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RESEARCH PAPERS
Michael J. Baker
is Emeritus Professor of Marketing at the University of Strathclyde where he founded the Department of Marketing
in 1971. The author of numerous books and papers, his interest in the application of marketing techniques to tourism
development is founded on his research into Country of Origin effects and Branding.
Emma Cameron
graduated with a first class honours degree in Tourism (International Travel) Management from Glasgow Caledonian
University and a masters with distinction in Marketing from the University of Strathclyde. She is currently working
in a marketing position within the Office of Marketing and Communications in the University of Strathclyde.
ABSTRACT As a consequence of globalisation, the marketing of places has grown in importance as countries, regions
and individual destinations compete with one another to attract investment and visitors. In order to compete effectively,
it is essential to identify the critical success factors (CSFs) and ensure these are incorporated into ones strategic plan-
ning. An extensive review of the literature covering place and destination marketing indicates that image and identity
play an important role in differentiating between objectively similar alternatives. Accordingly, the branding of destina-
tions has become of major importance and is analysed in depth. Thirty-three factors are identified, clustered into four
categories, that may be considered CSFs to be taken into account when developing tourism strategies and plans.
Tourism and Hospitality Research (2008) 8, 7997. doi:10.1057/thr.2008.9; published online 17 March 2008
KEYWORDS tourism planning, place and destination marketing, branding, literature review, critical success factors
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setting attractive incentives for the current and tionship are illustrated in Kotler et al.s (2002)
potential buyers and users of its goods and serv- framework Levels of place marketing (Figure 1).
ices; delivering a places products and services Clearly, place marketing is not only limited to
in an efficient, accessible way; promoting the increasing tourist arrivals but also plays an impor-
places values and image so that potential users tant role in regional/urban development, country
are fully aware of the places distinctive advan- positioning in international relations and
tages (Kotler et al., 1993: 18). Six generic strat- economic development (Deffner and Metaxas,
egies are suggested to achieve this: 2005; Papadopoulos, 2004). Indeed, according to
Attracting tourist and business visitors Ashworth and Goodall (1988) in Howie (2003:
Attracting businesses from elsewhere 145), tourism is one function within the
Retaining and expanding existing businesses multi-functional place to be managed on the
Promoting small business expansion and basis of professionally determined norms and
fostering new business start-ups political decisions about the role it should play
Expanding exports and outside investments in the wider spatial setting for the attainment of
Expanding the population or changing the municipal goals. Howie uses Silicon Valley in
mix of residents (Ibid.). California, which is an area promoted as the ideal
location for companies developing new tech-
Intuitively, these would appear to be ranked in nology, as an example of an alternative use of a
some kind of ascending order with the attrac- place and the differing objectives that may occur
tion of visitors leading to business, and social among the various internal stakeholders.
and economic development. While each of Hence, tourism should be integral to place
these might be regarded as a different market marketing as it supports and leads the develop-
segment their interdependence and interrela- ment of a place brand by creating celebrity
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and emotional appeal that other organisations the development of a successful marketing
can use when communicating to potential strategy for a destination.
residents, businesses and investors and that the
whole economy will therefore benefit from DESTINATION MARKETING
(Morgan, 2004: 19). Morgan uses New Zealand A destination is a place that attracts visitors for
as an example of a place that started with a a temporary stay, including continents, coun-
tourism-led marketing initiative, and that is at tries, states, cities, villages and purpose-built
the leading edge of destination marketing, resort areas (Pike, 2004), and thus is an amalgam
which now uses its website to promote business of all the tourism services and experiences
as well as travel opportunities.Tourism frequently offered to consumers (Buhalis, 2000). According
acts as a catalyst for other development while to the WTO (2004: 10):
also contributing significantly to the economies destination marketing covers all the activities
of many countries. For example, worldwide and processes to bring buyers and sellers together;
earnings on international tourism reached focuses on responding to consumer demands
US$623bn in 2004, with the United Kingdom and competitive positioning; is a continuous
earning US$27bn of this (WTO, 2005). Thus, coordinated set of activities associated with effi-
the development of tourism can benefit the cient distribution of products to high potential
economy as a whole. Consequently, the markets; and involves making decisions about
marketing of places as destinations has become the product, branding, price, market segmenta-
increasingly competitive in recent years as it tion, promotion and distribution.
