Marketing the Destination Experience

The destination is the basic unit of analysis and management action, and yet it is recognisably the most difficult unit to manage and market. As global competition increases and consumers become more skilled and empowered, destinations striving for survival and competitiveness in the marketplace need to rethink their approaches to marketing. Traditional destination marketing has been failing both destinations and Destination Marketing Organisations in assisting them to achieve competitiveness. Recent research has been calling attention to changes in the environment and suggesting innovative approaches to deal with them, in addition to issues for debate. This paper reviews the destination construct, highlighting the theoretical complexity, and identifies traditional aspects involved in destination marketing. Subsequently, a literature review is the basis of the characterisation of the new marketing environment in which destinations are now competing, while identifying foreseeable challenges that they will have to manage. Some areas of research that are of interest for both DMOs and researchers are identified.