Tourism: A Strategic Approach to Managing

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Tourism A Strategic Approach toManaging
Marketing Destinations

• Kiev, June16/17/18, 2009
• Sue Warren

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Tourism in developing economies

• to improve and nurture places for people to live,
  work and invest in - and for people to visit
• to influence regional development and generate
  greater economic benefits for local people by
  improving working conditions and access to new
  opportunities
• tourism is a content area for new EU funding
  streams (eg CBC projects)
• tourism has a major role in to safeguard and
  encourage sustainability (social / cultural,
  environmental / economic)

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Managing destinations holistically means a series
of actions are required
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Joining up

• this can best be addressed by all the different
  stakeholders working together at a destination
  level within the region
• this is where the needs of the environment, the
  local community and businesses come most closely
  together
• current fiscal environment means we must work
  harder!

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Then we get impact

• quantifiable economic impact
• (direct, indirect and induced economic benefits)
• Tourism Satellite Accounting (TSA) measures
• unquantifiable soft benefits
• .image, social inclusion, pride of place,
  quality of life, and poverty alleviation
• usually non-quantifiable, not measured and will
  never be accurately measured
• sustainability managed (Sustainable Indicators)
• tourism is part of rural development EU agendas

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Tourism is a competition. How to be a winner!!
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The weakest link
Destination Management
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Attractors - pull the market
product - well developed and value laden product
product development meeting trends
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Services - meet needs of visitors, high
in-destination spending
Services accommodation, restaurants, Guides,
Tour operators, taxis, rental cars Souvenirs,
markets product development quality offers,
priced correctly
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Quality Mark for accommodation services
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Infrastructure - facilitates access, quality
and operation

• makes the destination work with basic
  requirements for people, accesscomfortsecurity..
  .getting around
• making it easy for tourists
• soft eg information systems, ICT
• hard eg access (air, roads, signage), spatial
  planning, traffic control, parking, public
  amenities (rubbish control, toilets)

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brand

• requires agreement on
• a consistent positioning
• a common set of core values which flex by sector
• a common tone of voice for all communications
• one Brand Identity (visual and verbal language)

The goal is to agree on a brand which drives all
strategy, communication and behaviors
www.armenia.am
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Focussed marketing to identified nichesnoting
trends.
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Promotional activities do a few things well

• Internet and individuality move ahead
• Engage the media
• Imagery convey values
• Editorial and empathy inspired literature,
  language carefully reviewed
• Events make a statement
• Advertising finding diversity in the story,
  review your language

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RCI regional marketing
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Impact - find the right channels to market
Internet
Magazine article
Travel fair
Size of Market untouched by promotion
Cultural event
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Destination Management - partnership
organisation, holistic approach
destination management organisation (DMO)
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New approaches to managing organising
destinations

Role B Attracting the Visitor
Role D Services for the Industry
Role A Lead and Coordinate
Role C Services for the Visitor
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Benefits of this approach

• A delivery structure that supports everyone in
  tourism
• integrates tourism activity, harnesses resources
  ability to obtain funds more easily
• ability to prioritise infrastructure projects
• manage branding marketing for a market-facing
  destination
• makes the money go further
• reduces unnecessary duplication of costs
  efforts

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Look it as a value chain the challenges
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Disciplined methodologies at each link
Strengthening producers / operators /
associations / user groups
Effective inclusive public policy management
!
Value Chain Service providers clustering
Multi stakeholder platforms Joining up
Market Intelligence
Value Chain Financing
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EU Agenda new opportunities

• requires a top down bottom up approach, and
  joined up
• motivating for stakeholders
• common preparation of EU project proposals
  dependent on coordination and collaboration
• Structural funds IPA funds - Cross Border
  Collaboration (CBC) projects which require
  linking rationales across borders

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Observe the principles of sustainable tourism

1. using resources sustainably 2. reducing
over-consumption and waste 3. maintaining
diversity 4. integrating tourism into planning 5.
supporting local economies 6. involving local
communities 7. consulting stakeholders and the
public 8. training staff 9. marketing tourism
responsibly 10. undertaking research
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Project Kickoff Establish Need Agree on
Destination
Step 1
Step 2
Secure Municipality leadership sponsorship of
project
Step 3
Set up Working Party to begin stakeholder
engagement
Agree on Destination Strategy together - Divide
Programme into clear elements
Step 4
Step 5
Identify Trainers etc, Strategic Partners,
identify donor funding
Begin Programme and score early wins
Step 6
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Elements to consider

• leadership focus, genuine collaborative effort
  across public, private and civil (NGO) sectors
• how to create a competitive tourism destination
• quality sustainability, in accommodation,
  amenities, services, and infrastructure
• training to build capacity in product
  development, customer focus service,
  professionalism, pride of place
• identifying securing sustainable funding
  streams
• identifying removing constraints to performance
  (eg laws, taxes)

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Benefits for stakeholders to engage

• individual business success
• success for the destination along the value chain
  (sum is greater than the parts)
• more jobs, improved incomes, quality staff
• more investment
• stronger lobbying influence
• possibility of securing EU funding streams
• advancement in everything - product, services,
  infrastructure, marketing, organisation
• linkages with related sectors and organisations
• more skills training

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Plana destination audit

• define the destination
• identify trends
• understand the assets / products
• assess core competencies of the group
• understand the markets
• understand the competition
• SWOT for destination
• identify the gaps, address the issues
• scope the ProgrammeENGAGE with stakeholders!

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Cases studies Montenegro programmes

• defined destinations market-facing
• defined success
• investigated EU opportunities and used these to
  motivate stakeholders
• inspired a client (LTO) to lead, stakeholders to
  join
• established Steering Groups
• agreed on needs multiple programme elements
• began trainings EU, branding marketing
• capacity building for activities relevant to each
  group eg mountaineers association, souvenirs and
  handicraft, Trail, working with Tour operators
• preparations to introduce Quality Mark programme

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Results so far in Berane and Cetinje

• improved communication among local tourism
  related stakeholders
• stakeholders aware of funding through IPA CBCs
• common preparation of project proposals with
  project-oriented stakeholders, joined up,
  collaborating
• improving the overall destination and its parts
• More focussed marketing
• capacity building in
• souvenirs and handicrafts product development
• marketing and branding, sme development
• addressing organisation
• sustinability eg sustainability indicators

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USAID projects in Zlatibor Vranjacka Banja,
Priljepolje
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Results

• Mayors integrated Tourism Strategy into
  Municipality Economic Development Plan
• Municipalities sponsored infrastructure
  development of public spaces and support for
  rural tourism eg markets, Bus Stop, Spatial
  Planning new signalisation

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Results

• working with Strategic Partners doubled funding
  available
• identified opportunities for investors
• supported privatisation of hotels spa

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Results

• product development eg souvenirs, rural tourism
  took study trips
• targeted improved promotions eg developed
  Internet site
• integrated communications eg print brochure
  maps etc all aligned for all stakeholders

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Results

• from initial scepticism built team of
  stakeholders working together
• good attendance for trainings / programmes

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Lessons learned

• set up committed team, be prepared to be tough,
  dont give up at the beginning!
• sell it first as whats in it for me.. big
  ideas, small scales
• get some early wins though know that money
  follows vision
• check you have identified the right champions
• stay out of politics but dont be politically
  naïve

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Lessons learned

• choose different hosts
• Cascade information
• multilateralism ie network, partnerships
• work on multiple levels to match expertise levels
  of participants
• after first successes
• USE THE MEDIA
• be in it for the long haul