Tourism Destination

Management.

Tourism Destination Positioning and Branding.

 Positioning.
• Tourism is recognized as a key economic opportunity around the
world competition among countries and regions for a share of global
tourism expenditure is increasing by the day.

• Potential tourists are faced with a wide range of holiday and business
travel choices.

• To be recognized and to attract their rightful share of the global tourism

market it is of critical importance for destinations to establish a
recognized and valued tourism position and brand image in the
market.
 Destination positioning

• Positioning of a destination is the process of establishing a distinctive

place of that destination in the minds of potential visitors.
•As destinations consist of diverse mix of features and not all can be
included in the positioning, decisions should be made about which
attributes are important.

The positioning process consists of three steps.

•1. Identify the set of possible competitive advantages upon which to
build a position.

•These advantages could include price, high level of service and

particular benefits such as a unique, additional or attractive extra service
that is delivered to the customer.
Contn.
2. Select the right competitive advantages.
 
•Choose the most unique advantage that will lead to the destination occupying a distinctive position
in the marketplace by asking the following question: Which competitive advantage should the
company promote?

3. Communicate effectively the chosen position and deliver to target markets.

•The third step to communicate and deliver the selected position to the target segments by using a
marketing mix.

Studies investigated the positioning as based on image creation using a number of attributes
that reflect the destinations’ most attractive products.

• Other authors suggest that the strong attributes that are perceived as important by visitors
should be first identified and also examining what already exist in the customer’s mind
can provide guidance and/or inform the decisions of the destination’s positioning strategy.
Contn.
•Positioning is not about what you do to the product, but what you do to the customer and
how the customer perceives you .

• Positioning also concerns competition, as the customers compare in their minds how the
brand is similar or different from competing brands.

•Therefore a destination should create a position that takes into consideration not only the
destination’s own strengths and weaknesses, but also the strengths and weaknesses of
competitors
 
•Positioning should not only rely on images, but could also create an emotional relationship
between a destination and the potential visitor.

•The process of positioning includes both the products and services and how they are
communicated to the target market.
•Furthermore it is important to keep narrow focus and not aiming at wider markets in order
to avoid creating to fuzzy image of the destination.
 The positioning process

•The positioning process comprises various approaches, such as effective

positioning; market positioning and psychological positioning that are needed to
develop an effective positioning strategy.

1. Effective positioning  
•Effective positioning is based on the marketing principles that products and
services exist to solve customers` problems, i.e. to satisfy their needs and
deliver the promised benefits.

•The effective positioning should promise the benefit and create the expectation
that it solve the customer’s problem.

•Under the best circumstances the solution should be different from and better
than the one offered by the competitors.
Contn.
2. Market positioning
•Market positioning is defined as the process of identifying and selecting market segments.
•The market segments could be the existing visitors of the destination or new segments
could be targeted.

•It is based on the knowledge of the needs, wants and perceptions of the target market
together with the benefits offered by the destination.

To achieve the desired market position, the following questions should be answered:
i. What is important to the target market?

ii. How does the target market perceive the destination?

iiii. How does the target market perceive the competitor?

iv. What attributes should the destination use to differentiate itself in order to make the best
use of its limited resources?
 
Contn.

3. Psychological positioning
•Psychological positioning employs communication to convey the destination’s
identity and image to the target market.

•It converts the customer’s needs into images and positions a destination in the
visitor’s mind.
Psychological positioning is a strategy employed to create a unique image of a
product with the objective of creating interest and attracting visitors.

•As it happens only in visitor`s mind it does not need any effort from the
marketer, but as failure to select a position in the marketplace, to achieve, and
to hold that position may lead to various consequences, such as the visitors
perceiving the destination in undesirable way.
Contn.
It is distinguished between objective positioning and subjective positioning

a) Objective positioning:
 
•Objective positioning aims to create an image about the destination that
reflects its physical characteristics; what actually the destination is and what
exists there.

