Destination Development and

Institutionalization Strategies

In the OIC Member Countries

Marketing Activities

Destination management organizations’ marketing activities include product development, destination

promotion, pricing guidance and distribution support. The destination product, the development of which

is discussed further in Section 3, includes a multitude of elements, from transportation to accommodation

and entertainment among others that are primarily provided by small and medium size enterprises, that

need to be collectively branded under the destination’s name. As such, DMOs are seen as fundamentally

responsible for bringing all the product elements under the destination brand; they are perceived as the

creators and “guardians of the image” of the destination, which encompasses various product development

related activities from product design/development to branding and positioning. DMOs need to be

proactive in encouraging local public and private partnerships to create a “seamless” experience for

destination visitors as well take a leading role in developing innovative and well-diversified tourism

products through incentives and supportive policies. DMOs also need to differentiate their destination

product from other destinations through the development of “unique” experiences to ensure

competitiveness and sustainability of their destination. Tourists have become more sophisticated which

makes “generic” branding, such as sun and beach for Mediterranean destinations, doesn’t help

differentiate a destination product, as opposed to “themed” branding that builds on unique destination

resources, such as mythology in Greece and arts and cuisine in Italy.

Destination promotion was always at the heart of early DMO activities and continues to be a key activity

for DMOs on all levels. Promoting destinations necessitates coordination with stakeholders to create a

shared vision and a harmonized message that can be utilized by tourism industry players. At the

destination level, typically DMOs are responsible for the design and development of promotional events

and materials, which can be funded either fully or in part by industry players. Destination managers

generally use both above and below the line promotional activities. Above the line activities, including

advertising in various media channels, have proven to be quite expensive but instrumental in branding

destinations. Below the line tools, such as tourism fairs, brochures, guidebooks, and public relations

activities, are extensively used by destination managers to raise awareness of the destination and

encourage tourists to visit.

Other tools for promotional purposes that can be used by destination

management include familiarization tours for tour operators, the media, and influencer and social media

trend setters. Industry stakeholders can play an active part in in supporting DMOs in these activities as in

the case of Emirates airlines which has worked with Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce

Marketing to promote the destination; they have carried out joint global marketing campaigns such as

“Hello Dubai” and joint familiarization tours for influencers and journalists in addition to undertaking a

number of promotional activities aimed to attract tourists to Dubai including offering tourists special fares

from various destinations as well as complimentary products such as visa, room nights, and theme park

tickets. They have also developed “My Emirates Pass” which offers discounts to tourists for various

activities and attractions simply by using the airline’s boarding pass at the different outlets.

Pricing can be a challenging area for DMOs in terms of coordinating the pricing strategies of the different

tourism products and services suppliers within the destination. Pricing plays an important role in

destination image, attractiveness and competitiveness as tourists consider trip cost when making their

choice of destination. Pricing destinations is a complex task since destinations are essentially “amalgams

of individually produced tourism amenities and services”, which means that destination pricing is a

product of the different pricing strategies employed by the various tourism services providers.

Buhalis, D. (2000). Marketing the competitive destination of the future.

Tourism Management

, 21(1), 97-116. doi:10.1016/s0261-

5177(99)00095-3

Ibid.

Interview with Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer of Emirates Airlines.