Developing marketing strategies for tourism destinations in peripheral areas of Europe.

Abstract

This thesis concentrates on the subject of destination marketing with a specific focus on the process of developing strategiesthrough a Destination Marketing Organisation (DMO) for a peripheral area, illustrated by a case study from the Danish island of Bornholm. It investigates the theoretical foundations for destination marketing, concluding that there should be a shift in focus from general marketing theory to a broader application of organisational theories and associated fields, enabling the DMO to improve performance. The specific conditions for and structures of peripheral areas indicated that the process in these areas should be adapted to the circumstances generally experienced there. Specifically the predominant occurrence of life-style businesses in peripheral areas, either as micro- businessesor SMEs, which are planning on a short-term basis, need to be included in the strategic planning process by viewing them as `cooperative customers'. Thus, applying the principles of marketing to the development of the strategy itself and viewing the strategic plan as a `product' of the DMO. The theoretical analysis showed that DMOs cannot control all of the components of the marketing mix, but they can cooperate with the providers of the destination mix and incite `coopetition' for the benefit of the visitors. The case study portrayed the DMO at a mature cold-water resort in a European peripheral area; it also illustrated the general development of tourism to the island and the impact of this development on the organisational structure of the tourism industry. It is assumed that the findings are transferable to other destinations that operate under similar conditions.