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Why 70% of destinations say involving stakeholders is a major branding challenge

September 7, 2018 by David Archer Leave a Comment

Why 70% of destinations say involving stakeholders is a major branding challenge

We asked our readers to tell us their destination’s biggest branding challenge. (The poll remains open.) So far, about 70% chose “involving our tourism industry to educate and align with our brand” as a significant obstacle, ranking it either four or five out of five in difficulty. Some of you will feel validated to find […]

Filed Under: Brand and Identity, Topic: Place DNA Tagged With: ESTO, frank cuypers, music city, nashville, peter kentie, sarah prud'homme, This is Eindhoven, Topic: Place DNA, WestJet, william bakker

What tourism businesses need to know about destination branding

May 11, 2018 by Think! Staff Leave a Comment

What tourism businesses need to know about destination branding

Michael Eisner, ex-CEO of Disney, once said, “A brand is a living entity – and it is enriched or undermined cumulatively over time, the product of a thousand small gestures”. Destination brands live and breathe through ongoing collaboration. Thousands of small actions and conversations shape the larger story that makes a place what it is. […]

Filed Under: Brand and Identity Tagged With: colorado tourism office, Disney, frank cuypers, michael eisner, music city usa, nashville, paris, place dna, sarah prud'homme, william bakker

Case study: How Campbell River rebranded itself from the inside out

April 27, 2018 by Think! Staff 2 Comments

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 […]

Filed Under: Brand and Identity, Topic: Case Studies Tagged With: brand, campbell river, downtown disney, place dna, Topic: Case Studies, william bakker, Xcelerator

Survive the Facebook algorithm and thrive with timeless destination marketing strategy

February 16, 2018 by David Archer Leave a Comment

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 […]

Filed Under: Consumer Engagement, Destination Marketing Strategy, Long Haul, Strategic Planning, Topic: Always-on Content Tagged With: algorithm, Facebook, Tourism and Events Queensland, visit flanders, william bakker

Destination Think! is poised to lead destination marketing in Campbell River with long-term strategic plan

March 28, 2017 by Think! Staff 8 Comments

Destination Think! is poised to lead destination marketing in Campbell River with long-term strategic plan

Destination Think! is pleased to announce a partnership with the City of Campbell River in British Columbia, Canada. Under a new long-term agreement, Think! will bring its globally recognized destination marketing expertise to promote Campbell River. Destination Think! employees on location will be responsible for tourism management while reporting directly to the City. The partners […]

Filed Under: Company Updates Tagged With: campbell river, experience development, visitor servicing, william bakker

Airbnb adds Experiences to its sharing economy platform

March 23, 2017 by David Archer Leave a Comment

Airbnb adds Experiences to its sharing economy platform

In Q4 2016, Airbnb took a giant leap into new tourism territory by announcing Experiences, a new platform that turns locals into tourism operators. It’s all part of the company’s Trips product, which expands Airbnb beyond guest accommodations and home sharing into the role of a full-service travel agent. Experiences have begun in twelve cities […]

Filed Under: Day Trip, Innovation & Trends, Visitor Experience Tagged With: airbnb, sharing economy, team san jose, william bakker

How do your residents feel about tourism? Visit Flanders studies local perceptions of carrying capacity

March 15, 2017 by David Archer 1 Comment

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 […]

Filed Under: Destination Marketing Strategy, DMO Value Proposition, Postcards, Research and Analysis, Topic: Sustainable Tourism Tagged With: destination cleveland, modul university, Topic: Sustainable Tourism, vincent nijs, visit bruges, visit flanders, william bakker

Copenhagen declares “The End of Tourism as We Know It” in 4-year destination strategy

February 2, 2017 by David Archer 18 Comments

Copenhagen declares “The End of Tourism as We Know It” in 4-year destination strategy

Wonderful Copenhagen has just announced the destination strategy that will lead it through 2020 and beyond. Written in consultation with Destination Think!, the plan outlines seismic shifts in the DMO’s role, and begins by describing what Copenhagen will leave behind, with a wink and a smile: “Wonderful Copenhagen concludes the end of the era of tourism, as […]

Filed Under: Destination Marketing Strategy, Postcards, Strategic Planning, Strategy & Performance Measurement, Topic: Case Studies Tagged With: frank cuypers, localhood, Topic: Case Studies, william bakker, wonderful copenhagen

What does the “M” of DMO mean for your destination?

