AN INVALUABLE NEW TOOL FOR DESTINATIONS TO KNOW WHO YOU ARE, COMPARED TO YOUR COMPETITORS
Extensive research has identified nine distinct destinations identities.
•166 global tourism destinations were analyzed, and 66 distinct value propositions (ways they sold themselves) were identified.
•Almost 10,000 visitors from Canada, US and UK have completed the typing tool.
•The segmentation model is stable over time and across seasons.
Every destination has a primary identity and one or two supporting types. This is their unique destination identity.
Two factors are considered – credibility compared to your competition and impact on visitation.
Knowing your destination identity helps to de-risk investments from capital planning to marketing, with a clear understanding of what type of destination you are.
Most destinations understand one or two elements of their identity. However, they are inevitably surprised by something that does, or does not, matter to the visitor, unintentionally amplifying the wrong messages or incorrectly identifying the highest value traveler.
In Banff we identified something that had been overshadowed by the view and the mountains – even by the DMO itself. It has opened a powerful new line of marketing.
In Drumheller we identified what was missing from many tourism experiences that could increase destination appeal. We also were able to identify how to shape a $10 million new product investment to ensure it leveraged the reasons visitors come to Drumheller.
In Sun Peaks we were able to throw out 90% of product development ideas to identify exactly what kind of experiences needed to be built in the summer months.
In Calgary we validated a repositioning of the destination that had been maintained for more than 20 years. Any strategic shift of that magnitude is inherently risky.
The benefit for DMOs is that they can use this destination segmentation as a lens for the analysis. How many experiences do you have in each type? What type are you and what type do you want to be? Are you complementary or competitive to the surrounding communities?
The Destination ID analysis is a new, tested and very useful tool for tourism product and brand development.
Contact us for more information and to talk about how this can help your destination.
