Web 2.0 and destination marketing: current trends and future directions

Over the last decade, destination marketers and Destination Marketing Organizations (DMOs) have increasingly invested in Web 2.0 technologies as a cost-effective means of promoting destinations online, in the face of drastic marketing budgets cuts. Recent scholarly and industry research has emphasized that Web 2.0 plays an increasing role in destination marketing. However, no comprehensive appraisal of this research area has been conducted so far. To address this gap, this study conducts a quantitative literature review to examine the extent to which Web 2.0 features in destination marketing research that was published until December 2019, by identifying research topics, gaps and future directions, and designing a theory-driven agenda for future research. The study’s findings indicate an increase in scholarly literature revolving around the adoption and use of Web 2.0 for destination marketing purposes. However, the emerging research field is fragmented in scope and displays several gaps. Most of the studies are descriptive in nature and a strong overarching conceptual framework that might help identify critical destination marketing problems linked to Web 2.0 technologies is missing

The Impact of a Marketing Information System: A Case Study of SMART-Baltimore

The purpose of this study is to use existing theories of technology and organizational change to assess the impact of technology implementation within the context of the tourism industry. The framework is applied as a case study to analyze the perceived implications of implementing a destination marketing information system by the Baltimore Area Convention and Visitors Bureau. The results of the study indicate that the most important value of the system is the richness and timeliness of information. The key informants perceive that this system will not only impact the marketing activities at the organization but will not influence the overall organizational activities. Finally, this article discusses the importance of these findings for destination marketing

A Cultural Tourism Strategy: Enriching Culture and Building Tourism in Buffalo Niagara

Their continued dedication to the region\u27s cultural, arts and heritage organizations and the development of cultural tourism has been, and will continue to be, essential to attaining the vision of “A Cultural Tourism Strategy”. The cultural tourism mission is to strengthen cultural, artistic and heritage organizations; expand individual opportunities for creativity and interpretation; help our regional economy grow; enhance the quality of life in our communities; advance the image and identity of the region; and build the region\u27s reputation as a world-class tourism destination. These benefits reinforce one another and can be achieved together

The Roles and Importance of Promotion Tools and Destination Attributes of Mice Tourism on Jordan's Destination Image Formation

The image of the destination has a significant role on tourists’ travel decision and selection of the destination to visit. Various approaches and strategies have been utilised by most of the countries to develop their destination image. However, in the context of Jordan less emphasis was given to develop a touristic image. Thus, strategies used in forming a destination image were vague and less effective. The objectives of this study are to investigate the roles of promotion tools and Meetings, Incentive travel, Conferences, and Exhibitions (MICE) destination attributes on touristic image formation and to identify the perceptions of MICE participants on the importance of promotion tools, MICE destination attributes, and destination image. A quantitative approach was employed in this study and several hypotheses were formulated based on the existing literature, push-pull theory, and models of destination image formation. A structured questionnaire was administered to 857 respondents who were selected through cluster random sampling technique. Data were collected from participants of MICE tourism in the cities of Amman and the Dead Sea. The findings of the study revealed that there were significant differences in respondents’ perceptions on the importance of MICE destination attributes, promotion tools, and destination image. Regression analyses indicated that MICE destination attributes and the roles of promotion tools positively influence destination image formation. Nevertheless, amenities showed the highest influence of MICE destination attributes on destination image formation, followed by ancillary services, accessibility, attractions, and activities. Meanwhile, affordability portrayed the lowest influence of MICE destination attributes on the overall touristic image formation of Jordan. The study has contributed to the body of knowledge with the proposed model that reveals the significant contribution of MICE destination attributes and the roles of promotion tools to the destination image formation of Jordan. Whereas, for the managerial implications, this study is able to provide guidelines and suggestions on marketing strategies to the public and the private sectors in order to enhance and develop MICE industry in Jordan as an international destination image

The relationships between corporate meeting planner's personality traits and their choices of meeting places

This study is to determine the influence of personality on the novelty preference for corporate meeting destination choice. The Big-Five model of personality which consists of five traits namely openness, conscientiousness, extraversion,agreeableness, and neuroticism was employed to operationalise the personality construct. A total of 75 corporate meeting planners drawn from public listed service organisations were involved. The main method of data collection was questionnaire survey and multiple regression analysis was employed as the main statistical analysis. The results revealed that only openness (positively) and agreeableness (negatively) contributed significantly to the prediction of novelty preference for corporate meeting destination choice. This study, which also seeks to determine the relationships between some demographical variables and novelty preference, found that demographical information is not a good predictor of meeting destination choice. The main implication of this study is pertaining to the segmentation and targeting of the corporate meeting market. This study also helps in bridging the gap between tourism marketing and organisational research

Key success factors toward MICE industry: A systematic literature review / Muhammad Saufi Anas ... [et al.]

Meeting, Incentive, Convention, and Exposition (MICE) industry is essential to the country as it directly benefits entrepreneurs in the tourism sector and contributes to improving the local economy. The MICE industry benefits the host city through economic growth, as well as providing greater tourism excellence to the city. However, there is limited literature on the identification of critical success factors that play important roles to the success of MICE event industry. Therefore, it is essential to explore the strategies driven by the industry by conducting a systematic literature review from existing literature and outline key success factors of MICE industry as well as highlighting the similarities of the findings on this topic. The crucial aspects investigated in the research are business travelers’ motivation, perception on MICE industry, motivation attending MICE event, key performance indicator, MICE attendees’ satisfaction, marketing strategies, technological trends, and challenges faced by the industry. Systematic literature was conducted based on recommended procedures by searching multiple databases, data synthesis, and analysis. A total of 39 publications comprising full-text research papers published within ten years (2008-2018) were identified for the review. The findings of this systematic review are useful for empirical studies investigate the sustainability strategies of MICE industry such as driving forces influencing the success of the industry, key performance indicators, and challenges. Journa

Examination of perspective and feasibility of Lugano as a business tourism destination: focusing on the group meetings industry

Despite its popularity as a leisure destination, data shows that Lugano’s potential as a business tourism destination is underexploited. This shortcoming, however, is in itself rarely given due consideration, since research focusing on Lugano as such a destination is scarce. This paper looks at Lugano from this less documented angle with a focus on the meetings industry, with the goal of evaluating the potential of the City as a business destination and giving recommendations for improvements. In order to achieve this objective, studies of secondary data were undertaken and actors of the business tourism industry in Switzerland and Lugano were interviewed. These actors included participants of a congress held in Lugano, as well as several Swiss Meeting Planners/PCO’s, and some business hotels in Lugano. The results of secondary research showed that while Lugano already fulfills key success criteria in the field of business tourism –with a Congress Center listed in the ten largest of Switzerland, several business hotels, and a University- the low occupation rate of the different venues, an apparent lack of cooperation and coordination between them, and an insufficient interest from the local and regional tourism offices suggest that Lugano could embrace its potential more fully. Primary research results also indicated that while promotion and exercise of the City’s business tourism are not inexistent, much more could be done in order to improve its standing as such a destination. This thesis constitutes an attempt to illuminate the first steps in that direction