The tourism promotion aims at the diffusion of a tourist destination. That is to say, to carry out actions (both online and offline) in order to make a place known. To do this, it is important to set the promotional objectives, that is, how we want the tourist to perceive our destination. It is also important to take into account both the economic investment and the time needed to achieve the desired results.
From the promotion entity to the management entity
Previously, tourism promotion was in the first stage. It mainly consisted of attending specialized fairs, doing « Fam Trips » or « Press Trips », among others. All these actions are done offline and in person, a fact that implies a significant investment.
Nowadays and with the arrival of the Internet, online actions have been added to the different strategies of tourism promotion. These actions refer to digital marketing, with tools such as inbound marketing or the buyer persona. On the one hand, inbound marketing consists of creating content with non-intrusive actions, with the aim that the customer finds you.
This tool, transferred to tourism promotion, would be understood as having useful information for tourists on the page. Thus, the tourist promotion site of the destination becomes the main source of information for the visitor. The usefulness of the information provided by the destination should be emphasized, with the aim of communicating it to different interest groups (tourists, hikers, residents, businessmen, etc.).
On the other hand, we understand the buyer persona as the creation of a « semi-fictional » entity to define the different groups or segments of our target or potential audience, specifying their different characteristics. Therefore, the buyer persona will help us to better understand the tourists that visit a destination and, in this way, adapt our tourism strategy and promotion to the type of tourist we receive.
In short, it is important to define how you want to promote a destination and, from there, to define the actions that will be carried out in order to reach the potential audience. Also, the importance of carrying out the correct actions to achieve the objectives must be emphasized
Promotion of tourism and smart tourist destinations
The involvement of all sectors of a destination is essential for tourism promotion. For example, the participation of the cultural or sports field is necessary to complete the diffusion of a destination. All of this can be developed more easily with the good management of a destination and with the mutual support of the different parties involved.
Referring to Intelligent Tourist Destinations (ITD), the Master Plan must include a Communication Plan for the ITD. That is, how the destination wishes to communicate to the different agents involved the actions to be carried out and the benefits of its implementation.