has become well established that such a large,
complex and special entity as a destination is Additionally, Horner and Swarbrooke (1996)
able to be marketed in much the same way as argue that destination marketing involves using
a product (Howie, 2003). tourism as a means to an end rather than an end
Against this background, our purpose is to in itself for reasons including: improving the
explore the nature of destination marketing and image of an area to attract industrialists; increasing
identify factors associated with its successful the range of facilities and amenities available to
planning and execution. To achieve this we the local community; giving local residents more
begin by defining destination marketing and pride in their local area; providing a rationale
reviewing evidence from both academic and and funding for improvements to the local envi-
practitioner studies that spell out some of the ronment; and trying to make the destination
key considerations that need to be taken into politically more acceptable to outsiders.
account. Foremost among these is the need for While it is widely acknowledged that marketing
effective planning. As with other competitive contributes greatly to destination development (see
situations however, strategic planning tends to eg Cooper et al., 1998; Howie, 2003; Prideaux and
achieve parity with ones competitors rather Cooper, 2002), the process is not always straight-
than a sustainable competitive advantage. forward or well understood and is a particularly
Increasingly, this elusive property calls for a challenging form of the marketing art (Bennett,
value proposition based on subjective rather 1999). These challenges are related to the
than objective factors that are encapsulated in complexity of the tourism product and the number
a brand. In recognition of this we first define of stakeholders involved in destination marketing.
branding as a generic practice and then its As the definitions of both place and destina-
application to destinations. In turn this leads us tion marketing indicate, a major challenge is
to consider what is involved in brand building the fragmentation of ownership. There is no
and the challenges faced in brand development. single product over which the producer has
Finally, based on our review we identify 33 total control, instead the tourism product is
critical success factors that are associated with comprised of organisations of varying sizes,
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government and the natural environment, and Table 1: Strategic marketing objectives for
the image of a destination can be affected by destinations
uncontrollable external events (Bennett, 1999).
1. Enhance the long-term prosperity of local
Thus there are many different stakeholders people
involved in the process, including both public 2. Delight visitors by maximising their satisfaction
and private organisations and local residents, all 3. Maximise profitability of local enterprises and
of whom, individually, have little control over maximise multiplier effects
the marketing of the destination product. This 4. Optimise tourism impacts by ensuring a
lack of control over the tourism product has sustainable balance between economic benefits
led many destination marketing organisations and socio-cultural and environmental costs
to focus primarily on the promotional aspect
of the marketing mix (Horner and Swarbrooke, Source: Buhalis (2000).
1996).
In addition, the definitions suggest that desti-
Host
nation marketing must satisfy the needs of all Population
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strategies, tactics and alternative scenarios per define the former as a process of joint decision
action; and planning the feedback procedure. making among autonomous, key stakeholders
They add that, according to Ashworth and of an inter-organisational, community tourism
Voogd (1990), strategic planning is particularly domain to resolve planning problems of the
important, considering that public local author- domain and/or to manage issues related to the
ities and private sector organisations cooperate planning and development of the domain.
through common policies and interests to Gunn (2002) also argues that collaboration is
define their differing goals. Similarly, Buhalis required for successful tourism planning and
(2000) notes that destination marketing facili- development, in particular collaboration
tates the achievement of a tourism policy, which between public and private organisations.
