Why is Destination Marketing Important?
When the Covid-19 pandemic swept the globe, tourism was by far one of the hardest hit industries. Understandably, destinations put a hold on marketing spend and cut marketing teams and budgets in order to save money.
Since life began to return to normal the tourism marketing has begun to thrive, and in some cases even more than before. Destinations, attractions, and hospitality are now back to competing for those visitors and it leads us to ask why is destination marketing important?
Destination marketing is about communicating with your audience the reason to visit your destination. It creates awareness, stands you out above you competitors, and drives bookings and ticket sales.
5 Reasons Destination Marketing is Important
1. It connects you with your audience
As part of your destination marketing the customer avatar plays a big part in understanding who your visitors are, their needs, wants, and emotional reasons for their visit. By understanding your audience you can create a brand that connects with your audience. Creating excitement for visiting, reaching new visitors, and instilling loyalty with those who have been already.
2. It tells people the reasons they should visit
The majority of our buying decisions are based on emotion, especially when it comes to our precious free/leisure time. Destination marketing helps you create messaging around those reasons to visit. Not just selling the features of your destination, your marketing can dive deep into the benefits for visitors and why they should come to your destination. Creating destination marketing campaigns that give reasons to visit are going to win you customers.
3. It creates brand loyalty
Your destination marketing isn’t just about reaching new customers, it’s about keeping existing ones. Whether your destination is somewhere people may go weekly, or an occasional annual visit, how you brand and the messages you create are going to give people a reason to return. If they feel a connection with you they’ll want to come back, and what’s more, they’ll tell their friends!
4. It helps you stand out above the noise
It will be extremely rare to have a destination that isn’t competing with somewhere else. Some of our regular decisions involve where we want to go for dinner, plans for the weekend, or something to do in the holidays with the family. If you’re not marketing your destination you WILL lose out to other destinations who are selling themselves better. Destination marketing will help you stay current, get noticed, and reach new audiences.
5. It increases sales
At the end of the day the whole point of marketing is to generate leads and sales. Destination marketing is no different. By marketing your destination throughout the customers lifespan with you; when they first become aware of you, during their visit, and whether they’ll visit again, you want to have your marketing so on point that you’re their first port of call every step of the way. Whether it’s new or returning visitors, destination marketing will increase your sales.
Want some help with your destination marketing? Get in touch.
