Destination Management

The guide to best prac tice Destination Management This Tourism 2020 project was funded by the Australian Standing Committee on Tourism (ASCOT) and coordinated through the Destination Management Planning Working Group. Foreword This Guide to Best Practice Destination Management is a Tourism 2020 project, funded by the Australian Standing Committee on Tourism (ASCOT) and coordinated through the Destination Management Planning Working Group. The guide was developed by the Australian Regional Tourism Network (ARTN) in association with the Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism. The Destination Management Planning document is a practical guide for those working at the coal face of tourism destination management. In partnership with the ongoing generation of tools and resources for industry delivered through Tourism 2020 initiatives, we have provided the guide to assist with industry’s understanding of the importance for communities and regional authorities to work collaboratively towards developing a planned sustainable future for destinations to meet the expectations of visitors and ensure continued growth within their regional tourism sector. Therese Phillips, Chairperson Australian Regional Tourism Network (ARTN) ARTN Australian Regional Tourism Network Prepared by: Knowledge Transfer Services Pty Ltd for the Australian Regional Tourism Network E-Mail: manager@artn.com.au E-Mail: info@knowledgetransfer.net.au Contents Purpose of this Guide 4 Introduction to Destination Management 5 The Destination Management in practice 9 Summary 34 More Information, Tools & Resources 35 Destination: a place to which a person travels. 3 1. The Purpose of this Guide This guide was developed for those working at the coal-face of tourism destination management. It provides a road map that will help you identify, engage and communicate with the right people along the way. The process of destination management doesn’t happen in isolation. It involves a range of sectors, stakeholder groups and delivery partners — such as government agencies, communities and business groups — working collaboratively to deliver their part of the picture. We need to take a holistic destination management approach that includes planning, implementation, regular reviews and assessment (Figure 1). We need to consider and manage the unique natural environments, the cultural attributes and the community of interest at the heart of our tourism destination. Planning Review & Assessment Implementation Figure 1. Destination Management 4 To this end, this guide describes the process and language of destination management so as to ensure better communication and coordination between key destination stakeholders and decision makers. This in turn will help you to facilitate the ongoing delivery of quality tourism products and visitor experiences. Destination management: an ongoing process in which tourism, industry, government and community leaders plan for the future and manage a destination. 5 2. Introduction to Destination Management a. What is Destination Management? Best practice Destination Management is a holistic process that ensures tourism adds value to the economy, social fabric and ecology of our communities. Tourism can be an economic driver, generating jobs and contributing vibrant lifestyle beneits to our communities. But equally tourism needs to be managed to ensure that it leaves a positive legacy for current and future generations. Importantly the tourism sector needs to ensure that it is considered in the broader context of regional development and that it is recognised for its overall contribution and economic value to the region. To be efective, planning, development and marketing activity must be based on research and the needs of the consumer. The Destination Management Process will integrate both demand (the visitor or consumer needs) and supply (the product or experience). Best Practice Destination Management integrates four key delivery areas of Research & Analysis + Consultative Planning + Experience & Product Development + Marketing & Promotions b. Why should we take this approach? Adopting a holistic destination management approach to tourism will ensure that industry objectives are planned and managed to meet the needs and aspirations of the communities of interest and the particular context unique to each destination. Importantly, one of the key outcomes of holistic destination management is a strong resilient tourism industry with dynamic and adaptive product and experience oferings, that adapt to the needs of the visitor and the community as the destination evolves and matures. The use of primary and secondary research to inform both planning and implementation will help to keep a well-managed destination that has fresh and relevant product oferings. 6 Through good destination management you will foster a viable and vibrant tourism business sector which will open up new opportunities across the economy for growth investment, job creation, cultural and lifestyle outcomes and potential income sources to manage and maintain cultural and natural heritage assets of the destination. Tourism, if well managed, can leverage other sectors of the economy to open up new markets for the products and services on ofer. Destination management is designed to guide sustainable growth and help ensure the viability of the tourism industry, enabling it to become resilient to external shocks and changes in a dynamic and competitive market. c. Guiding principles of best practice destination management There is no single template or one size its all approach to Destination Management. Destinations vary in size, type, structure and aspiration for their tourism future. However, there are some common processes and fundamental concepts that Destination Managers will need to consider. These include: > Deining the destination as part of the destination management process by drawing notional boundaries and points of access. > Understanding your market (customers /visitors) and your ofering (key product or experiences) > Adapting or creating a strong community based vision for the future of the destination > Developing a destination management structure with a clear communication process that links all relevant stakeholders and seeks their engagement in the delivery of the vision. In summary, Destination Management > is an ongoing process that engages delivery partners in a strong collaborative network to deliver on a clear vision for the future. > occurs when all stakeholders take a collaborative and holistic approach to developing and marketing the tourism ofering using the Destination Management Platform (refer section 3a) to consider the best process, the place to which it relates, the people involved and the