The problems arising from the terrorist threat and the restrictions it imposes on the freedom to travel to certain countries, as well as overtourism, are driving a redefinition of destinations.
In the case of the terrorist threat, between 2017 and 2020 there were at least 35 terrorist attacks that directly affected critical tourism sectors such as hotel complexes, nightclubs, civil aviation, or tourist attractions. The Covid-19 pandemic provided a respite from these attacks, but no one rules out the possibility that this truce is temporary. Meanwhile, episodes of overtourism are increasingly reported by the media, openly discussing the concept of “touristification.” This refers to the impact of mass tourism on the commercial and social fabric of certain neighborhoods or cities. Thus, it is becoming evident how destinations are designing new local tourism policies that materialize in hotel moratoriums, tourist taxes, traffic restrictions, etc.
All these situations are forcing destinations to rely on Destination Management Organizations to ensure confidence and attract and retain travelers, in an environment where managing security and the warmth of the host community will be crucial in offering the best value propositions.
DMOs (Destination Management Organizations) are tasked with managing destinations. They are composed of groups of local actors – those who form the tourism value chain in a destination – who come together to create strategies that achieve the common goal of sustainable development of a destination and face the challenges that arise, such as those mentioned earlier.
The governance of these DMOs can be entirely public, entirely private, mixed (public-private), or of other types. Whatever the chosen governance archetype, it can be successful; the important thing is to find the formula that works for each destination so that management yields the expected results. I believe that the public-private model yields better results, although it is certainly more complex and requires greater effort. This type of governance not only aligns more with current trends but also, in my opinion, generates greater participation and commitment in management, as the current paradigm demands dialogue, trust, and social capital between the government/private sector. Therefore, both should be represented in the DMO. And, logically, also the community.
The old tourism development model did not include communities in its plans and made significant investments behind their backs. But today, that model is obsolete, and communities must be included from the planning phase. The current model, in addition to including communities, bases its success on quality, meaning higher spending per tourist rather than the volume of tourists. Additionally, it achieves its positioning through competitive advantages, based on the uniqueness of each destination. Similarly, it recognizes the need to introduce the tourist to the local community and its culture, sell the destination, not the hotel, and care for the environment as a fundamental element of sustainable development.
Destination management implies that the DMO harmoniously manages all elements of the destination (attractions, amenities, accessibility, human resources, image, and price) while leading and coordinating, externally with marketing actions to attract visitors, and internally to exceed tourists’ expectations; continually ensuring that there is an adequate framework of policies, legislation, regulations, and taxes.
Like a juggler, it must keep all these areas in play without dropping any. To do this properly, the key players must have a deep understanding of the tourism system, current trends, be open to ongoing dialogue, have specific plans based on a collective vision of their destination, and be proactive in showing results.
There are many challenges that destination management will have to face. Just to name a few, we have:
- Overtourism: The growing discontent of many local communities requires destinations and businesses to focus on increasing visitor profitability, rather than volume. Quality of tourists, not quantity.
- Human capital: Tourism professionals will have to be more flexible to maintain the quality and competitiveness of their products.
- Climate change: Due to the effects of climate change, there is an increasing awareness of the need to adopt responsible and sustainable behavior not only for production (businesses and destination) but also for consumption (tourists).
- Greater importance of certifications: Regulation and certifications will continue to expand to ensure quality and provide market differentiation (competitive factors).
Only destinations with a DMO that functions efficiently and manages all these aspects (both the involved elements and emerging challenges) can guarantee the survival of the destination in the increasingly competitive global tourism map. Therefore, being able to manage destinations well is not a wish… it is simply an imperative necessity.
