Destination marketing is undergoing a revolutionary change. For many, mass advertising fades in relevance as word-of-mouth promotion moves front-and-centre and DMOs begin to manage experiences. Your visitors and residents influence people who trust them by sharing their travel experiences in vast online networks. You can learn a lot from the millions of conversations out there. […]
Place DNA (TM)
RTO4’s unique destination marketing approach
Back in 2014, Destination Think! worked closely with Regional Tourism Organization Four Inc. for the Province of Ontario, Canada (RTO4) to define their Place DNA™ as a catalyst towards sustainable destination development and regional collaboration. Several years on we thought we’d check in. In this guest column, RTO4’s Chief Marketing Officer and Chief Operations Officer […]
White papers
3 white papers to lead your destination into the future
Destination marketing is changing quickly. Shifts in technology and consumer behaviour have forced many organizations (DMOs) to adapt or risk irrelevance. Does your destination use the best information and analysis to plan for the future? This is the place to find it. As an experienced destination marketing agency and consultancy, we have found that many […]
Measuring success
Engagement benchmarks: How does your destination compare?
You’ve just received your DMO’s quarterly marketing report. Flipping through the deck, you see that your social media channels are showing strong numbers. 70,000 more engagements here, 8,000 more followers there – growth is happening across the board. It seems like good news. Then at a meeting, someone asks, “What do these engagement numbers really […]
Case studies
Case study: How Campbell River rebranded itself from the inside out
Successful destination branding stems from the identity of the people who make a place what it is. Over time, people and communities change, places and travel habits change, and destinations need to ensure that brand strategy evolves along with them. Campbell River is a coastal city of some 35,000 people nestled within the stunning landscapes […]
Sustainable tourism
How do your residents feel about tourism? Visit Flanders studies local perceptions of carrying capacity
Visit Flanders is taking resident opinions about tourism seriously. The Belgian destination management organization (DMO) has released a report written by Vincent Nijs that describes resident perspectives about carrying capacity and the perceived value of tourism in the city of Bruges. Nijs conducted this study as part of his MBA thesis at MODUL University in […]
Visitor centres
Are DMO visitor centres making a Blockbuster mistake?
“I’ve been frankly confused by this fascination that everybody has with Netflix […] Netflix doesn’t really have or do anything that we can’t or don’t already do ourselves.” -Blockbuster CEO Jim Keyes, in a 2008 interview with CBS News In the mid-2000s, Blockbuster Video was the world leader in movie rentals. The famous blue and yellow stores […]
Always-on content
Survive the Facebook algorithm and thrive with timeless destination marketing strategy
“… you can expect to see more from your friends, family and groups. As we roll this out, you’ll see less public content like posts from businesses, brands, and media.” -Mark Zuckerberg, Founder and CEO at Facebook In January 2018, Facebook announced a significant change to its News Feed algorithm. The social media company says […]
Shareable experiences
How destinations can increase word-of-mouth promotion by designing socialgenic experiences
Recognizing that visitors are social and that travel-bragging is a primary motivator for travel, modern destinations and tourism operators can improve promotion by designing “socialgenic” experiences. Social: That which includes a connection and an exchange between two or more people. Genic: That which produces or causes something. Social + Genic = Socialgenic: That which produces […]