Destination Marketing

Abstract

One of the factors of regional development is tourism. The speciality of the tourist product is that tourism enterprises are only partially capable of its production. The tourist does not take to the road for one or the other element of the service-chain but for the destination factor. Destination marketing is the basis of tourism marketing, its quality strongly determines the efficiency of the efforts of other branches of tourism.

The author discusses the system of criteria of becoming a destination, the difficulty of comparing the performance of the certain recipient areas (differences in size, attraction supply, difference in the benefits provided for tourists, etc.). They also review the practical steps of destination marketing, the realisational problems, and snags in the individual phases.

The author highlights the necessity of regional co-operation as a hinge of successful destination marketing. The image of the destination can be influenced by numerous actors unconsciously as well as a conscious, co-ordinated regional marketing can provide for a suitable framework for the marketing of many touristic product, and can create the financial background of common marketing. Thus the critical point of tourism demand is the recipient area to which touristic enterprises have to adapt themselves.