product on ofer - all determined by the needs and expectations of those who will visit. > is based on a Destination Management Framework that integrates ive key delivery areas: research and analysis, consultative planning, product development, marketing and evaluation. These guiding principles are an important shift in thinking. Traditional approaches to tourism focused on destination marketing. This destination management approach identiies the product or experience available, understands the visitor and engages more broadly with community and other industry sectors and then markets the ofering. It’s important to maximise resources and to integrate some of these external processes into the destination management process so that they beneit tourism. By starting the conversation with new delivery partners you will make them aware of tourism and help them to begin to embed tourism into their thinking. This will in time ensure that all parties are working to achieve destination management objectives and tourism outcomes. 7 The destination management platform enables those in tourism to consider destination management holistically rather than just in tourism terms. 8 3. Destination Management in practice a. Introducing Destination Management Platform There is no one region in Australia that is exactly the same. There is no one-sizeits-all solution or template for destination management. However, the basic processes are the same. The Destination Management Platform is a practical foundation to guide your thinking as you consider the most appropriate best practice approach to destination management in your particular situation. It translates tourismfocused thinking and language into a context more easily understood by key delivery partners in other disciplines such as planning, community or economic development. The people “Who will visit?” To gain an understanding of your visitor ask yourself the following questions: > Who is currently visiting the destination? > Where are they coming from? And how are they getting to the destination? > Are they coming as singles, couples without children, couples with children? > How long are they staying? > What are they looking for in an experience? (dealt with in product) The Destination Management Platform is designed to focus consideration of: “Who are the key partners and relationships” > The place in which it relates > The people involved > The product or output and > The best process/es required The Place “The place to which it relates” The visitor will determine in their mind what they perceive the destination to be. However from a destination management perspective, the destination can be deined by a geographical attribute such as the Snowy Mountains (Great Dividing Range) or the Great Barrier Reef. It could be the geographical indications such as those that determine a wine region. Most often it is determined by geopolitical boundaries, such as Local Government Areas (LGA) and regional or state boundaries. Not every community that receives visitors can be regarded as a destination in the destination management context. A region may be the core attraction or the centre of a destination; a community may be part of a broader destination; or it may be part of the journey to get to a destination. At irst it might seem a simple task to identify the tourism partners in your region. But in reality you will need to engage and communicate more broadly including some stakeholders not directly/traditionally involved in tourism. Consider external delivery partners not currently engaged in tourism who directly or indirectly impact upon the tourism product and experience. They might be responsible for the planning or delivery of components of the destination management process. For example, there may be stakeholders who work for a local council who are responsible for the planning or delivery of components of the destination management process with whom you may not have previously engaged. Some questions could be: > Who is the community of interest? > Who are the key destination management delivery partners and stakeholders; and do they understand their role in destination management? 9 The relevance of a person or an agency may not always be obvious within the Destination Management context. As you meet new potential partners ask: > Does/do: > land use planning and development assessment > natural resource management > economic development planning and activity > recreation facilities and services > community services > the arts, events and cultural heritage agencies > the environment and sustainability relate to support or impede our destination management goals? The ‘tourism product’ is what the customer buys, the ‘tourism experience’ is what they remember. Tourism products – accommodation, attractions and tours that tourists purchase, participate in or consume. Tourism Experiences – the emotional feeling or personal achievement a tourist derives from the purchase, participation or consumption of the tourism products. What is it that your destination is ofering and can it deliver on the expectations of the visitor? Again, this is a big zone of activity, but ask the following questions to gain a broader perspective: > What experience does your region ofer? What have you promised in your marketing collateral? > Continue to question who else may be impacting on your ability to deliver on the tourism vision for the region. In Destination Management you can never have too many partners or allies. What do your visitors expect to see and do in your region; what are the core attractions or the reasons visitors come to your destination? > How do visitors get to your destination? > Once you have identiied a partner agency, area or discipline you will need to ask the following question: Do visitors travel in family groups, special interest groups, couples or singles? > Where do visitors stay? > What do visitors eat and drink? > What do they spend their money on? > How do they move around? > What do visitors do and experience? > Does it deliver on expectations? > Do you know if your visitors are happy and satisied with the destination? > > Who are the key staf in a business; and have they got the right skills and experience for their destination management role? How will I ind common ground or a shared interest as a basis for a productive and mutually beneicial relationship with this key contact? Through this process you will start to map the key relationships and delivery partnerships that might be involved in destination management in your region. 