should be coordinated with the regional devel- Integration is also an issue that has been well
opment strategic plan and which should focus documented in the tourism planning literature
on all the impacts on the destination over and (see eg Gunn, 2002; Inskeep, 1991). Gunn, for
above visitation such as overcrowding, envi- example, contends that destination plans must
ronmental problems, visitor safety and security, be developed within the context of regional
seasonality problems and sensitivity to local tourism plans. This is to ensure that tourism is
culture in order to ensure fulfilment of the developed in concordance with the broader
objectives of all stakeholders. goals of the destination and is thus more effi-
Gunn (2002) notes the significance of image cient and consistent.
in tourism planning today. In the competitive Some of the difficulties of achieving this are
tourism market, the author warns of the danger exmplified in Curtis (2001) case study of Brand
of replicating the same theme of tourism devel- Oregon. With the weakening of the Oregon
opment and so argues that analysis of factors economy in the mid-1990s, all the regional
such as the destinations cultural and natural tourist offices receiving government funding
resources, geographical characteristics and tradi- were required to use the Oregon Tourism
tion is required in order to differentiate the Commissions advertising agency and comply
destination from the competition. with the umbrella Brand Oregon.This was seen
According to Howie (2003), the present as restrictive and led to considerable resistance
approach to tourism planning in the UK is underlining the need for cooperation and
characterised by acknowledgment of constant collaboration rather than fiat and regulation.
change; continuous monitoring and response; Yet, as noted earlier, formal strategic planning
and continuous revision. Likewise the WTO rarely creates a sustainable competitive advan-
(1994: 16) recognises: tage in its own right. Rather, it has become a
necessary but not sufficient condition to ensure
During and after implementation, tourism
that ones offering is at least equivalent to those
development must be monitored to ensure
offered by ones competitors.Through the anal-
that it is accomplishing the objectives and
ysis that underpins strategic planning it may be
achieving the recommended policies. Moni-
possible to pinpoint attributes and features that
toring will detect any serious problems that
will offer additional benefits to customers. The
arise so that remedial measures can be taken
problem is that unless these are protected by
before the problems become serious.
IPR (intellectual property rights) the competi-
Thus, implementation, monitoring and review tion will soon copy and so erode the advantage.
are crucial aspects of a destination tourism Protection against this is afforded by the organ-
plan. isations reputation which, in turn, is reflected
A further issue pertinent to tourism planning in its brand equity. While difficult to measure
and destination development is collaboration precisely, brand equity reflects the additional
( Jamal and Getz, 1995). Jamal and Getz (1995) benefits and values that consumers perceive
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they receive by preferring one brand over have come under criticism in recent years and
another. It is for this reason that issues of repu- political and environmental backlash against
tation and branding have become so vital in them has increased (Howie, 2003; Kapferer,
developing effective strategies and long-term 2004). Brands have, however, become increas-
competitive advantage. In the sections that ingly important to organisations for several
follow we will look first at branding as a prac- reasons. First, Kapferer (2004) argues that, if
tice and then examine its application to desti- managed properly, brands are one of the few
nations. strategic assets at a companys disposal that can
provide a long-lasting competitive advantage.
BRANDING In addition, Pike (2004) argues that one of the
A brand is defined by Keller (2003: 4) as a most important impacts of branding for
product, but one that adds other dimensions commercial organisations is brand equity, the
that differentiate it in some way from other increasing awareness of the balance sheet value
products designed to satisfy the same need. of brands, which can create competitive advan-
Additionally, a brand is a shared desirable tage by generating greater sales or margins than
and exclusive idea embodied in products, serv- would be achieved without the brand name.
ices, places and/or experiences (Kapferer, 2004: To achieve competitive advantage, a successful
13), and to be successful it must establish an brand strategy is required and brand equity
emotional relationship with the consumer by must be strong. Keller (2000) proposed ten
ensuring that there is a fit between the consum- characteristics that should be present for a
ers needs and the brands values and features successful brand strategy. These are that: the
(Hankinson and Cowking, 1993). brand excels at delivering the benefits customers
Howie (2003) stresses the importance of truly desire; the brand stays relevant; the pricing
branding and positioning in relation to the strategy is based on consumers perceptions of
product element of Kotlers marketing mix that value; the brand is properly positioned; the
comprises: product, price, promotion and place. brand is consistent; the brand portfolio and
So, according to Hall (2002), brands encom- hierarchy make sense; the brand makes use of
pass: and coordinates a full repertoire of marketing
activities to build brand equity; the brands
a clear and distinct image which differenti- managers understand what the brand means to
ates them from competitors; customers; the brand is given proper support
association with quality and a distinctive and that support is sustained over the long run;
way of relating to the customer; and the company monitors sources of brand
the ability to deliver long-term competitive equity.
