Lecture #9Tourist destinations in international tourism

Plan & Objective of the lecture:

1. Understand the complexity of the

destination as a tourism product2. Recognize the importance of the

image and the brand in destination marketing

3. Distinguish between different categories of destination

4. Understand the appeal of each form of destination

Introduction: what defines a destination?

All consumers expect certain standards: cleanliness, accurate marketing, decipherable(разборчивый) road signs, and so on.

But they also want that ‘special something’ — be it a modern cultural icon or living heritage — that makes a destination unlike anywhere else.

Describing all the characteristics that go to make up a destination is one of the more difficult tasks in the study of tourism. It would be easy to say that the desire to visit a particular destination is the underlying reason for all tourism, but, in some instances, that is far from the case. The destination may be only one element in the appeal of the trip – sometimes a very minor one.

• In discussing destinations, we must always bear in mind two important considerations:

1. the physical and psychological elements of destinations

2. the image and promotion of a destination.

1. Physical and psychological elements of destinations

The image of a destination relates to a number of physical attributes – attractions and amenities, buildings, landscapes and so on – together with perceptions allied to the destination, which include less tangible attributes, such as the hospitality of the local population, atmosphere generated by being there, sense of awe, alienation, other emotions stimulated by the place.

2. The image and promotion of a destination

Destinations depend on their image for their success in attracting tourists, even if that image is frozen in time and no longer represents a true picture of the place. Most well-known tourist countries and destinations such as cities and beach resorts rely on the stereotypes that have been built up over the years and, as long as they remain positive, promotional bodies will seek to support such images in their advertising.

Example:Thus, the prevailing image of London for the

foreigner is of guardsmen riding on horseback through the city,

past Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament; Paris, on the other hand, remains forever the city of lovers, with couples embracing on the banks of the Seine with the Eiffel Tower or Notre Dame in the background. It matters little that these images are stale icons bearing little resemblance to real life in these modern cities. The power of an image is the branding iron that drives tourism and to jettison it in favour of a more modern, but less graphic, image is a far more difficult – and risky – task for marketing than keeping the original.

Greece Greece’s image has traditionally rested on a mix of

sun, sea, sand and a variety of classical historical sites. Following its hosting of the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, however, its tourism industry experienced three consecutive years of growth and, by 2006, it was estimated to provide one in five jobs in the country, contributing about 18 per cent of GDP. The Olympics had provided a positive uplift to the image of the country and, in 2005, the Greek government determined to widen the appeal of the country further, launching a ten-year plan that had as its main goal to differentiate and enrich the tourist product,

• while promoting and supporting the country’s existing tourist industry by broadening the scope of its products. Activities that were to be developed were non-seasonal, available throughout the year, to include new options for alternative tourism (spas), cultural tourism, urban and conference tourism, marine diving, sailing and eco-tourism. The aim has been to reach a total of 20 million tourists per annum by 2015, representing roughly a 10 per cent increase, year-on-year. The advertising slogan ‘Greece — explore your senses’ was introduced to support the promotion.

Aware of the importance of image in selling destinations, many countries

have embarkedon a process of image creation , with

advertisements incorporating quickly communicated slogans and/or readily

identifiable logos

Categorizing destinations• It is convenient to divide destinations into

five distinct groupings. 1.The centred destination is the

commonest – a traditional form of holiday arrangement in which the tourist travels to the destination, where they expect to spend the majority of their time, with perhaps occasional excursions to visit nearby attractions.

The classic seaside holiday, winter sports resort or short city break represent the most common types in this grouping.

2. Destinations that form a base from where the surrounding region can be explored.

Some British seaside resorts have successfully reformulated their marketing strategy to sell themselves as bases for exploring the nearby countryside.

3. Multicentre holidays, where two or more destinations are of equal importance in the itinerary.

A good example of such a holiday would be that of a tourist with an interest in exploring the new central European countries of the Baltic buying a package comprising stays in the three capitals of Tallinn, Riga and Vilnius.

4. Touring destinations, which will be part of a linear itinerary, including stops at a number of points.

A Caribbean cruise, for instance, will call at several ports en route, while a tour of the American Midwest or Far West or a rail journey across Canada will make stopovers a key element in the itinerary.

5. Transit destinations, which merely provide an overnight stop en route to the final destination.

Ex: Such stopovers may or may not be preplanned, but occur at convenient points, particularly for drivers contemplating long journeys by car. Typical examples are tourists driving by car from Britain, Scandinavia or Northern Germany to a Mediterranean destination who identify useful points at which to stop en route when they become tired.

Top 10 tourists destinations by arrivals

1. France 76.80 million2. United States 59.75 million3. China 55.67 million4. Spain 52.68 million5. Italy 43.63 million6. UK 28.13 million7. Turkey 27.00 million8. Germany 26.88 million9. Malaysia 24.58 million10. Mexico 22.40 million

Source: UNWTO annual report 2012.

The message of the president of the Republic of Tajikistan to the parliament of

RT

• “ For adjustment of mutually advantageous relations in priority branches of the country including tourism there are enough possibilities and their effective utilization at all depends on increase in direct, internal and foreign investments, and also from inculcation of modern techniques and technologies”

Mr. President Emomali Rahmon.

Home Task

1. Analyse the attractions, amenities and accessibility of any area familiar to you that currently fails to attract tourists. Determine the reasons for this and examine ways in which a tourist market might be built for the area.

2. Although efforts have been made to tighten up legislation to protect the tourist, a number of loopholes still exist. Research the legal situation in your country and indicate how legislation could be improved to reduce the risks incurred in (a) domestic tourism and (b) international tourism, both incoming and outbound.