10 The product “What is the ofering or output” Be sure to understand what the destination is ofering, its tourism product or experience, particularly from the visitor’s perspective. An experience doesn’t have to be a product. It might be the excellent customer service and quality presentation of your destination. Understanding what you are ofering is critical as it is at the core of your brand and brand values. This guide provides options that you may consider. Not all are appropriate for each destination. When deciding the relative importance of a particular destination management approach or activities always consider it in the context of the following questions: > What is the level of maturity of the destination and where is it in terms of its destination lifecycle? > What is the overall impact of tourism on the local economy and how does it work with, leverage or support other sectors? > What are the size, scale and scope of tourism in relation to the destination management model you may need? The Process The best process to employ is one that will help you to focus on the product and experience and compare it to your visitor expectations and community aspiration or vision. You will thereby identify any gaps in service delivery and consider mechanisms for measuring quality and visitor satisfaction. Access to and the availability of your product and experience ofering need to be considered in the mix as well. RejuvenatIon A B Number of Tourists Now that you have considered the core elements of “Place, People and Product” you will be able to determine the best processes you need to employ to achieve best practice Destination Management. It’s important to consider these other factors irst because given the diferent approaches, roles, stakeholders, delivery partners, and circumstances in each destination, there is no single template for destination management. However, there are processes and fundamental concepts that destination managers will need to consider at every step. Critical Range of Elements of Capacity stagnatIon C D ConsolIDatIon DeClIne E Development Involvement exploRatIon Time b. Consider the process in context – consider the Relative Size, Scope and Scale of Tourism Each destination/region is diferent. Not all communities will see tourism as the answer to their dreams. Some regions will be satisied to deliver a modest tourism experience. They might wish to be the best morning and afternoon tea experience possible, providing something that over-delivers to the visitor. Other destinations will embrace tourism as the major economic driver for themselves and strive to deliver on the promise - and achieve beyond expectation. Hypothetical Evolution of a Tourist Area (Adapted from Miller and Gallucci, 2004). To assist you applying the Destination Management Platform in your destination context, you may wish to work through the DM Platform Matrix and to evaluate the size, scale and scope of tourism you may wish to work through the Tourism Relevance Checklist. Both of these tools are available online at: www.artn.com.au/destination-management 11 c. Understanding the Destination Management Framework Like any management process, destination management involves a constant and ongoing process of planning, implementation, review and assessment to ensure that the vision is optimised and objectives achieved. For this reason best practice approaches to destination management have been designed to foster collaborative approaches with key delivery partners. Working together within the context of the Destination Management Platform these approaches can apply efort relative to the size, scope and scale of tourism in each particular destination context. The Destination Management Framework is based on four interlinked areas of efort (Figure 2): > Inform – Research, Analysis & Evaluation > Plan – Consultative Planning > Develop – Destination Development > Communicate – Marketing Research and Analysis and Consultative Planning inform all parts of the best practice destination management process. They inform and show how the traditional delivery areas of destination development and marketing can yield tangible results that develop products and experiences in a destination; and communicate the results to visitors. To drive a collaborative approach, it is important to establish a clear language commonly understood by all stakeholders. The next section of the guide clariies some key terms. research & analysis consultative planning Destination Management Process destination development marketing Figure 2. Destination Management Framework 12 Destination Research and Analysis Research and analysis, monitoring and evaluation are an ongoing part of the destination management process. They inform planning and implementation and enable critical assessment of success or failure to service initiatives. Importantly, they help to explain how and why service quality and customer satisfaction can be improved. The destination management process involves four key delivery areas: > Research & Monitoring Investigate both supply (what the destination has to ofer) and demand (what the market is demanding). Analyse the supply/demand balance & determine the best market it for the destination. Work out the best way to monitor performance. > Marketing & Promotion. Is about growing visitor and community awareness and demand for the destination in line with the destination brand. It involves clearly and efectively communicating what’s on ofer, the unique proposition both before visitors arrive and once they are in the destination. Marketing and promotion are also about providing a sales opportunity for the destination. Importantly, marketing should include communication with internal stakeholders and community. This ensures that tourism remains in focus; the destination management process remains a priority; and destination managers can keep abreast of their progress. Monitoring performance, and evaluating and reviewing outcomes should be a constant component of the destination management process. It should include on-going reporting and communication, a process for assessing its impact and a program of review and renewal. > Consultative Planning Contemporary tourism planning needs to engage a broad cross section of destination stakeholders. These include community groups, industry associations, all levels of government and the media. > Destination (Experience & Product) Development Is about creating and maintaining visitor experiences, saleable products and services that meet visitor needs and expectations, relect the destination brand and facilitate the elements of a journey within a destination. Development may not be restricted to hard infrastructure such as transport, accommodation and attractions. A destination might require investment in soft infrastructure such as interpretation to make experiences more accessible to and interesting for the visitor. Consider existing products and experiences; identify gaps in the tourism product and experience ofering; and discover opportunities to attract investment to develop new or to enhance existing product or experiences. 