As the year comes to a close, we look back at the trends and articles that were of most interest to you, our readers. Our top five posts this year range from Wonderful Copenhagen’s provocative destination marketing strategy, to overtourism, to niche marketing. Here they are:

5) What does the ideal DMO look like?
Imagine your destination marketing utopia. Members of our international team got together to make a wish list to build a perfect (well, improved) future for destination marketing organizations (DMOs).

4) Go niche or go home
Destinations provide visitors with infinitely complex combinations of travel experiences. To some, niche marketing sounds too small to be worth the effort. It isn’t, when you consider the potential spend of the audience relative to your destination. Which DMO wouldn’t want to tap into the $41 billion U.S. bird watching market?

3) Resident backlash and anti-tourist sentiment: a running list
Today, some destinations struggle to manage enormous levels of visitation. Have you heard about the cruise ship blockades of Venice, or the beautiful Thai islands now on tourism lockdown? Here are some of the most important overtourism stories of the past few years. Be sure to comment with your own.

2) How will augmented reality support the tourism experience?
Last year, Pokémon Go thrust augmented reality (AR) into the mass market, and the topic has been trending upward ever since. Will destination marketing feel the impact? Think strategist Frank Cuypers says that in the future, travellers “will experience planning and travelling in a much more interactive and enriching way that will feel like a journey of its own.”

The Destination Think team has also had a rich and exciting journey this year. In 2017, we worked with destinations as large and diverse as Europe, as stunning as Banff, and as warmly welcoming as Aruba. Here are some of our 2017 projects:

1) Copenhagen declares “The End of Tourism as We Know It” in 4-year destination strategy
This was likely the most viral destination marketing and management strategy of the year. In a bold stroke (and in consultation with Destination Think), Wonderful Copenhagen announced that its new plan “concludes the end of tourism, as we know it.” What’s next? “Localhood for everyone.”

In destination marketing, change is the only constant. Destination Think’s agency and strategic consultancy is designed to help your DMO adapt by developing future-focused marketing and management strategies. Contact our team to begin.

Featured image credit: Giuseppe Milo, Flickr