advantage; Further reasons for the growth in branding,
something greater than a simple set of according to Pike (2004) include the increasing
physical attributes. global competition due to globalisation that has
led to greater awareness of global competitors.
On these grounds, it could be argued that For example, as 70 per cent of international
branding is now a fundamental component in travellers visit only ten countries, over 90 NTOs
a destination-marketing plan. Indeed, Kania compete for only 30 per cent of total interna-
(2001) argues that branding is the most impor- tional arrivals. Pike (2004) also cites: the
tant element in any marketing plan. increasing commoditisation of products as
Brands have become so prevalent and congested markets make differentiation difficult
powerful in modern society, making their way and lead to growth in price-based competition;
into all aspects of life, including economic, the growing power of retailers own labels,
political, social and cultural spheres, that they which acts as a barrier to smaller suppliers; the
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important in recent years. As suggested and Munro, 2005). Luhrman (1998) confirms
earlier, the definition of a brand appears to this when he states:
satisfy many of the aims of destination marketing
the next century will mark the emergence
and thus highlights the importance of branding
of tourism destinations as a fashion accessory.
to destinations. Several authors confirm this,
The choice of holiday destination will help
arguing that branding provides a good starting
define the identity of the traveller and, in an
point for destination marketing and a sound
increasingly homogeneous world, set him
framework by which to manage the image of
apart from the hordes of other tourists.
a place (see eg Kavaratzis, 2004; Kotler et al.,
1999) and that branding is at the very heart of Additionally, tourists are looking more for
destination marketing strategy (Pike, 2004). discovery on holiday and less for escape, asking
Furthermore, many believe a successful brand the question who can we be on holiday? as
to be a key national asset (Kotler et al., 1999; opposed to what can we do on holiday?
Kotler and Gertner, 2002; Olins, 1999; and Van (Morgan and Pritchard, 2000: 278). Thus, desti-
Ham, 2001) perhaps because branding provides nations have been required to find new ways
an advantage over promotion on its own, as the to differentiate themselves from the competition
branding process forces the development of the and to establish connections with consumers.
place resulting from the process (Rainisto, Morgan and Pritchard (2002) emphasise that
2004). An example of such development is that the key to effective destination differentiation
of Australia and the Sydney 2000 Olympics. is the development of brand saliency, which is
Together with the branding of Australia as a the creation of an emotional relationship with
whole, the Sydney Olympics helped impact not the consumer through highly focused commu-
only on how other countries viewed the nications campaigns, of which New Yorks I
country, but also on how Australia viewed love NY and the Glasgows miles better are
itself, as events have the ability to both appeal two well known campaigns. Howie (2003) also
to target markets and excite residents (Brown identifies the I love NY campaign as one of
et al., 2002). the most successful brand identity building and
The reasons why image and branding positioning campaigns, as well as the Super
have become of such importance to organisa- Natural British Columbia campaign. Several
tions in recent years are also shared by destina- further branding campaigns and slogans, past
tions, with the main reasons for destination and present, that have been cited as particularly
branding growth being related to either effective are presented in Table 3.
competition issues or consumer behaviour. Clarke (2000) further emphasises the rele-
Substitutability has become one of the main vance of branding to tourism destinations by
problems for destinations today, especially in highlighting the marketing advantages of
the most competitive markets such as sun, sea branding to tourism organisations or destina-
and sand markets, and many destinations tions, which she summarises into six points.