13 Information Matrix Destination Management (DM) Framework Destination Research and Analysis DM Platform Work through the following questions. If you are able to answer them then you will have commenced collating the information required for your destination management process If you can’t answer these questions, then you have identiied an information or research gap that may need to be addressed. You may ind a potential source in the column to the right. Questions Process 14 Potential Sources/Outputs What Processes will you put in place to help you identify, resource, collect Consider developing a literature review list/index to catalogue and track the information that may be relevant to destination management. and manage research and information relating to DM? ｴ！ Have you determined the process of identifying and collecting relevant Information sources may include Government Tourism Organisations such as Tourism Australia, State and Regional Tourism Organisations, economic research and information? development agencies, Australian Bureau of Statistics and Sustainable ｴ！ What information do you need to inform your approaches to planning, Tourism Online. development and marketing? ｴ！ What information do you have? ｴ！ Who owns the information you need and can you access it? ｴ！ Is it current? ｴ！ Is it suicient to inform decision making? ｴ！ What are the information gaps? ｴ！ If you have gaps how can you commission or source the information you need? ｴ！ What is the cost? ｴ！ How can this be resourced? Place Questions Potential Sources/Outputs What is your place? Deine your destination by a notional DM boundary. Destination boundaries are inluenced by a number of factors. The most common are geopolitical boundaries. These tend to be deined bureaucratically rather than from the visitors’ perspective. Consider drawing your DM boundaries with a dotted line to enable some lexibility for changes. Visitors tend not to recognise notional destination boundaries and will instead create destination boundaries around experience clusters. Thus your DM boundary could vary depending on the target market needs and product ofering available. If so, some crossregional collaboration will maximise the opportunity of attracting visitors. You may need to return to the concept of deining the boundary a number of times during the process. ｴ！ What information already exists about the place you have deined as your destination? ｴ！ Is it a destination or part of a journey to, or from a destination? ｴ！ What physical attributes (natural and man-made) add to or detract from the attraction of the destination? ｴ！ What historical (natural and social) information is available about the destination? ｴ！ What plans, research or information are relevant to the destination? ｴ！ Investigate Local and State Government Plans and reports that may be relevant. ｴ！ Is there a community plan or strategic plan that sets out a vision for the community? ｴ！ Is there an economic development (ED) plan? ｴ！ What other industry sectors feature in the ED plan? ｴ！ How does tourism relate to or leverage these sectors? ｴ！ If the environment is a key aspect of your destination is there any natural resource management, catchment management or sustainability information that may be relevant? ｴ！ What land use planning regulations are in place that may efect/ impact tourism? Tourism and Economic Information sources may include Government Tourism Organisations such as Department of Tourism, Resources and Energy, Tourism Australia, State and Regional Tourism Organisations, economic development agencies, Australian Bureau of Statistics. Sustainable Tourism Online, and the World Tourism Organisation. NRM Information sources — National Parks & Wildlife, sport and recreation agencies at all three tiers of government, roads and transport authorities and motoring organisations. 15 People Questions Potential Sources/Outputs Who is the community/s of Interest in the destination? ｴ！ Consider the people that have current and historic links to the destination. Look for the types of activities and interests or features that dominate your community activity and landscape/urban environment. Natural environment and man made assets may lead you to communities of interest. ｴ！ These may vary from sporting to cultural groups or may be from other industry sectors. Visions can be integrated into community or regional plans or economic development strategies. ｴ！ Does the community have a vision? ｴ！ Do you have a destination brand and brand strategy? Who is visiting your destination? Visitor data can be obtained from the STO. ｴ！ Consider the current visitor demographic and psychographics. ｴ！ Where are visitors coming from? Your industry operators and the local visitor information centre will be able to provide some of this information. Source information from the key groups identiied above. ｴ！ Why are they coming? ｴ！ Is this information current and consistent? What staf and skill base is available to collate the information? ｴ！ Consider the people you will need to help you to bring together the information and research you need in DM. ｴ！ Do they have the time and capability (skill) to collect the information? Who are your key partners in destination management? 16 ｴ！ Who do you need to collaborate with to bring together the information needed to support the DM process? ｴ！ Deine the type and level of involvement. ｴ！ Can you co-opt other individuals or stakeholders to assist? ｴ！ If so who are they and what do they require or receive by their involvement in the DM process? Consider undertaking a skills audit to assess the capability of your team and to identify gaps. There may be other organisations that can assist in this area. Universities and TAFE colleges may be able to provide information or resources via internships or research projects. You will be identifying these key partners throughout the process. List the prominent sources or information or resource agencies you have identiied thus far as a starting point. Product Questions Potential Sources/Outputs How does your Destination in its current form present as a total product or experience? Product audits can be expensive to commission. Information can be collated via council data lists, business directories, organisations’ membership information, and real estate agents’ rental lists. You will need to bring together information that answers the following: Output ｴ！ What is your destination currently ofering? ｴ！ What is its unique selling proposition? ｴ！ Is this in line with the values and vision of your community of interest? ｴ！ Is this in line with your destination’s brand values? ｴ！ What are the individual products and experiences on ofer? ｴ！ Do these match the needs/wants of your target market? You will have a clearer idea of what information and resourcing is currently available for you to use as part of the DM Process. And you will have identiied the information gaps. An online review of information promoting the region is also a great way of identifying what experiences are being promoted and ofered to visitors. Create a literature and information review document that catalogues the current information available and highlights where you need to seek more information. Keep this document current to inform the ongoing destination planning and management processes. Consultative Destination Planning Consultative planning is about communities working together to share knowledge and ideas about creating a sustainable tourism destination, deining what they can ofer, and agreeing on what their values are. These values should be expressed in the tourism vision and brand. They should underpin decision making in other destination management aspects. Often the community vision and values have already been established and documented by state and/ or local governments during community, cultural, environment or economic development planning processes. Adapt these visions and values to the tourism context rather than simply duplicating the process or creating a vision in conlict with the existing community vision. The key is to communicate how tourism can deliver on the community’s own vision for the future. 18 Planning Matrix DM Platform Process Destination Management Framework Consultative Destination Planning Questions Potential Sources/Outputs What processes will you need to put in place to facilitate consultative destination planning? Collate baseline data to produce situation analysis to document current scenarios as a irst step in planning. note: the data you’ve collected by working through the Information Matrix should assist in assessing where you can use existing plans and documents and will identify gaps in the Destination planning process. ｴ！ Is there a community vision and how does tourism contribute to this? Leverage it? Add value to it? ｴ！ Is there a brand statement and identiied values? ｴ！ Place How do you plan to integrate the vision and brand into your destination planning process? ｴ！ What stage of the destination lifecycle is your destination? ｴ！ What is the size and scale of tourism in relation to its economic, social or environmental impact? ｴ！ What level of planning is required to enable a suitable management approach to be established in your destination? ｴ！ What planning is in place already that you can incorporate into a DM Plan? ｴ！ Are there gaps in planning and if so who should complete this work, how will it be resourced and when does it need to be completed? What is the scope for growth in the current size and scale is tourism? How does this relate to the vision? Investigate land use planning and natural resource management requirements. How does this relate to your brand values and statement? What social, economic and environmental impact is this likely to have? What physical planning issues need to be considered? 19 People Questions Potential Sources/Outputs Who needs to be engaged in the destination planning process? Draw information from the Information Matrix and from local people, community leaders and inluencers. ｴ！ How will you engage your community of interest, stakeholders and key delivery partners in your DM planning? Is the current visitor/market proile achieving suicient return on investment to support the current size and scale of tourism? ｴ！ Does the visitor proile need to or is it likely to change in the future? ｴ！ What will be the catalyst for changing the visitor proile (e.g. is demand or supply the driver?) ｴ！ What type and level of investment are required to initiate and maintain the change? Who will resource it and is it sustainable? ｴ！ How will you communicate with your visitors and community? ｴ！ What information and messages will you want to share? What staf and skill base do you have available to assist with planning processes? ｴ！ Product Output 20 You may have access to visitor proile data or strategy documents such as Experience Audits to provide background. Consultation in this area will involve industry and economic development stakeholders. Refer to the Destination Management Components Table (page 27) to ind the most appropriate approach for your destination. Skills and capability assessment/audit. If there is a skill/capability gap, how will you ill this and how will you resource it? Who are your Key Delivery Partners and what is their role? Refer to Information Matrix/People. What product is currently on ofer? Product & experience audits. ｴ！ Are the destination’s currently available products and services adequate to service current and future markets? Visitor satisfaction research. ｴ！ How will you maintain or change the product and experience ofering to ensure visitor satisfaction? The planning matrix will guide you through the process of developing or reviewing your destination management planning process. Develop or commission a destination management plan that considers the process and questions in the Planning Matrix and uses the information identiied in the Information Matrix to inform strategy and actions. Keep this document current by reviewing it every 12–18 months during the life of the plan. The key is to communicate how tourism can deliver on the community’s own vision for the future. 21 Destination Development Destination development is about creating and maintaining visitor experiences, saleable products and services that meet visitors’ needs and expectations and facilitate their travel and stay within a destination. Traditionally this focus has been on assets and products. Increasingly visitors are looking to enjoy unique and fulilling experiences that bring a destination to life and make it memorable. The most authentic visitor experiences may be developed outside the regular tourism ofering. These will provide opportunities for visitors to experience the landscape, people, way of life, culture and food enjoyed by the local community. Make sure to invest in soft infrastructure rather than just hard infrastructure such as transport, accommodation and transport. 22 Development Matrix Destination Management Framework DM Platform Destination Development Use the platform to guide your approach to implementation of destination development. NOTE: The information collected in the Information & Planning Matrix should assist in assessing where the gaps are in Destination Development. Process Questions Potential Sources/outputs Do you have a product and experience development plan to guide your work in this area? Product and experience audits. It should cover the following: What information can you use to assess the current stage of destination development? ｴ！ Do you need to source more data to inform an assessment? Is there suicient supply of product on ofer of the right standard to meet current visitor needs? ｴ！ What processes are in place to assess this? ｴ！ Where are the product and experience gaps? ｴ！ Is customer service up to standard? SWOT and/or PESTEL Analysis. Tourism Opportunity Plans or Strategies. Visitor satisfaction data/reports. Economic development plans produced by EDO’s or RDA’s. Community vision and Brand strategy. (See Destination Management Components Table for deinition, page 27). What are the key tourism opportunities for future development? ｴ！ What size and scale parameters need to be considered? ｴ！ What are the intended growth targets/parameters? ｴ！ What other organisations/initiatives are involved in product or business development? Is growth represented by increases in visitor nights, expenditure, yield or a mixture of the above? ｴ！ How will this be achieved? How will this be measured? Does this level of development it within the community vision & brand values? 23 Place Questions Potential Sources/outputs What physical assets, sectors or activities have potential to link to tourism? Review Tourism Opportunity Plans or strategic development plans What are the physical planning, environmental or heritage considerations? Investigate land use planning and natural resource management requirements People Who needs to be engaged in the destination development process and how will you engage with them? Refer to Information Matrix/People Can the community/s of interest contribute to product and experience ofering? Is the industry viable? Regularly review the visitor proile/satisfaction data or strategy documents such as Experience Audits to inform action as Is the industry providing the level of customer service that meets visitor expectations? you progress. Involve industry and economic development Is the current visitor/market proile achieving suicient return on investment to stakeholders. support the current size and scale of tourism? If there are information gaps refer to the Destination Does this need to change in the future to meet growth targets? Management Components Table (page 27) to ind the most appropriate approach for your destination. What will be the catalyst for changing the visitor proile (e.g. demand or supply driven? What strategies/initiatives are needed to achieve change? What type and level of resourcing/investment is required to initiate and maintain the change? Who will resource it and is it sustainable? Who is responsible for Destination Development? (What organisation and individual?) Skills and capability assessment/audit Is there acknowledgement of this role and the relationship with tourism and other delivery partners? Do they have the skills, resources and networks to achieve this? Who are the Destination Development Key Partners? 24 Refer to Information & Planning Matrix/People Product Questions Potential Sources/outputs What product is currently on ofer and is it meeting visitor needs and expectation? Product and experience audits. ｴ！ ｴ！ ｴ！ ｴ！ Output Visitor satisfaction research. What initiatives will you put in place to maintain the product and experience ofering to ensure it meets current and future visitor needs and expectations? Consider the following ｴ！ Does the existing product and experience ofering need to be refreshed? ｴ！ Is the level of customer service meeting expectation? ｴ！ Is suicient interpretation occurring? ｴ！ Is it in line with the brand statement and values? How will this be resourced? Is your product development activity in line with the vision and brand? The Development Matrix will guide the ongoing implementation of product development process. Review your product and experience development plan regularly to monitor progress for the life of the document. 25 Destination Marketing The purpose of Destination Marketing is to: Grow visitor awareness and demand for the destination and its products. > Clearly and efectively communicate with visitors to better understand their needs and wants. > Communicate the destination’s unique ofering and value proposition both before visitors arrive and once they are in the destination. > Develop and communicate your destination’s vision and values via a clear brand statement that is then relected in how you market and promote your destination and communicate what is on ofer. Importantly, marketing should include communication with internal stakeholders and the community to ensure that tourism remains in focus. Marketing spans traditional, electronic and social media to attract and inform visitors and key stakeholders. It may include events and other interactive public relation activities as part of an awareness raising and engagement strategy. Importantly, customer service delivered by industry may positively or negatively impact upon a destination’s brand and reputation. Remember, marketing tourism from a destination perspective is a two-way street, with approaches that focus on external and internal audiences. In both cases you need to ensure that your audiences are engaged and have the ability to interact with you and to provide feedback: 26 > External communication is with customers to attract their attention and ultimately their business through visitation. > Internal communication is about ensuring stakeholders and communities are engaged and aware of tourism and the destination management process in their community. Communication Matrix Destination Management Framework DM Platform Destination Marketing Use the platform to guide your approach to implementation of destination marketing. NOTE: The information collected in the Information & Planning Matrix should inform the Destination marketing activity. Questions Process Potential Sources/outputs Do you have a marketing and communication plan to guide your work in this area? Do you have a brand strategy? ｴ！ How does this relate to the community vision? ｴ！ How does this relate to other regional or state brands (both tourism and other related products such as food and wine)? ｴ！ What process do you have to ensure your brand message is communicated and delivered upon in the visitor experience? ｴ！ What processes are in place to assess this? How will you coordinate and fund the implementation? ｴ！ What resources are required and who will contribute? Do you have a strategy or system to monitor and evaluate the efectiveness of your marketing and communication? ｴ！ Consider the following critical success factors: ｴ！ Saturation in key markets ｴ！ Response to call to action ｴ！ Conversion to sales ｴ！ Total sales outcome ｴ！ Yield ｴ！ Return on investment 27 Place People Questions Potential Sources/outputs Does your branding and marketing relect the physical and industry ofering of your destination? Refer to Information, planning and product matrixes. ｴ！ Create stories and images that integrate physical aspects of your destination. Is it linking to or leveraging other industries or sectors? Does your branding and marketing relect the values and vision of the community and industry? Refer to Information, planning and product matrixes. Create stories and images that integrate the characters of your destination and the sorts of visitors or you are trying to attract. Is the industry engaged and active in destination marketing? Visitor satisfaction data. ｴ！ Are they delivering on the brand message? Mystery shop programs. ｴ！ Is the product currently on ofer relected accurately in the marketing and branding? ｴ！ Is the service ofering meeting current visitor/expectation? Who is responsible for Destination Marketing? (What organisation and individual?) Product Output 28 ｴ！ Is their role acknowledged? ｴ！ Do they have the skills, resources and networks to achieve this? Skills and capability assessment/audit. Who are the Key Partners in Destination Marketing? Refer to Information and Planning Matrix/ People. Is the suite of marketing products and collateral in line with the communication methods and media used by the key target markets? Product & experience audits. ｴ！ Is investment required to improve the use of technology to enable efective communication with potential and engaged visitors? ｴ！ Is industry skilled in using technology to communicate with visitors before, during and after their visit? ｴ！ Is suicient data being collected from the use of technology? The Communications Matrix will guide the ongoing implementation of Destination Marketing process Visitor satisfaction research. Destination Marketing and Communication Plan. Brand Strategy. Remember, marketing tourism from a destination perspective is a two-way street, with approaches that focus on external and internal audiences. 29 Destination Management Components The Destination Management Components Table summarises the vast array of documents and processes that can be produced or employed to produce a destination management plan and guide the process of implementation. Not every destination will need all of these and some may already have much of this information in other plans or information resources. Use the Components Table as a reference guide to assist you to ind the information you need for an appropriate destination management process in your destination context. 30 Destination Management Components Table Destination Management Components Key Delivery Areas Key Delivery Partners Description Visioning Planning > Community & Economic Dev; LGA & RDA, RTO/LTO Sets the vision for the future of tourism. The tourism vision should link to or contribute to a broader community or regional vision. Development > Marketing Deining the Destination Planning > PESTEL Analysis Planning > Development Development SWOT Analysis Planning > Development Land Use and Development Planning > Transport and Access Research > Development Planning > Development Infrastructure Research > Planning > Development RTO/LTO, RDA, STO,LGA Outlines the destination’s notional experience boundaries according to visitor proile and product ofering. RDA, EDO,LGA, RTO/ LTO Is designed to provide destination managers with an analytical tool to identify diferent macro-environmental factors that may afect business strategies and how they may inluence tourism performance now and in the future of Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Environmental and Legal (PESTEL) factors. RDA, EDO,LGA, RTO/ LTO, Community/ Industry Analysis of the destination (and organisational environment) via an assessment of its Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT). LGA & State Planners, RTO/LTO, Industry Ensuring planning and development controls on all categories of appropriate land is consistent with your community and tourism vision and enable the development of appropriate product and experience development (e.g. restaurants to play live music). In addition to tourism and business zones, it is important to consider the types of activities and potential tourism experiences you want to encourage in non-traditional tourism areas such as agricultural and conservation land. Often tourism-related activities in these zones are prohibited, non-deined or attract onerous conditions; this will limit your region’s product and experience development options such as adventure, food and nature based tourism, LGA & State infrastructure planners/ managers, Industry, RTO/LTO List/catalogue of transport services and facilities. LGA & State infrastructure planners/ managers, Industry, RTO/LTO Identiication of infrastructure assets and needs including the number, variety and standard of hard and soft infrastructure. Comparative analysis of audit information compared to market research and visitor proile information. 31 Destination Management Components Key Delivery Areas Key Delivery Partners Description Critical Assessment of the Destination’s Tourism Potential Research > RTO/LTO,EDO, Planning > RDA, Industry Review of ofering or potential ofering with development. Consider other sectors that may provide opportunities to create or enhance the ofering or market e.g. speciic sectors such as food, wine and agriculture; environment, heritage, arts and cultural sector, community festivals and events; and speciic business sectors such as mining, medicine or educational sectors. Development Tourism Product Research > Planning > RTO/LTO,EDO,RDA, Industry Audits or inventories should be developed and maintained as a current list of available product and service categories (may include reviewing the quality or standard of ofering in line with rating or price category). This may include speciic sectors such as food, wine and agritourism; MICE; community festivals and events; and business special interest or educational tourism. RTO/LTO,EDO,RDA, Industry + relevant sectors or community orgs Articulates opportunities for the development of experiences based on visitor proile, trends and a destination’s assets or strengths. RDA, EDO, RTO/LTO, TAFE, SSA List and assessment of experience/skill level and quality of both industry and the tourism organisation. This may include an audit and analysis. LGA & emergency agencies, RTO/LTO Risk management applies to every aspect of the destination management process. The risk is not limited to public risk but business risk in terms of taking decisions that could adversely impact upon market and trade. Crisis management is one that needs to be considered from an industry and visitor perspective. RDA, EDO, RTO/LTO Industry + relevant sectors or community orgs Communicates the values and essence of what the