Destination Development and
Institutionalization Strategies
In the OIC Member Countries
108
establishments between 1985 and 1999. In the early 2000s, a group of local hoteliers created the
hotel consortium Dolce Vita Hotels with the aim of providing quality accommodation offerings and
rebranding the destination from budget to quality destination by introducing the “alpine wellness”
theme. The hotel consortium managed to get the “alpine wellness” certification and eventually the
destination itself became certified. By 2011, Naturno’s 4 and 5 star hotels increased to 10 from 5 in
1990. The consortium efforts in rebranding the destination and improving infrastructure attracted
higher levels of tourism and enabled tourism services providers to increase their prices. In Val
Passiria, which also witnessed a similar development path as Naturo with stagnation in t he 80s and
early 90s, the Sport and Wellness Resort Quellenhof, played a leading role in destination
development. It has acquired a number of accommodation facilities over the span of three decades,
which allowed it to integrate their offering and target different income groups. The resort also
created a number of new attractions and offered several services from hiking and mountain biking
to golfing to appeal to different groups. 334
b. The role of DMOs in terms of marketing
DMO role in marketing is quite instrumental, whether by initiating marketing activities or coordinating
stakeholders’ marketing activities to ensure unified messages and consistent branding of the destination.
As mentioned earlier, the “Abruzzo Promozione Turismo” (APT) is the entity responsible for marketing
the Abruzzo region. To fulfill its role, the APT works with the various stakeholders to create a unified
strategy that is used to appeal to international markets. Promotion for the destination is designed to
promote the destination as a whole to target markets using quality symbols to strengthen the image of the
destination. The APT conducts different promotional activities for tourists and tour operators, targeting
tour operators mainly through participation in tourism fairs and creation of special packages. 335 On the
local level, the destination can be affected significantly from local tourism players’ marketing activities,
which highlights the importance of stakeholder coordination in this area. In Val Passiria, joint marketing
efforts led by the large resort, which uses the destination name, helped the local DMO with the
branding of the destination. In Naturno, the hotel consortium Dolce Vita Hotels helped in rebranding
the destination from budget to quality destination by introducing the “alpine wellness” theme. The
hotel consortium managed to get the “alpine wellness” certification and eventually the destination
itself became certified. 336
c. The role of DMOs with regards to stakeholders
On a national level, theMinistry of Cultural Heritage and Activities and Tourismhas played an instrumental
role in bringing together and involving stakeholders in the development of the 2017-2022 Strategic Plan
for Tourism. The plan was a result of high levels of cooperation and coordination between Directorate
General of Tourism of the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities and Tourism and central, regional
and local authorities as well as tourism businesses and associations interested in the tourism sector. Both
traditional and online tools were used to collect stakeholders input, from direct meetings and round tables
to online tools. Consulting, involving, and collaborating tourism businesses and associations interested in
334 Pechlaner, H., Beritelli, P., Pichler, S., Peters, M., & Scott, N. (2015). Contemporary Destination Governance: A Case Study Approach.
Bridging Tourism Theory and Practice, 6, iii. doi:10.1108/s2042-144320140000006045
335 Presenza, A. (2005). The Performance of a Tourism Destination. Who Manages the Destination? Who Plays the Audit Role? XIV
International Leisure and Tourism Symposium ESADE.
336 Pechlaner, H., Beritelli, P., Pichler, S., Peters, M., & Scott, N. (2015). Contemporary Destination Governance: A Case Study Approach.
Bridging Tourism Theory and Practice, 6, iii. doi:10.1108/s2042-144320140000006045