What should destination marketing organizations be worrying about in the coming years? And what new developments should they be embracing? Such questions are central to Destination Marketing Association International's latest initiative: DestinationNEXT, a two-part study that looks ahead to determine trends and influences that will help DMOs navigate the fast-changing world of business, group and leisure travel.
For the first part of DestinationNEXT, the following key DMO trends (and more) were identified by two different panels of industry experts convened by DMAI, which then sent a list of same to 327 organizations across 36 countries, asking recipients to rate the trends in order of importance. (Note: The second part of the study will be released this summer.)
The order of items under each subhead corresponds to how prevalent the trend was cited by survey respondents; the top 20 trends from the entire list are identified with two bullets (••) instead of one.
Technology
•• Social media (e.g., Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, Weibo) is becoming the main way to reach the travel market.
•• Mobile platforms and apps are becoming the primary engagement platform for travelers.
•• Smart technology (e.g., phones, bag tags and cards) is creating new opportunities for innovative new services and processes.
•• Technology is improving customers' ability to make fast decisions.
•• Big Data has arrived in the tourism industry: Every airline reservation, every hotel stay, every rental car reservation creates data that suppliers can use to customize marketing and travel experiences.
• Smart technology (smartcards and baggage tags) is simplifying the processing of international passengers.
• Advances in technology and social media are offering greater collaboration opportunities for competitors to work together (e.g., destination sites that list all hotels in a city or region that allow travelers to book their property •directly).
• Wearable technology will enable destination marketers to personalize their services.
• Personal ecosystems -- where travelers use their smart phones and gadgets to help them in their daily lives -- are connecting with destinations' digital ecosystems. For example, an airline may create a virtual travel agent app that recommends the perfect destination for an individual, based on traveler's preference.
What Travelers Want
•• Customers increasingly are seeking a personalized travel experience.
•• Travelers are demanding more and more information, control, interaction and personalization.
•• More travelers are looking to experience a local resident's way of life.
•• Consumers are increasingly comfortable with online purchasing.
•• Short-stay trips and mini vacations are becoming increasingly popular.
•• Peer-to-peer websites (such as TripAdvisor) are driving more customer purchases.
•• Customers increasingly are go•ing directly to suppliers for goods and •services.
• Combined business and family travel as well as multigenerational travel are becoming more popular
• Individuals seeking to be engaged in discussions with cyber communities are proliferating.
• Conscious travel (environmental sustainability, social justice and cultural rejuvenation) is rising in importance.
• The market is moving toward a shared economy with assets either being rented or bartered (e.g., Airbnb and Uber) outside of traditional commercial arrangements.
Planner Considerations
• Meeting planners are choosing destinations based on financial outcomes over destination appeal.
• Associations are diminishing in size due to generational shifts.
• The increased growth in the number of associations is leading to more meetings with fewer attendees.
• New online teaching platforms are resulting in the decline of attendance at educational meetings and •conventions.
• Reforms in the energy, financial, and health sectors are impacting the competitive environment in tourism and conventions.
Destination Marketing
•• Geotargeting, the practice of customizing an ad based on the geographic location of potential buyers, is becoming more prevalent.
•• Brand identity for destinations is becoming more critical in terms of meeting planner perceptions about value and experience.
•• Destination branding is an increasinlgy important factor in travel •decisions.
•• More third-party information providers are aggregating destination content.
• More information clutter and noise about destinations is occurring in the marketplace, by way of social media.
• Transparency and building partnerships (between suppliers and DMOs, for example) to secure destination business is more prevalent.
• Marketing as a means to support sales is shifting to support engagement in a destination.
• Destinations are making greater use of incentives and grants to obtain business.
• National brands (national/state tourism offices) are developing meetings and conventions business to help bring business to local destinations
• Attracting meetings/conventions requires greater emphasis on a business brand over a leisure brand.
The Cost of It All
•• Hotel taxes are increasingly vulnerable to a destination's politically based projects (e.g., the hiring of more police).
•• Governments are facing pressure to reduce or eliminate direct financial subsidies to the tourism sector.
• The adoption of user pay policies is leading to increased costs for the tourism industry. For example, travelers who visit a place like Australia's Great Barrier Reef may be asked to pay a fee that is collected to fund conservation efforts. As destinations increasingly understand the value of protecting natural and cultural assets, this might lead to increased costs placed upon the industry and travelers.
The State of the World
•• Governments are dealing with tourism from an integrated, multidepartmental perspective focused on economic development.
•• Economic conditions continue to be highly volatile and subject to global and regional shocks.
• Governments and elected officials are under pressure to exhibit more transparency and accountability in order to demonstrate return on investment to their constituents.
• New global destinations are emerging, increasing competition for both leisure and convention business.
• Economic conditions and growth rates differ dramatically across regions, causing major shifts in foreign visitor source markets.
• Foreign travel is being inhibited by perceived barriers (for example, visa requirements).
• Political instability is creating havoc in certain markets.
• Security risks are hampering travel decisions.
• Labor and skill shortages continue to hamper sectors of the travel and tourism industry.
• Increasing globalization is making it more difficult for destinations to flaunt their uniqueness.
• Privacy laws constrain opportunities that arise from some new technologies.
• The position governments take on human-rights issues matters.
• Increased research and development in Asia is drawing more conventions there.
• Global warming is impacting consumers' behavior.
• Greater complexity in moving goods for conferences/conventions is due to a greater focus on border and security.