Destination Marketing — an Unexpected Catalyst for Quality of Life
Research by Oxford Economics for the Destination & Travel Foundation reveals how Destination Marketing is an unexpected catalyst for employment, economic development, and quality of life.
While this research is now a couple of years old and written from a US perspective, the findings still hold true and are relevant to Destination Marketing organisations around the world.
Long term – the Visitor Economy is on the up
What’s very telling in the report is the long-term trend in the US, shown in the graph below and echoed in many other markets.
There’s no doubt that globally, tourism and the visitor economy continues to perform strongly.
With the future returns on investment in promoting a Visitor Economy assured, Destinations are becoming more confident in Destination Marketing and Branding to compete in a global market.
The surprising thing is the side-effects and additional benefits of promoting a Destination Brand, often with a tourism focus.
Destinations that place a high priority on marketing their brands and amenities realize significantly greater employment and economic growth, well beyond the visitor economy.
— Oxford Economics for the Destination & Travel Foundation
Key Findings
The visitor economy warrants investments in destination promotion
- As incomes rise, consumer spending on travel has grown faster and employment in the travel economy has led recent economic recovery.
- Hospitality and tourism have outperformed all other traded export sectors since 1998 — up nearly 10% while others shrank 1%.
- As globalization continues, US destinations can capitalize through targeted promotional investment.
- Destination marketing is integral to the competitiveness of the visitor economy by pooling resources and building marketing scale.
Destination promotion drives economic development through several channels
- Building transportation networks and connecting to new markets
- Raising the destination profile
- Driving targeted economic development through conventions and trade shows
- Improving overall quality of life
Growth in the visitor economy drives growth in other areas
- Visitor-focused destinations tend to grow faster over the past decade
- Employment growth in the visitor economy precedes broader economic growth
- A 10% increase in visitor-related employment leads to a 1.5% rise in broader short-run employment
Economic development can be more effective through coordination with destination promotion
- Air service initiatives are more effective when DMOs are involved
- Branding efforts should be coordinated between DMOs and EDOs
- Regular communication platforms between DMOs and EDOs are essential
- Investment bids benefit from DMO–EDO collaboration
- Joint leverage of strategic conferences and trade shows boosts effectiveness
See the full report: Destination Promotion – An Engine of Economic Development
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Destination Marketing an unexpected catalyst for quality of life
Research by OXFORD ECONOMICS for the Destination & Travel Foundation, reveals how Destination Marketing is an unexpected catalyst for employment, economic development and quality of life. While this research is now a couple of years old and is written from a US perspective, the findings still hold true and are pertinent to Destimation Marketing organisations around the world.