December 9, 2016 by David Archer 1 Comment

What does the “M” of DMO mean for your destination?

“DMO” typically stands for “Destination marketing organization,” which has often been understood, in practice, to mean “promotion,” one of the 4 Ps of Marketing. But times are changing. As Destination Think! CEO Rodney Payne has said, “There has been a lot of discussion in recent years about destination marketing organizations (DMOs) morphing into destination management […]

Filed Under: Day Trip, Destination Marketing Strategy, Innovation & Trends, Strategic Planning Tagged With: anna pollock, Conscious Travel, hugh riley, Ólöf Ýrr Atladóttir, william bakker

#RainyDayShakespeare: Stratford, Ontario expresses its Place DNA™ to enhance the visitor experience

November 24, 2016 by Katie Shriner Leave a Comment

#RainyDayShakespeare: Stratford, Ontario expresses its Place DNA™ to enhance the visitor experience

Today’s tourism destinations are starting to understand the importance of defining their Place DNA™. What does this look like in practice? A small city in Southern Ontario has one answer: When it rains in Stratford, Shakespeare speaks. A creative project called #RainyDayShakespeare causes twenty unique Shakespeare quotes to appear on city sidewalks when it rains, […]

Filed Under: Day Trip, Innovation & Trends, Topic: Case Studies, Visitor Experience Tagged With: RTO4, Topic: Case Studies, william bakker, Zac Gribble

Don’t fall into a technology sinkhole

September 6, 2016 by William Bakker 2 Comments

Don’t fall into a technology sinkhole

What’s a DMO sinkhole? A DMO sinkhole is a single priority that ends up consuming a disproportionate amount of time and money. It gets DMOs boxed in or unwillingly committed to specific things for a long period of time because a large investment was made that needs to be justified, it was hyped up too […]

Filed Under: Destination Marketing Strategy, Re-fuel, Technology and Innovation Tagged With: destination marketing, organizational change, technology, technology for dmos, technology systems, tourism and technology, william bakker

Why a vibrant future for destination marketing means innovating together

August 31, 2016 by Think! Staff 2 Comments

Why a vibrant future for destination marketing means innovating together

Amid all the changes and disruption to tourism caused by technology, who’s keeping track of the bigger picture? Brilliant destination marketers face many of the same challenges as their global colleagues, but typically work in isolation. Today’s destination marketing leaders have identified four critical trends that reflect the current disruption: Profit and Planet, Cost and […]

Filed Under: Checking In, Destination Marketing Strategy, Innovation & Trends, Technology and Innovation Tagged With: leading thinkers, william bakker

Learn why Destination Think! Forum is a different kind of conference.

August 7, 2016 by Think! Staff Leave a Comment

Learn why Destination Think! Forum is a different kind of conference.

You’ve heard from us about Destination Think! Forum, now we want to share with you a bit more about what makes this event so unique. Forum brings the world’s leading destination marketers together in one place to have a global conversation about our industry’s challenges and opportunities. Over the past five years of hosting international […]

Filed Under: Company Updates Tagged With: amsterdam marketing, brian solis, bye bye barcelona, collaboration and community, cost and revenue, Destination British Columbia, destination cleveland, forum, Iceland Tourist Board, nashville, nbtc, product and promotion, profit and planet, swedish tourist association, switzerland tourism, tel aviv global, Tourism and Events Queensland, visit flanders, visit florida, william bakker

Destinations are shifting to digital-first marketing to improve word-of-mouth promotion

June 16, 2016 by Think! Staff Leave a Comment

Destinations are shifting to digital-first marketing to improve word-of-mouth promotion

The destination marketing world is changing as consumers use technology to share their experiences online through word of mouth, and organizations are trying to adjust to the shift. This 2003 quote from Harvard Business Review remains relevant today: “…the only path to profitable growth may lie in its ability to get its loyal customers to […]

Filed Under: Consumer Engagement, Destination Leadership, Destination Marketing Strategy, Long Haul, Strategic Planning, Topic: Shareable Experiences Tagged With: Barcelona, cleveland, design thinking, DMAI, DNA, i amsterdam, nashville, rovaniemi, RTO4, Simpleview Summit, Topic: Shareable Experiences, visit flanders, visit sørlandet, william bakker, word of mouth

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