Wednesday 20th April
If you work in the tourism industry, you likely already know how vital it is to effectively get the word out about what you offer. Ultimately, what you are offering, more than anything else, is a destination – a specific part of the country or world. It’s not enough to single out just a particular attraction or hotel – you should promote the whole destination. The technique of destination management can help you to do precisely this – but what actually is destination management, and how can you effectively use it? Below, we give a quick run-down for putting together a good destination management strategy.
Write out a thorough definition of your destination
No, this task doesn’t just call for you to draw a few lines on a map to clarify the precise geographical boundaries of your destination. What you want to do is write out an in-depth description of various facets of your destination, accurately setting out the experience that it offers. So, how can visitors physically travel to this destination? What character, people, history and culture does it have? How financially expensive is a typical stay there? Who would most enjoy spending time there?
Forge an appealing and memorable brand for your destination
Any mention of brands might, for you, instantly bring to mind the “bitten apple” logo of tech giant Apple or the recognisable “M” symbol associated with McDonald’s. However, destinations, like companies, need effective branding in order to be promoted to their full potential. A destination needs to communicate what it is, what it offers what it does, and the quality and consistency of what it offers. This is easier through use of a readily recognisable brand and visual identity.
Prepare and run carefully crafted marketing campaigns
Once you’ve got a powerful brand, you should assess which markets you should target the bulk of your advertising efforts towards. You can mainly do this through carrying out extensive surveys of and research into people who are already visiting your destination. Running targeted advertising campaigns is probably easier than it ever has been, thanks to such tools as email, e-commerce and databases. However, whatever marketing methods you use, make sure that your marketing messages are consistent, not to mention faithful to what great experiences your destination genuinely offers.
Make good use of appearances at trade shows
Trade shows can be great events at which to promote tourist destinations; however, there are many dos and don’ts that you need to take account of. For example, you need to be meticulous when choosing which trade shows to appear at, not least as you could find many of them to be surprisingly expensive. Meanwhile, while at a show, it’s crucial that your representatives are enthusiastic, professional, well-dressed and polite. Thankfully, here at KruLive, we offer event staff who know how to represent your destination to maximum advantage at corporate events, communicating the very best things about your destination and your brand – not least by simply providing your event attendees with the best possible experience. Hiring such staff from our promotional staffing agency can make an appreciable difference, so why not use this online form to request a quote for any of our services?