If a destination has some unique feature, that feature may be used to

objectively position the destination, to create an image, and to differentiate it
from the competition.
Consequently the positioning is less successful if the feature is not
exceptional, thus one of the first rules of effective positioning is uniqueness.
contn
b) Subjective positioning:

•Subjective positioning reflects the image not of the physical aspects of the destination, but
what is perceived by the tourists, their mental perceptions.

•These perceptions may not necessarily reflect the true destination's physical characteristics
and could differ, e.g. visitors could perceive the destination in different ways, depending on
their experiences.

Approaches to the positioning process.

1. Positioning by Price Value – International destinations are not usually positioned on the
basis of price because lower prices may be perceived as connotation for lower quality.
However offering great value for the money strategy can be effectively utilized.

2. Positioning with respect to use or application – Here a destination is positioned based on

the reasons for visiting it, e.g. beach or ski holiday, MICE, sports, etc.
3. Positioning according to the users or class of users – In this case, positioning features the
people who should visit the destination – seniors, young couples, business travellers, etc.

4. Positioning with respect to a product class – This technique is often used to

associate a destination with experiences that are extraordinary and/or unique. For
example, “If your looking for an ideal meeting place, here's one that's close to
heaven" for Israel

5. Positioning vis-a-vis the competition – This approach is used when it is

necessary to meet the competition head-on; to bring out differences between
destinations.
This approach is not used frequently in international tourism destination marketing
since it may involve negative statements about another country or region. However,
it is regularly employed in product and services marketing
 Competitive Positioning of Destinations

•There are three broad approaches companies or destinations can follow to

establish an advantage over competitors, namely:
•Cost leadership. Consistently controlling and reducing costs and
improving efficiency of operations, thereby out-pricing competitors.

•Focus. Becoming specialists in a very focused area of activity

•Differentiation. Offering clients a product, service or experience that has

a unique value and is different to those alternatives offered by competitors.
• The differences between cost leadership and differentiation could be
summarized as follows:
 Difference between cost leadership and differentiation
Basis of Key strategy elements Resource and organizational requirements
competition
Cost Leadership Investment in scale-efficient plant; design
Access to capital; process engineering skills;
of products for ease of operation; control
of overheads; R&D; avoidance of marginal frequent reports; tight cost control; structured
customer accounts organization and responsibilities; incentives
relating to quantitative targets

Differentiation Emphasis on branding and brand Marketing abilities; product engineering skills; creativity;
advertising, design, service and quality capability in basic research; subjective rather than quantitative
measurement and incentives; strong inter-functional coordination

Focus
Specialization in a particular Customer relationship management; market
product or service; focused and leadership through product specialization and
niche and highly expertise; consistent innovation and product
segmented marketing; consistent engineering; copyright, concessions and patent
product innovation and cutting edge ownership
technology
Contn.

•While consumer choices of transport modes and booking channels are

increasingly affected by cost, their choices of destinations and experiences are
increasingly affected by differentiated product.
•Consumers will consider how destinations are tailored to their needs and how
unique these are in relation to other destinations and experiences.
•One of the most effective ways of differentiating products is based on
product attributes, i.e.
•characteristics that are “owned” by the product. To demonstrate this point,
let’s consider how the various car manufacturers differentiate their products:
•While most motorcar manufacturers use attributes to differentiate their
product, concepts can also be used to differentiate products:
Contn.

•Destinations must also establish a competitive advantage to out-compete

other destinations. “Competition is not a battle of products or services, it is
a battle of perceptions in the customer’s mind”.

•Your destination may offer the best products and experiences, but unless
you are able to create a perception in the minds of potential travellers that
you offer something different, better and more appealing than other
destinations you may not be in a position to convince travellers to visit.
Unique Selling Propositions and Unique Emotional Propositions

The key to differentiating the destination is finding a Unique Selling

Proposition (USP) and promoting this so as to “own” a unique and valuable
tourism attribute(s) in the minds of your current and potential customers.

