Try this simple thought experiment. If you could only choose one, would you rather have: 1,000,000 followers who are connected to your tourism destination or 10,000 followers who talk about you every week? Think about it this way: your most engaged visitors and residents are your best marketers. They have the experiences that turn into stories […]
Know your visitors, focus your budget
For most potential visitors to your destination, the journey between “I’ve never heard of this place,” and “I’m going to tell everyone how great my trip was,” is long and winding. “It’s very important to understand where your target audience is in the customer journey,” says William Bakker, Destination Think!’s Chief Strategist. “When you know […]
The Love of Tourism: Bay of Plenty plans a future of flourishing
“Sustainability doesn’t go far enough,” says Kristin Dunne, CEO at Tourism Bay of Plenty (TBOP), echoing The Love of Tourism, her new destination plan. She stands at the forefront of destination marketing leaders calling for the tourism industry to expand its goals beyond economic growth and take action to mitigate environmental challenges often linked to […]
Master your destination brand with DMO Matters: Rebrand Edition
Discuss “brand” with a room full of your tourism stakeholders, and you might bring up a bundle of baggage bigger than the carousels at LAX. Everyone carries an opinion and biases based on their experiences. Leading and coordinating stakeholders is a common challenge for destination marketers. That’s why we’ve gathered valuable insights from Destination Think!’s brand […]
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 […]
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. […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
#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, […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]