Digital Destination Matching: Practices, Priorities and Predictions

Mary-Ann Cooper,Raquel Camprubí,Erdogan Koc,Ralf Buckley

doi:10.3390/su131910540

Mary-Ann Cooper, Raquel Camprubí + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/su131910540

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Abstract

Over the past three years, travel agents, enterprises and destinations have switched almost entirely from traditional to digital marketing methods, relying strongly on search engines and social media. They consider these methods as faster, more flexible, financially more efficient, and with wider reach. Most importantly, they provide customer data and feedback, with precise targeting of different messages to different market sectors, with rapid measures of success. This, however, leads to fragmentation of information reaching tourists, which itself affects destination image. This seems unavoidable with continuing competition between platforms; hence, the agents, enterprises and destinations need multichannel marketing. In addition, since most search engines and social media are international, cultural context is a critical component of communications, in style and content as well as language. This may now include multiple sensory detectors and sources, including visual, sound, and haptic. As tourists increasingly garner information independently, travel agents have greater incentives to seek exclusive control over sales of specific products.

Highlights

The analysis of destination matching, as the interaction between destination marketing and destination choice [1,2], can potentially provide new insights into tourism research, including aspects related to sustainability
The first interviews travel agents to determine their current practices in relation to digital destination marketing and matching, especially their use of social media and search engines
As each of these commentaries demonstrates, the concept of destination matching can trigger new conjectures relevant to tourism marketing; and these can point towards potential new research topics and directions, beyond the many already addressed within the fields of destination choice and marketing [1]

Summary

Introduction

The analysis of destination matching, as the interaction between destination marketing and destination choice [1,2], can potentially provide new insights into tourism research, including aspects related to sustainability. The first interviews travel agents to determine their current practices in relation to digital destination marketing and matching, especially their use of social media and search engines. It shows how destination marketing messages have become more fluid, adaptive, competitive, targeted and segmented. The second considers how this increased fragmentation of information dissemination, from multiple sources and through multiple channels, influences the formation of destination images. The third places this within a cultural context, addressing cultural differences and patterns in tourism destination demand and decision-making, in the context of international destination matching.

Digital Marketing by Travel Agents

Information Fragmentation

Cultural Context

Challenges from Digital Destination Matching

Opportunities for Psychophysiological Approaches

Conclusions