are becoming increasingly substitutable (Pike, These are as follows:
2004). In addition most destinations have
excellent facilities and services and claim to Tourism involves complex and high
have unique culture and heritage (Morgan and involvement purchase decisions and so
Pritchard, 2002). Further to this, tourists are branding can reduce the choices available
becoming increasingly sophisticated and to consumers.
discerning and destination choice is now a Branding can help offset the effects of
considerable indication of lifestyle and a way the intangibility of the tourism product,
to express identity in an increasingly homo- especially if combined with positive past
genous world (Morgan et al., 2002; Yeoman experience.
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Paris Scotland
High celebrity Low celebrity
value value
Poland
Antarctica Ukraine
Afghanistan
Table 4: The five phases in destination outspend the competition (Morgan and
brand building Pritchard, 2002).This is, however, often difficult
to achieve as destination marketing communi-
Phase one Market investigation, analysis
cation practitioners are increasingly required to
and strategic recommendations
demonstrate financial accountability despite the
Phase two Brand identity development
Phase three Brand launch and introduction: fact that there is a positive correlation between
communicating the vision the promotional budgets of destinations and
Phase four Brand implementation tourist expenditures (Fall and Lubbers, 2004).
Phase five Monitoring, evaluation and Destination politics which is concerned
review with the complexity of the tourism product,
the number of stakeholders and the complexity
Source: Morgan and Pritchard (2004: 69). of the relationships between stakeholders
also poses a constraint against effective destina-
tion branding. First, due to the fact that
destination marketers. These challenges are destinations are amalgams of products, services
noted by Morgan and Pritchard (2002) and are and experiences that are outwith the control
related to financial, political and environmental of any one organisation, and also due to the
issues. differing objectives and interests of different
The first challenge facing destination stakeholder groups, image-related problems can
marketers is their limited budgets compared to occur. For example, is a tourists opinion of
many global consumer product brands. For destination image based on functional values
example, a global giant such as Sony may spend such as the shops available, social values such
as much money as the combined total of most as its suitability for all ages, emotional values
of the worlds national destination organisations such as the atmosphere of a resort, epistemic
on its annual global advertising budget (Morgan values such as the experience of a new culture
and Pritchard, 2004). This increases the need or on conditional values such as the availability
for innovative marketing communications, of cheap travel? (Tapachai and Waryszak, 2000).
requiring them to outsmart rather than In addition, destination marketers also have to
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take into account the heterogeneity of travel study highlights the need for cooperation
motives of different target groups, which poses between internal stakeholders as a requirement
a challenge to finding a common foundation for destination branding. Furthermore, according
of associations which are unique and relevant to Ashworth (2001: 6970):
to each one, and then integrating communica-
promotion is both easiest and most effec-
tions into a joint effort (Supphellen, 2004). As
tive when it is self-promotion. A place is
a result, the image the consumer has of a desti-
sending messages to itself. The purpose is
nation brand may be quite different to the
the fostering of a civic consciousness and
self-image intended in the brand identity (Pike,
self-confidence. This is both an end in itself
2004).
and a necessary precondition for external
Howie (2003) discusses the importance of
marketing.
residents in ensuring consistency of image
between the brand and reality and argues that All this suggests, therefore, that before a desti-
despite the fact that customer orientation is nation brand can attain success with visitors, its
vital, residents, too, need to be actively involved internal stakeholder groups such as local resi-
in destination branding as they are part of the dents and businesses must understand and be
destinations marketing mix and marketing made aware of the destination brand and its
professionals cannot afford to be out of touch potential positive impacts. Therefore, successful
with the message on the street. In addition, destination branding requires balancing the
according to Ashworth (2001: 69), destination local, regional and national politics of a destina-
branding is as much about communication tion with the application of innovative
between citizens as clients, and public author- marketing communications (Morgan and
ities as service providers, as about attractive Pritchard, 2002). Despite widespread recogni-
exogenous investment, employment or tion of the need to understand local residents
customers. attitudes to tourism and to be sensitive to local
Furthermore, the need to satisfy the objec- culture, however, there has been a lack of
tives of all the stakeholders of a destination research into residents perceptions of their own
highlights the importance of internal marketing destination and the extent to which brands
to destinations. Internal marketing aims to impact on local communities (Hankinson, 2003
ensure that employees act in a service-oriented and Morgan et al., 2003).
