Destination Development and
Institutionalization Strategies
In the OIC Member Countries
97
the decision-making process of international associations when they are searching for the best city to
organize their congress/meetings. The more international meetings held in a city creates higher
reliability and a higher likelihood of selection.
 Long term perspective: Belek DMO (BETUYAB) started 30 years ago from scratch by fighting ten years
with mosquitos to sanitize a swamp area and persuade, as well as collaborate with the government to
complete infrastructure needs. Today, as a result of 30 years long-term perspectives and hard work and
collaboration with both the government and private stakeholders, Belek is a worldwide destination
hosting 2 million international tourists every year.
 Networking and lobbying power: Turkish DMOs, ICVB and BETUYAB have used their soft power to
bring together government, local governorships, municipalities and even private sector companies for
the benefit of all sides as well as the community. This soft power comes from impartial organizational
structures and strict work ethics of these DMOs as they are formed to act as a non-profit for themselves
but a profit one for all stakeholders.
 Discovering high earning revenue business models: Istanbul destination management body ICVB has
focused mostly on congress, events, and MICE market as it is more profitable up to four-fold than
standard leisure and culture travel. Average spending of a tourist visiting Turkey is $711 while
congress travelers average spending goes up to $2,500.
 Tourism taxes should be levied as an additional source of funding. Unlike other destinations, the Turkish
government doesn’t levy tourism taxes, however, this would serve as an additional source of revenue for
DMOs.
 Preserve and include local values to the product range: The local culture and way of life as well as local
products are important elements that need to be featured in promoting a destination. As an example,
the Alanya Castle area is famous for its houses that feature local architecture and for its walking paths
that are frequented by visitors and locals alike, where they can buy handcrafted silk products and
decorated pumpkins.
 New DMOs should prepare a plan that will improve the performance and support the activities of the
organization. Staff should be trained based on their qualifications and with a view to the organization's
aims and objectives. Employees should be encouraged to provide fresh ideas, and their relevant
suggestions should be implemented. The most important feature in destination management is that
the destination should correspond to what is being advertised to the market.