Firstly, as there is no clear distribution channel for tourism products (Gnoth, 2002), a fundamental problem arises in regard to how to define the core of the destination brand. However, marketing a destination is quite different than marketing a consumer product. A tourist destination is much more multi-dimensional than a consumer good; it is actually a composite of many different products (Boo 2009, Morgan 2002).Tourism offers are based on trust, the `product' can neither be judged before nor after the purchase, therefore DMOs need to disseminate knowledge, create image and mediate trustworthiness, in addition to creating trust amongst potential customers, this can be aided by the application of a branding …show more content…
Similar to the processes involved in interpersonal relationship formation and maintenance, consumer-brand relationships are likely to include both cognitive beliefs and emotional connections with the brand, which ultimately influence consumers’ behavior toward the brand (Albert et al., 2008; Chaudhuri and Holbrook, 2001).
Cooper and Hall (2008) suggest that the inseparable nature of the production and consumption process of tourism means that actual visitation leads to a modified image. It can be challenging for a tourism marketer to deliver on a destination brand’s promise and achieve consistency, from customer to customer or visit to visit, since each of the destination’s product elements are separate entities outside of their direct control that have their own goals and motivations (Gartner 2011). This indicates that destination image is not generated entirely by marketing …show more content…
As we know places compete in attracting visitors, residents, and businesses. In addition, we also know that their reputation or brand plays a hugely significant role in determining just how successful they are in this competition. If the perceived image is not consistent with brand identity, the source(s) of the problem must be identified and corrected (Kotler & Gertner, 2004). Promoting brand identity without making sure the current problems are fixed may cause negative word of mouth of-mouth communications due to the discrepancy between the expectations and the actual performance.
Secondly, the market interests of the different group of active stakeholders are heterogeneous and cater to a market orientation where products are designed to suit market needs, DMOs are forced into targeting a multiplicity of geographic markets to attract a wide range of segments this can be interesting in the existing and relatively rigid products. However, can one product or slogan be enough to attract all market