Destination Marketing - Essay Example

Destination Marketing

Tourism and destinations industry is one of the fastest growing industries across the world and is considered as one of the major sources of revenues for most nations across the globe. Destination marketing is the process of communicating with potential visitors so as to try and convince as well as influence their destination preference, their intention, and plans to travel and finally influence their final destination and choices of products (Tarlow 2003pp.51.). Destination marketing forms part of the major goals of tourism marketing as well as the implementation process whereby the destination’s vision, values as well as attributes are well articulated and communicated to potential customers, and this helps in increasing customer numbers and hence profitability (Butler 2006 pp. 45).

This paper explains how the marketing of a tourism destination can benefit from other special interest tourism products that exist, and these include niche tourism, mass tourism, volume destination value, seasonality among other marketing benefits (Ahas et al. pp. 898).

Niche tourism

Niche tourism refers to how a certain specific tourism product can be tailored to various specifications so as to meet the needs of a particular targeted market segment or a certain audience (Dalgic, &Leeuw, 2000 pp. 50). Locations and destinations with specific niche products are in a position to position themselves as niche tourism destinations. Niche tourism such as the creation of images helps destinations to differentiate themselves as well as their products from competitors and help to maintain or increase competitive edge in an increasingly competitive market. The use of niche tourism has direct impacts on the destination as well other contributions to the development of destinations as they progress through it. Niche tourism can as well mean that travel can be broken down into larger homogenous market sectors know as macro-niches whereby each macro-nice has specific purposes (Tarlow, 2003 pp. 51).

Niche tourism is termed as a prime motivator for tourism and considered as a valuable product for tourism destination and also used as a core activity for single product destinations. Understanding the reason why people visit destinations as well as how these people can be motivated and convinced is one of the major factors that can help market tourism destinations. Tourism marketplaces have matured meaning that competition has been on the increase. In addition, a more engaged consumer has led to the desire to seek new destination markets and niches (Tarlow, 2003 pp. 52).

Niche marketing evolved in the 1900s and since then, the concept has developed to an extent that it is replacing the tradition way of marketing. Whereby the form of marketing used nowadays does not focus on a mass market, rather, a myriad of fractured markets is being considered not only in the destination marketing but also in other markets and industries (Dalgic, &Leeuw, 2000 pp. 50). Companies have realized that product and market segmentation is the idea whereby products are tailored towards the specifications of a given customer segment depending on various factors such as age, demographics, levels of income among other factors. For the destinations and tourism sector, the focus is now on the customer, rather than on profitability. For instance, a newly started destination should never focus on profitability at the initial stages. rather, the focus should be on the customer whereby various specific products are well segmented and cater for the needs of the client (Dalgic, &Leeuw, 2000pp.55). During the 1980s, the focus was on a whole mass market whereby destinations advertised their places and products by one thing for a different customer. Nowadays, due to increased competition as well as various customer needs and specifications, tourist destinations have changed their focus towards making the customer happy before considering the aspects of profitability. This forms the basis of Niche marketing and it is a major marketing strategy for destinations (Tarlow, 2003 pp. 52).

Mass tourism

Mass tourism refers to a condition where there is a massive influx of tourists in a particular destination, and this condition exists mostly during holidays where. During such situations, destinations can take advantage and ensure that they visit the various airports and then try as much as possible to differentiate their products from the rest in the already competitive market. This kind of differentiation can be through offering special rates so as to encourage scores of tourists to visit their selected places and destinations (Butler, 2001pp.22) Most destinations tend to use this as an opportunity and employee various sales people and marketers who should focus on creating and maintaining relationships with clients obtained from airports as well as other places where visitors and tourists like most. Mass tourism is closely related to seasonality, however, for mass tourism to occur, it does not necessarily mean that the travel season is high. This means that mass tourism can also be caused by other factors other than seasonality (Ahas et al pp. 898).

Seasonality in marketing of a tourism destination

Seasonality in tourism simply refers to situations where there are high fluctuations of tourists and visitors in a certain country or a destination (Buhalis, 2000pp.97). Although seasonality has been termed as bad since it leads to a reduction of tourist dollars due to increased demand, the condition might still be used as an opportunity. This means that a certain destination, say for instance those who are not much crowded can try to visit such crowded areas and try as possible to offer better products as to when compared with competitors and ensure that customer service is exceptional. Through this, destinations can acquire new clients who need to be well maintained for future, and this helps to grow and develop new destinations (Coshal, 2000 pp. 198).

Creation of awareness forms the basis in destination marketing whereby destination organizations should bear the responsibility of ensuring that they inform and persuade clients, who are mainly visitors and tourists form the both local and international visitors. The importance of this is to ensure that they present what they offer to new clients and help growth their business through reaching out to new customers. Destination marketers need to make use of various components of promotion in an optimal way so as to ensure that they increase the number of users if their destinations and products (Butler, 2006pp.22).The basic thing behind destination marketing is to ensure that visitors increase their duration of stay in their destinations, frequency of visits by ensuring that they offer new products every time a client visits the destination.

In most cases, seasonality in tourism tends to be viewed as a challenge in that it leads to overcrowding and overpopulation which can lead to situations of the disease outbreak, pollution of the environment among other negative effects. However, from the destinations’ viewpoint, seasonality can be used to their advantage. Destination organizations need to master how the seasons change and focus on high seasons whereby they can come up with new and more advanced products aimed at luring visitors and tourists to their destinations. This is just a matter of ensuring that the right resources are well established. For instance, the customer care team ought to be well-trained on how to offer exceptional customer service and ensure that once the visitor goes, he or she will indeed come back, and this helps in growing and developing the destination.

Conclusion

Marketing research is a concept that is used comprehensively by destination marketers so as to identify the various types of markets that are available and that can be attracted to their destinations. This is done through the process of convincing them, and this comes as a result of the application of various strategies such as the use of special rates, product differentiation forms the rest of competition and ensuring that effective customer experience is provided. Approaching the right market in destination marketing as well as providing the most appropriate combination of products and services is considered as the secret to successful destinations. Destination marketing is becoming more complex since tourists are becoming too demanding meaning that their needs, tastes, and preferences are continuously changing.

This creates a big challenge for destinations to try as much as possible to ensure that their products and services meet those needs. Global competition, as well as industry concentration, also adds to the changes that face the providers of tourist destinations. The issue of matching clients demand and supply in the market also adds to the challenges. Growing global competition as well as the growth of a new body of tourists who are too demanding and sophisticated means that the effectiveness of the marketing strategies used will help differentiate between tourist destinations. Nowadays, consumers are always following the special interest and in most cases, they term their trips as forms of recreational and educational experiences and thus the level of the quality required for the destinations where they would spend must be exceptional.

These challenges make the main reasons why various companies have not been in a position to keep their business hence end up closing. It is thus recommended that the tourist destination companies should work towards making the consumer happy through offering something new to their recurring customers as well as ensuring that the customer experience offered to the is exceptional. This will help create and maintain a competitive advantage in an already competitive and filled market (Botterill, 2001 pp. 199).