destination ofers and expresses the character and personality of the destination. Articulates how to protect and build brand salience. Development Experience Development Planning > Development > Marketing Resource and Skills Audit Research > Planning > Development Crisis and Risk Planning > Development Branding Research > Planning > Development > Marketing 32 Destination Management Components Key Delivery Areas Key Delivery Partners Description Market Research Research > Universities/TAFE, STO RDA, EDO, RTO/LTO Industry, TRA Tourism data and trend information used to inform decision-making. Universities/TAFE, STO RDA, EDO, RTO/LTO Industry, TRA Research that provides insights into what current and potential visitors want to experience and the how/when they make decisions to transact. Universities/TAFE, STO RDA, EDO, RTO/LTO Industry, ASPIRE Review of competitor destinations and other discretionary spend competitors. Universities/TAFE, STO RDA, EDO, RTO/LTO Industry A plan that outlines communication initiatives that raise the destination’s proile and its products/experiences and convert interest into sales to improve yield and turnover. STO/LTO/RTO A plan that details how products will be distributed to the market via traditional and digital methods. Universities/TAFE, STO RDA, EDO, RTO/LTO Industry Sets baseline data to enable measurement of change or impact of activity through regular and consistent data collection and analysis. Planning > Development > Marketing Visitor Proile (preference and behaviours) Research > Development > Marketing Competitor Analysis Research > Planning > Development > Marketing Marketing plan Planning > Development > Marketing Distribution plan Planning > Development > Marketing Benchmarking, Monitoring and Evaluation Research> Planning > Development 33 Right from the outset consider the key concepts: > place that makes up your destination > people that need to be involved or considered > product or ofering that your destination ofers > process you need to undertake. 4. Summary Destination management requires collaboration around a shared vision. Tourism may be just one contributor to achieving that vision. Best practice destination management is an ongoing process. Right from the outset you will need to consider the key concepts within the Destination Management Platform, the: > place that makes up your destination > people that need to be involved or considered > product or ofering that your destination ofers. > process you need to undertake Having considered how you will create your destination management platform, think about the framework that will make it strong and vibrant. This framework uses four key delivery areas to build best practice destination management: > research and analysis and consultative planning will create outputs that are valuable tools when used to inform the key delivery areas of destination development and marketing. Finally there are many diferent components that can be used to inform 34 the various aspects of destination management process — remember that you may not need all of them. Which components a region integrates into its destination management process will largely depend on: > the level of maturity or development > the intensity of tourism activity > the skill, knowledge and experience of the key people charged with developing and delivering destination management > the resourcing of the destination. Don’t reinvent the wheel. Other delivery partners might already have some or all of this data or information in other plans that you can integrate into your destination management process. Currently many regional tourism organisations narrowly focus on marketing components. By collaborating with other stakeholders and considering all four key delivery areas you will create a stronger destination and a richer visitor experience. Without this holistic approach to destination management tourism destinations run the risk of falling behind and losing their competitive edge. 5. More information, tools and resources Glossary of Abbreviations This printed guide has a number of other resources and tools online. Visit www.artn.com.au/destination-management. DM....................... Destination Management Useful Information and Internet links These internet links may provide more information for planners: www.sustainabletourismonline.com UNEP-‐DTIE – destination management www.uneptie.org/pc/tourism/policy/destinationmgmt.ht World conferences and meetings on destination management www.worldtourism.org/destination World Tourism Organization, Destination Council http://www.unwto.org/destination/index.php?lang=E Global code of ethics for tourism http://www.ethics.unwto.org/en/content/global-code-ethics-tourism LGA..................... Local Government Area RDA .................... Regional Development Australia VIC....................... Visitor Information Centre LTO...................... Local Tourism Organisation RTO .................... Regional Tourism Organisation STO ..................... State Tourism Organisation GTO .................... Government Tourism Organisations TA......................... Tourism Australia TRA..................... Tourism Research Australia RET...................... Australian Government Department of Resources Energy and Tourism UNWTO........... United Nations World Tourism Organisation EDO .................... Economic Development Organisation Improving Competitiveness: quality, investment, trade, health, safety and security www.unwto.org SWOT................ Strength, Weakness, Opportunity, Threat Analysis Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism resources at www.ret.gov.au www.tourism.gov.au PESTEL............. Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Environmental and Legal analysis Links to tourism research and statistics at Tourism Australia http://www.tourism.australia.com/ TAFE................... Technical And Further Education ED ........................ Economic Development Tourism Research Australia publications at http://www.ret.gov.au/tourism/tra/Pages/default.aspx ARTN Member resources http://www.artn.com.au/Member-Zone/Resource-Library NSW Resources and information http://archive.tourism.nsw.gov.au/Tourism-IndustryResources-QuickLinks_p4567.aspx QLD Resources and information http://www.tq.com.au/resource-centre/index.cfm VIC Resources and information http://www.tourismexcellence.com.au/ TAS Resources and information http://www.tourism.tas.gov.au/ SA Resources and information http://www.tourism.sa.com WA Resources and information http://www.tourism.wa.gov.au NT Resources and information http://www.tourismnt.com.au ACT Resources and information http://www.tourism.act.gov.au 35 Prepared by Australian Regional Tourism Network 36 E-Mail: manager@artn.com.au Web: www.artn.com.au