admin | 
02 29th, 2008| 
Tourism is increasing becoming a more and more important sector of a city, region or states economic base. It has provided a significant boost to cities in trouble and is the biggest reason that so many cities actively compete for large events, such as the Super Bowl, All Star Games and National Political conventions. Travelers not only spend money in the location, but at jobs and boost the economy in so many other ways. In order for a community, city or state to fully capitalize on this potential revenue stream, there must be a sound and complete tourism marketing strategy.
The first step in developing effective tourism marketing strategy is to take an inventory of what the community has to offer in term of tourist attractions. These should include natural, manmade, historical, cultural or ethnic, festivals, special events and recreational
attractions. Once it has been identified what there is to offer tourist, it is much easier to develop a plan to promote this items.
Next current marketing efforts need to be identified and evaluated. Efforts which are being successful in promoting tourism should be incorporated into the plan; those that are not effective could be changed or eliminated depending on the direction of the overall strategy. This effort would be followed by research into the focus market. Market research should include reviewing the profiles of current tourist and what motivates them to visit. Evaluators should also look at other attractions in the region and the efforts being used by those attractions to increase tourism. A record should also be kept of mistakes that are noted as these will be useful in not repeating in the new marketing plan.
Identifying a specific sector of the tourism market is an important step in the development process. Not everyone is looking for the same things in a destination and every destination can not be all things to all people. Targeting a specific tourist market allows for a more effective marketing plan and will result in some successes. Along with identifying the tourist sector, the motivators for this sector have to be considered. If the campaign is focused on your single adult, your campaign would be more successful focused on night life or the beach; whereas if you are focused an older age group, historic locations or quiet areas of the region might be more appealing.
Determining which advertising media to use and in what manner should not be done until after the target market is identified. If the target market has been successfully determined, the tourist profile of the target market can easily be matched to the audience profile of specific advertising media. Most advertising media can provide an accurate profile of their audience.
Planning is the key step in any marketing process, especially tourism marketing. The number of problems can be reduced if all aspects are well thought through before any action is taken. However, a successful campaign can pay dividend for many years.