DMOs should focus on web initiatives
I read a post today by Joe Buhler about the Caribbean Tourism Organization and the excellent job being done by Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace. The part of the post that resonated the most with me is the following quote:
“What I also applaud him for is the strong focus on web based initiatives to get the message out and stimulate market demand. It is today the most effective means of communications with any audience. Also, the tight integration of information with a direct online booking functionality for the entire region will only increase the effectiveness of effort and improve the ROI of any investment.”
I could not agree with Joe more. Although traditional marketing techniques are an important part of any overall marketing campaign, providing a multi-dimensional approach to online marketing provides something traditional marketing cannot, and that is interaction. Users crave interaction, discovery, and adventure. If Mr. Vanderpool-Wallace can focus the DMO on providing compelling content, exciting unique experiences, and the memories that will last a lifetime, then the travelers will come.
On a side note, the issues of using online marketing and technologies to stimulate interest in a destination, online booking, social media and user generated content are all subjects at the upcoming Canada-e-connect conference in Vancouver, BC on November 7-8th, 2007. I will be attending both the conference and the Canadian E-Tourism Awards. While on the judging committee for the awards I had the opportunity to review dozens of sites from across Canada and although many of them were compelling and well designed, we have only scratched the surface in terms of the potential opportunities for marketing destinations online.
I believe that online tourism has a long way to go to catch up with online travel. Thanks, however, to consumer driven trends like online research, peer reviews, and blogging, the distance between promoting tourism in a region to a traveler and that traveler purchasing travel commodities online is shrinking. If DMOs can continue to evolve their content strategies to become online destinations focused on experiences rather than travel, there will be a shift in distribution power from the intermediaries to the suppliers. Regional activity and accommodation suppliers will have the ability to partner directly with DMOs to market their niche products. These products will not be available through traditional channels.
