Sustainable Destination Management
Strategies in the OIC Member Countries
4
In terms of governance and management best practices, best practices from global MDTCs
indicate the development of management organizations with clearly defined roles for the
various bodies involved in the corridor’s management and promotion, creation of legislation
for travel facilitation, monitoring performance, formal platforms for collaboration with
stakeholders, ensuring sustainability and diversifying corridor funding. Marketing best
practices include ensuring branding consistency, highlighting the corridor's unique selling
proposition, and using storytelling to enhance branding as well as the traditional and
innovative digital tools for promotion.
Best Practices versus OIC Planning and Establishment of MDTCs
Demand Analysis : Best practices from global MDTCs show solid examples for researching
demand as well as the use of research in targeting potential visitor segments, as illustrated by
the research for the Iron Curtain Trail and European MDTCs. However, in the case of the OIC
MDTCs, analysis of demand seems to be quite limited. For the Silk Road, TripAdvisor has
carried out research on travel trends for the area; however, in the case of the Holy Family, no
research was undertaken to estimate demand.
Table 1: Demand Analysis - Best Practices versus OIC Examples
Best
Practices
- The Iron Curtain Trail TC demand estimate based on a model using bed density
and day trips based on population density and the national share of cycling as
the main transport mode.
- The Council of Europe study of inbound tourism trends and subsequent
targeting of China through the “Chinese Virtual Tourism Fair.”
OIC - Limited research efforts into Silk Road travel trends conducted by TripAdvisor
in support of the UNWTO Initiative.
Infrastructure Assessment: The presence of a solid infrastructure is one of the critical success
factors for establishing corridors. In Europe, reliable infrastructure and transport networks
connect European countries and facilitate mobility for tourists along European MDTCs. In the
case of the GMS TC, the existing infrastructure networks were assessed with plans made to
improve ports.
Infrastructure development represents a challenging area for the OIC MDTCs, especially for
countries facing financial constraints. In 2016, OIC countries' rail network density per million
people was 68.8 km of total rail lines, which is markedly lower than the world average (160.2
km). It is important to note that efforts to improve connectivity are underway in some OIC
regions, which can enhance mobility for tourists along MDTCs in these regions.