manner and is based on the premise that if It has also been suggested that strong, effec-
management wants its employees to do a great tive leadership from top-level government and
job with customers, then it must be prepared publicprivate partnerships are a way to over-
to do a great job with its employees and should come the above political problems. For example,
therefore be viewed as a management philos- Morgan (2004) views these factors as necessary,
ophy for motivation and support rather than a otherwise large stakeholders such as airlines will
short-lived campaign (George, 1990). Greene market what they believe to be the most attrac-
et al. (1994) also note that internal promotion tive product at the expense of broader brand
can create a positive image of an organisation identity and smaller stakeholders. Similarly, Hall
and its products in the mind of the customer. (2003) argues that public and private sectors
Within the context of branding, a corporate are increasingly working together in order to
brand management model was developed by maximise revenue from tourism. In addition,
de Chernatony and Harris (2000) who argue good leadership and management ensure good
that creating an appealing corporate brand use of resources and capabilities and provide
requires consideration of both internal and alternative strategies for future uncertainty
external stakeholders. Similarly, in relation to (Rainisto, 2004). Morgan et al. (2003), however,
destinations, Prideaux and Coopers (2002) argue that destination marketers have little
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control over the various stakeholder groups, average increases in visitors following a
due to the range of different sectors involved. successful branding campaign. These external
Curtis (2001) warns of the dangers of not forces also reinforce the point suggested earlier
following the above suggestions regarding that no individual stakeholder has control over
destination branding.The author examines why the destination product and the marketing of
Brand Oregon began to fail in the late 1980s it, including destination marketers (Morgan and
and cites inconsistency in marketing commu- Pritchard, 2004).
nications between the states brand and the Successful brands are those with strong,
regional tourism bodies, and the resistance of consistent marketing heritages that also evolve
these regional bodies against direction from the and remain contemporary, which is difficult to
top down, as two of the main reasons. Curtis achieve (Morgan and Pritchard, 2004). Given
also emphasises that it takes many years to the increasing commoditisation of destinations,
establish a brand image, establish name recogni- Morgan and Pritchard (2004) further contend
tion and develop strong awareness of a destina- that it is necessary to build a brand on values
tion or product and thus advises that destination that connect a destination to the consumer in
marketers stay the course (Curtis, 2001: 81). a unique way that the competition cannot
In recent years, the sensitivity of destinations surpass, as destinations such as Rome, Paris and
to shocks in the external environment and the India have done. As seen throughout this
ability of such shocks to reverse branding section, the issue of destination politics is one
activity and damage the image of a destination of the biggest threats to effective destination
has become even more apparent following branding, yet all of the aforementioned factors
political and environmental events and disasters related to destination politics must be effec-
and economic downswings such as the 9/11 tively managed for destination branding to be
terrorist attacks, the war in Iraq, terrorist attacks successful. It was highlighted in a previous
in Turkey, Madrid, Bali, Kenya and London, the section that brand saliency can help to over-
UK foot and mouth and bovine spongiform come many of the above challenges. Further-
encephalopathy (BSE) outbreaks, and the 2004 more, the most critical factors identified here
tsunami and hurricane Katrina. An example of were publicprivate partnerships, internal
the impact a macro-environmental event can marketing and stakeholder involvement, govern-
have on a destinations tourism industry is that ment leadership and longevity.
