworth Press Inc. New York.

Morgan, N., Pritchard, A and Pride, R. (eds.) (2002) Destination Branding: Creating the unique destination proposition. Butterworth Heinemann, Oxford.

National Geographic (2003). Geotourism Survey Shows Millions of Travelers Care (http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/10/1024_031024_travelsurvey.html)

Prideaux, B. (2003) The Need to Use Disaster Planning Frameworks to Respond to Major Tourism Disasters: Analysis of Australia’s Response to Tourism Disasters in 2001. Journal of Travel and Tourism Marketing, Vol.15, Issue3, pp. 281-298. Haworth Press Inc., New York.

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Swarbrooke, J. (1999) Sustainable Tourism Management. CAB International, Wallingford

Travel Industry Association of America - TIA (2002). The Geotourism Study. TIA/National Geographic Traveler, Washington DC. (www.tia.org/survey.pdf)

UNEP/ESOMAR (2005) Sustainable Motivation:Attitudinal & Behavioural Drivers for Action - access through http://www.mpginti.com/sustain

World Tourism Organization/European Travel Commission (2003) Evaluating NTO Marketing Activities. WTO, Madrid

World Tourism Organization (1999a). Tourism 2020 Vision: Executive Summary (updated). WTO, Madrid

World Tourism Organization Business Council (1999b). Changes in Leisure Time. WTO, Madrid

Websiteswww.eTurboNews.com www.pata.org/tsunamiwww.world-tourism.org

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