•In the new era of tourism, with a proliferation of new destinations entering
the market, it has become increasingly difficult for destinations to base their
positioning on physical attributes and factors such as climate (the subtropical
paradise), geography (e.g. the river city), services/Infrastructure (“bandwidth
Bay” – San Diego), or icons (e.g. landmark buildings, topographical features,
etc.).
 contn
•Customer decisions are increasingly influenced by emotional reactions and triggers.
In the tourism marketplace, what persuades potential tourists to visit and return to one place instead of
another is whether they have empathy with the destination and its values .
•If the destination does not have a USP, another option is to group together or package similar products to
develop a special selling proposition (SSP).

•The Unique Selling Proposition is increasingly becoming the Unique Emotional Proposition (UEP).
Emotion that differentiates the tourism experience, has a real benefit for the clients and a direct
relation with the product.

•In destination terms, the UEP is:

 A single proposition as emotional trigger;
 Not offered by, or unable to be offered by, the competition;
 Something which the destination has the credentials to deliver on and to exceed client
 expectations;
 Strong enough to convert “lookers” to “bookers”;
 The cornerstone of your competitive strategy and communications.
Ctn.

•The following are some examples of USP’s and emotional value

propositions of successful destinations:
•Table 7 Examples of USPs.
Destination usp Emotional promise
Canada The ultimate in personal Personal immersion and escapism
exploration
“Keep Exploring”
India Incredible spiritual discovery and Adventure, spiritualism and
diversity mystique
“Incredible India”
Malaysia The best of Asian culture Broadening cultural horizons
“Malaysia Truly Asia”
News land Mostunspoilt/authentic Back to nature the way it was
nature/lifestyle
“100% Pure New Zealand”
•On any positioning map brand winners are those places which are rich
in emotional meaning, have
•great conversation value and hold high anticipation for potential
tourists. The message is that rich, strong destination brands sing a song
of difference and have a sense of being somewhere worth visiting .
• 
 Positioning Rwanda ( a case).

•Around 2001 Rwanda’s tourism authorities realized that tourism was a

potentially powerful growth sector but they had a major image problem due
to the regional history of conflict and genocide.
•To move forward, Rwanda adopted the competitive advantage model,
seeking to differentiate itself for customers willing to pay a higher price.
Rwanda’s tourism strategy creates revenue by emphasizing unique value and
high prices for each visitor.
•Rwanda differentiates itself and has created a special selling proposition
through focused market segments, in particular eco-travellers (looking to
experience primates, ornithology and other niches such as butterflies and
flowers) and explorers (looking for cultural and educational experiences such
as dancing and drumming and socio-political interests such as conflict
resolution and Gacaca).
 Positioning Implications for Destination Management

•The selected positioning strategy to differentiate the destination from its

competitors could be regarded as the cornerstone of the destination’s
competitive strategy.

•This selected positioning will have a profound effect on aspects of

destination strategy design and execution.

•As an example consider two divergent destination selling propositions,

namely i) natural and cultural authenticity and ii) fun, sun and entertainment.
 Ctn.

Examples of destination selling propositions.

Examples of destination management decisions Positioning: Eco authenticity
The scale and type of developments sought, Low density, environmentally sustainable designs,
allowed and promoted use of local material
Quality and service levels Personalized attention with local participation and
cultural interaction
Local content/participation Strong focus on local content, participation,
materials,
etc.
Carrying capacity Low volume , sensitive
Brand design e.g. Forms and shapes, Colours and Natural shapes and colours, Soothing tone of voice
textures with local themes
Tone of voice Natural and local image design and forms
Photographic angles
Ctn.

•In conclusion, as air travel becomes more affordable and travel

information and arrangements become more accessible through the
Internet, consumers will be able to select their travel destinations from a
growing pool of destination options. The challenge facing destinations
will increasingly be one of differentiation and demonstrating their
unique value proposition.