Destination Marketing

The marketing of destinations is becoming an increasingly important topic as destinations and regions become more reliant on tourism as an economic driver. However, destinations operate in a very competitive marketplace, where there is an abundance of choice for the consumer who has access to multiple tourism destinations, both locally and globally. Therefore, it is essential that the destination presents itself to the consumer in such a way that it will firstly, draw attention to itself, and ultimately be selected by the tourist for visitation. While the promotion and marketing of tourism products can be organised at the individual operator level, a stronger profile is achieved for the whole destination when the marketing efforts are organised through a collaboration of many operators with numerous and varied product offerings. Typically, there are specialised organisations that concentrate on marketing the whole destination. Destination Marketing Organisations (known as DMOs) can be based at the city (Surfers Paradise), regional (Gold Coast), state (Queensland), national (Australia) and global region level (Australasia). The DMOs are responsible for crafting the image of the destination and marketing that image to the consumer.

This course will provide an understanding of the role of marketing for tourism destinations at the national, regional and local levels. The course will encompass the consumer decision process as well as the approaches to marketing for destinations including branding, imaging, positioning and communicating.

Interrelationship of the Course with other Course/s and Program/s

This course is a third year elective course in the Bachelor of Business. Students who have an interest in developing their understanding of the marketing of destinations are encouraged to take this course.

After successfully completing this course you should be able to:

1 Examine the factors that influence the destination selection process;

2 Recognise the role of Destination Marketing Organisations (DMOs) and factors that contribute to their effectiveness; and

3 Discuss and evaluate destination marketing strategies and tactics.

4 Demonstrate the ability to effectively communicate and collaborate with others, in writing and orally, to prepare and present a destination marketing strategy.