If you started a new tourism destination from scratch, would you invest your limited resources in a brick-and-mortar visitor centre? It’s common practice to operate one; according to one study, eight out of ten destination marketing organizations (DMOs) have an official info centre. These visitor centres can evoke civic pride when locals provide top-notch hospitality […]
Visitor Experience
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 […]
India’s free SIM cards: a win-win for destinations and visitors
Destination marketing organizations (DMOs) everywhere are seeking new ways to provide value to visitors while helping them share their experiences. From producing engaging content, to social listening and enabling Wi-Fi, the tactics destinations use to encourage conversation are endless. India’s Ministry of Tourism is tackling the matter by offering something every traveller needs in a […]
Google Maps makes trip planning more social with new Lists feature
Every industry has at least one trailblazer that grabs the attention of the entire market whenever they announce something new. For technology, it’s Apple. The auto industry has Tesla. Music has Adele. Increasingly for DMOs, it’s Google. No company has more power to change the travel booking and planning industry in a day than Google. […]
Is your DMO delivering a little extra to make a big difference?
In the late 1800s, deep in the bayou of Louisiana in the United States, a tradition was born that still exists to this day on the soulful streets of New Orleans. In the bustling southern city, merchants began to add a little extra to a customer’s purchase; a piece of licorice here, or an extra […]
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 […]
Instantly help your visitors through micro-moments
How long does it take for a potential traveller to plan their next holiday? Marketers have long assumed that the planning process takes place over the course of several days, weeks, or even months. Brian Solis, a Principal Analyst at Altimeter and a speaker at Forum 2016 in New York City, has challenged this notion […]
Your destination needs to offer visitor servicing through social. Here’s why.
Is your destination listening and responding to its visitors online? If not, you have work to do. The State of Social Customer Service report from Conversocial published in August 2016 shows that now more than ever, businesses all over the world are responding to consumer queries and feedback via their social channels. This trend creates […]
Phygital tourism is here to change your world
In an age of mashups and remixes, the word “phygital” is an apt hybrid. Phygital marketing seeks to seamlessly blend the physical and digital reality through omnichannel communications and experiences. This trend has huge implications for the future of tourism: phygital tourism will affect far more than consumer behaviour, it will also impact the way […]
Liverpool forges new DMO role in shaping visitor experience through collaboration
Experience development is top of mind for today’s destination marketers. As more and more organizations move from marketing to management, a paradigm shift is taking place. One of the participants of our collaboration at Forum 2016 summed up the change by writing: “Delete product / install experience.” In other words, travel experiences are not merely products to […]
How will augmented reality support the tourism experience?
Building an incredible visitor experience is essential to a destination’s success. Augmented reality (AR) has an important part to play in this success as it begins to enhance real world experiences through mainstream technologies. In 2009, smartphone apps began to use AR technology to add a layer of guidance, content and entertainment to physical locations […]
Imagine your visitor centre, times 1000. Here’s how Shuswap Tourism enhanced local tourism advocacy.
What if every cabin in your destination was a visitor centre? Shuswap Tourism knows how that might look. The Columbia-Shuswap Regional District of British Columbia is home to Shuswap Lake, a Canadian houseboating mecca and outdoor adventure destination. The area (commonly known as “the Shuswap”) boasts small-town comforts and natural beauty that attracts visitors seeking […]
#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, […]
Keeping its destination profitable and its people happy: Aruba’s cap on all-inclusive resorts
Aruba is famous for year-round sunshine, award-winning beaches and for being “One Happy Island” that was even recently named the happiest island in the world. Beyond beach life, the island offers a dynamic culinary scene, luxury shopping and cultural festivals, and this diversity of experiences is attracting ever more visitors. In 2015, total arrivals increased […]
Let’s get digital: Placemaking and immersive tourism experiences
Our physical and digital worlds are colliding in ways most people wouldn’t have thought possible just a decade ago. This trend is especially apparent when we look at digital placemaking, which has begun to enhance destination experiences around the globe. What’s digital placemaking? You’ll receive slightly different definitions depending on who you ask, but here’s […]
Whale watching and Wi-Fi: Why building the right infrastructure makes a tourism experience more socialgenic
Destinations and tourism businesses benefit greatly from peer-to-peer promotion and operators in the know prompt it from their guests wherever possible by creating “socialgenic” experiences. Need a refresher? Social + Genic = Socialgenic: That which produces or causes a connection and an exchange between two or more people. Past articles in our series have addressed […]
Will Google Trips disrupt the visitor centre as we know it?
