From Tourism Magazine via the Tourism Research Blog
People are looking, perhaps, for escapism, or affinity, or any number of other motivators, and it’s a matter of providing assurance to the potential customer that Canada can deliver experiences matching their desires
I think this attitude is crucial to successful tourism product development and/or destination marketing. A tourist doesn’t go to <insert destination here> because of that place’s name, they go because they associate that destination with a certain experience.
This is especially at the forefront of the realization that a destination cannot be everything to everyone. Not everyone wants to go to New York City, if an urban vacation with theatre, museums, shopping, etc. is not what they’re after. It’s a drain on valuable resources to try and attract the customer who is not seeking the experience that a particular destination can offer.
Destinations that can offer a wide range of experiences, such as New York City, Rome, or Sydney are at an advantage over others who have more specialized offerings. Neither is right or wrong, or better or worse, it just depends on keeping the right segment(s) in mind. Oh dear god, marketing is following me into Tourism Product Development.
On a completely unrelated note, Prague is a go! There are some minor details still to be sorted, namely my being in Australia when the paper is due, but I’m 98% certain this summer will start out in Europe.
Four weeks, six credits. Woohoo. Classes run 28 May – 22 June, but I’m not sure exactly when I’m flying in. This confirmation had me looking at the photos from the last trip. It will be nice to experience the city at a time when it’s warmer and there are hopefully more tourists about. I’m also hoping to make some other side trips, most of which are still TBD.
See: it’s all about the experiences I’m after. Cultural & Heritage Tourism and Sports Tourism Development in interesting locations. This summer’s location just happened to be Prague. It’s not so unrelated after all!