of Nepal. Morgan and Pritchard (2004) describe Based on our reviews of destination
the downturn in Nepals tourism industry in marketing, planning and brand development,
2001 following a highly publicised airline it has become clear that there is a multitude
hijacking and the subsequent five-month of factors that impact upon the development
suspension of key flights to Nepals interna- of effective marketing plans. In the next section,
tional airport together with several internal we seek to synthesise these into a checklist of
political disasters. The authors note that, during things that need to be taken into account.
the 1990s, tourism in Nepal had enjoyed an
exceptional period of growth and, after SUCCESS FACTORS
collapsing in 2001, the industry did not recover Success factors try to explain why place
until 2003, in part due to the countrys marketing practices are successful or unsuc-
successful celebrations of the 50th anniversary cessful and represent the ability and capacity
of the conquest of Mount Everest. Further to of a location to take these into account in
this, Morgan and Pritchard (2002) use the developing an effective marketing strategy for
example of Israel, which, until the breakdown a location (Rainisto, 2003).
of the peace process from the year 2000 Based on our review of the literature we
onwards, had been achieving above industry identified 33 different success factors. Based
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Strategic orientation
1. Visitation statistics are included and the destinations main markets are quantified and segmented
2. The main competition is identified
3. Tourism trends are identified
4. A long-term orientation is adopted
5. The importance of international competitiveness is recognised
6. The need for infrastructure improvements is highlighted
7. The need for integration with national/regional tourism plans is recognised
8. Residents attitudes to tourism are considered
9. Local cultures, values and lifestyles are considered
10. Wealth and job creation and quality of life for residents are primary aims
11. The issue of overcrowding is addressed
12. The issue of environmental problems is addressed
13. The issue of seasonality is addressed
14. The benefit of tourism to the destination is quantified
15. Scenarios are developed
Stakeholder involvement
25. National government agencies are involved in planning
26. Local government agencies were involved in planning
27. The area tourist board/area tourist office was involved in planning
28. Local residents were involved in planning
29. Local businesses were involved in planning
30. The need to improve communication between stakeholders (public, private and residents) is
recognised
31. Leadership is addressed to give greater guidance to stakeholders.
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notes that it is often in these end phases that marketing. In addition to highlighting a number
many strategic planning processes fail, and so of CSF, this review confirmed the importance
effective planning should include implementa- of branding and the development of a strong
tion, monitoring and review elements in brand and strategy for promoting it. Evidence
acknowledgment of this. in support of this claim has been presented
Such elements, according to Simpson (2001), together with broadly based advice on the use
include prioritising objectives, assignment of of the listing of CSF as a basis for evaluating
responsibility for key tasks, estimation of costs, the content and relevance of the marketing/
the inclusion of a review mechanism and branding strategy. We believe the use of this
methods by which resources should be allo- checklist should prove useful in both the devel-
cated. In addition, Pride (2002) notes that opment and evaluation of destination marketing
continual evaluation, monitoring and adjust- plans. Inevitably, its value will depend signifi-
ment to what is being done in order to deter- cantly on the users ability to operationalise the
mine the effectiveness of the brand is required individual factors in the context of the specific
and, similarly, Metaxas (2003) in Deffner and problems they are seeking to solve
Metaxas (2005) argues that feedback procedure While the authors have used the checklist as
performance is one factor necessary for effec- a basis for evaluating the content of the
tive destination marketing. published plans of all the 14 area offices in the
The 33 critical success factors and their VisitScotland network (not reported here), and
assignment to the four categories are summa- were able to form a judgment as to the extent
rised in Table 5. and degree that they covered the key issues
Taken together, we believe the four catego- identified, there is clearly a need for further
ries and 33 individual success factors provide a research to assess its value in use. Such research
useful checklist against which to benchmark might be retrospective that is, evaluate the
extant tourism planning documents as well as success or otherwise of an implemented plan
guidance for the development of effective plans and use the checklist as a diagnostic for
for the future. analysing the content of that plan or
prospective by using the success factors in
SUMMARY constructing a plan and then monitoring their
In an increasingly competitive global environ- influence/impact on its implementation.
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