Visitor centres, you’ve got competition. On September 19, Google launched its latest travel app, Google Trips. The app promises to “plan and organize your trip in just minutes,” ultimately de-stressing the travel planning process. Users can access customized itineraries on popular cities, suggestions on things to see and do, places to eat, transportation options, and […]
The real value of kissing a fish: how rituals help to make tourism experiences memorable
You simply have to experience this when you visit. Why? Well… you just do. Be it kissing the Blarney Stone in Ireland, or kissing a cod during a Newfoundland, Canada screech-in, some activities seem mandatory when visiting certain destinations. When you really think about it, why you must do them is a lot less clear, […]
10 must-read articles on the destructive force of mass tourism
Destinations around the world are under increasing pressures due to exponential growth in visitation. The negative effects of mass tourism are being felt in idyllic locations prized for pristine landscapes and also in cities, where the quality of life of residents is being negatively impacted by the growing foot traffic. These 10 must-read articles shed […]
Boost word of mouth with remarkable mementos
Today’s travellers are the primary storytellers of the destinations they visit. For this reason, destinations and their tourism businesses need to focus on product as the starting point for both owned and earned promotion. Experiences and products that are socialgenic by design will cause “a connection and an exchange between two or more people” by […]
Thailand shifts away from mass tourism
Tourism in some parts of Thailand has reached critical mass. Later this year, some popular beaches are scheduled to close due to “overcrowding and environmental degradation” attributed to high visitation. How will the destination respond? Given today’s challenges, Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has announced their 2017 marketing plan, which emphasizes “value for experience” over […]
For Visit Flanders, long-term destination development is the definition of success
Is your destination equipped to create meaningful experiences? It’s time to take inspiration from Visit Flanders. Their approach to destination development in northern Belgium places them at the vanguard of those shaping today’s trends around tourism product and promotion. By emphasizing the “P” of product in their marketing mix, Visit Flanders matches visitors with niches […]
Want to improve visitor experience? Serve your guests by listening online
Your destination will host a major event next month and thousands of visitors are expected to arrive. Given the short-term influx of guests – many who are likely first-time visitors – how can your destination marketing organization (DMO) ensure they experience the best of your destination? Content or community managers can be proactive and create […]
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 […]
This DMO boosted ROI for operators by focusing on consumer experience
Regional Tourism Organization Four Inc. (RTO4) – one of 13 regional tourism offices in the province of Ontario, Canada – helps cities in their region to market themselves efficiently by fostering product development and differentiation and provides operators with strategic insight and digital tools to help increase their ROI. RTO4 takes a truly modern approach […]
How design thinking can improve your destination’s visitor experience
The core duties of a destination marketing organization (DMO) are shifting away from promotion in the inspirational phase and toward adding value in every step of the customer journey. Since much of that value comes from stakeholders and operators, DMOs must take hold of their new roles as facilitators of change and collaboration. How can […]
Is mass tourism destroying our cities? Bye Bye Barcelona documentary investigates
While tourism generates profit for some, it can also wreak havoc on local ways of life when left unchecked. This is becoming evident in some European cities where mass tourism is impacting the quality of life for its residents. As destination marketing organizations (DMOs) grapple with the challenge of increasing visitation, they must also consider […]
Four critical trends impacting destination marketing leadership in 2016: Part 3
Product and Promotion – Develop what you promote and promote what you develop. Are you equipped to create experiences? There is enormous disruption affecting the destination marketing industry. Over the past six months, the Destination Think! team has invested a significant amount of time conducting research on these challenges. Through an extensive series of interviews […]
4 changes that shape the future for destination marketers
What are some of the most important paradigm shifts for today’s destination marketing organizations (DMOs)? Decision-makers need to consider these four critical changes that will impact the way they lead their destination to greater success, given the new opportunities presented by evolving consumer behaviour. First, let’s consider where we’ve been. Once upon a time, in […]
The future role of a DMO: How Visit Sørlandet in Norway is an international leader in industry development
Heidi Sørvig is the Chief Executive Officer of Visit Sørlandet, a DMO that represents the region of Southern Norway, and which is recognized as an international leader for its innovative approach to industry development. She is also a spokesperson for organizational change, and believes that creating an organization whose foundation is well positioned for growth in […]
The Four Ps of Marketing for destinations
Too many destination marketers confuse “advertising,” “promotion” and “marketing.” Don’t be one of them. Getting the terminology correct will make your investments much more effective. There has been a lot of discussion in recent years about destination marketing organizations (DMOs) morphing into destination management organizations. While managing the product is becoming increasingly important in driving […]