Marketing tourism destinations

Marketing a visitor destination remains as chaotic as ever in the UK as the ongoing debate as to whose responsibility it is continues. Currently an uneasy mix of public and private finance is used, spread unevenly around the country. At every level from VisitBritain, the national tourist boards, the fast disappearing regional tourist boards, the emerging local enterprise partnerships, the destination management organisations to the local district councils funding for tourism promotion is in short supply. 

So what does the future hold for UK destinations? Plans for tourism business levies (more accurately TBIDs) to provide an alternative source of funding face significant opposition and delay as a suspicious private sector eyes the details set out in current proposals. Yet the income provided by visitors is of critical importance to most local economies and the need to compete to attract tourist trips greater than ever. Destinations that look beyond public sector dependency, galvanise their local networks, leverage external funding and exploit every opportunity to position themselves aggressively in the marketplace will be the winners. 

Top ten rules for marketing destinations:  Understand everything about your visitors and the strengths and weaknesses of your destination Concentrate your resources on those visitors who offer the best fit to and profit for your destination Develop an agreed brand strategy and shared budget with your destination's major economic players  Produce a yearly marketing plan detailing activity, audience targets, timings, costs and effectiveness   Showcase those desirable experiences your destination does consistently better than any other Drive collaborative marketing campaigns in tandem with your local and national tourism local partners Deliver a trusted and comprehensive online and mobile device showcase for your destination Provide compelling content to deliver impact at every stage of the purchase and visit process  Provide high quality content for distribution to and by your partners, the travel trade and the media Find new ways to sell your major experiences, the more you tell the more you sell!