The Chinese outbound tourism market has experienced rapid growth over the past few years. This noticeable development provides the background and rationale for the study that identifies the travel behaviour of Chinese tourists, and the expectation and perception regarding South Africa. Based on the findings, some recommendations for marketing strategies and implementation are given, in addition to suggestions for future research directions in this field. The theoretical discussion focuses on concepts of travel behaviour. Travel behaviour, including travel motivation, decision-making process, and destination choice are then presented in more detail. The development of the Chinese economy and Chinese outbound tourism are also presented and discussed. The empirical research focuses on the travel behaviour of Chinese outbound tourists. The goal here is to determine and analyse the travel behaviour of tourists, outbound from Beijing, and their views on South Africa as a tourism destination. To accomplish this, the empirical research is designed from the quantitative perspective, and the data was collected by fieldworkers at the Beijing International Airport, using intercept surveys. This helps the researcher to understand the needs, motivation, and behaviour of the Chinese outbound tourists and assists the researcher in analysing the marketing strategy of South Africa as a tourist destination. / Thesis (M.Com. (Tourism))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.

This thesis focuses on the process of initiating relationships in destination marketing and includes an in-depth case study of the Wallander film series. Destination marketing is unique due to its dependency on relationship creation – typically, dynamic contacts have to be established between the film company, its financial sponsors and the stakeholders in the designated destination. In order to understand how these relationships are created and their dynamics, this thesis explores the factors that impact the process of initiating relationships, called converters and inhibitors. The results reveal that views differ between the film production company and the regional authorities tied to the destination as to which factors that act as converters and inhibitors. While both parties agree that striving for mutual understanding & social chemistry are important converters, the production company further adds a receptive attitude & motivated approach and creatively driven visionaries as vital converters. The regional authorities on the other hand highlight mutual respect, passion/courage-driven visionaries and structure, transparency & communication as key converters. As for the inhibitors, the production company points to lack of motivation, lack of resources and lack of open-mindedness, while the regional authorities highlight lack of mutual understanding & respect, bureaucratic layers and industry-related cultural differences.

<p>Utvecklingen och marknadsföringen av ett samhälle som turistdestination, kan generera många fördelar, bland annat genom ökad sysselsättning och infrastrukturella förbättringar. Samtidigt kan en okontrollerad exploatering leda till negativa konsekvenser utifrån kultur- och naturmiljöaspekter. Utifrån denna vetskap har planeringsperspektivet till stor del fått en dominerande roll inom diskussioner och forskningslitteratur. Det finns dock fler faktorer som bör beaktas i destinationsutvecklingssammanhang, varav samarbete och nätverk samt destinationsmarknadsföring utgör viktiga aspekter. Med fokus på, och en teoretisk förförståelse för dessa begrepp angriper denna studie de två fallstudieobjekten Ornö och Utö i Stockholms södra skärgård i syfte att utröna hur begreppen påverkat de skilda utvecklingar som skett på öarna. Utö präglas av ett starkt samarbetsklimat där aktörer, med turistbyrån som samordnande funktion, skapat en gemensam identitet och en enad marknadsföringskanal utåt. Genom att samordna resurser skapas även ett nätverk där kunskapsspridning och samarbete leder till positivt resursutnyttjande. Lokalbefolkningen på Utö känner en delaktighet i den utveckling som sker och en positiv attityd råder, inte minst genom att de flesta är direkt anknutna till näringen genom sina eller anhörigas arbetsplatser. På Ornö råder å andra sidan en brist på kommunikation aktörer emellan, liksom avsaknad av entreprenörskap och kunskap om näringen, vilket lett till att försök till fungerande samarbeten stagnerat. Dessutom leder ett bristande förtroende till turistbyråns kunskap och erfarenhet till att en position som samordnare inte kunnat utvecklas. Detta har i sin tur lett till en svag och fragmenterad marknadsföring liksom att lättillgängligheten för besökare försvårats då det saknas ett lättöverskådligt helhetserbjudande.</p> / <p>The development and marketing of a destination can contribute with benefits such as employment growth and infrastructural improvements. At the same time, uncontrolled exploitation can have the reverse effect and work negatively on sensible cultural- and natural environments. Knowledge about these effects has, in discussions and literature about destination development, led to the dominating roll of the perspective of planning. Meanwhile there are other important factors to consider when looking to the big spectra. In this context collaboration, networking and destination marketing becomes significant aspects to review. With a focus on, and theoretical preunderstanding for, these concepts this thesis will focus on the two case-studies of Ornö and Utö, two neighbouring islands in the archipelago of Stockholm, Sweden. In spite of their physical similarity the two islands have undergone very different developments as tourism destinations. The purpose with this thesis will therefore be to determine how the concepts of collaboration, network and destination marketing have influenced the development of the islands.</p>

Thesis (M.Com. (Tourism))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.

Utvecklingen och marknadsföringen av ett samhälle som turistdestination, kan generera många fördelar, bland annat genom ökad sysselsättning och infrastrukturella förbättringar. Samtidigt kan en okontrollerad exploatering leda till negativa konsekvenser utifrån kultur- och naturmiljöaspekter. Utifrån denna vetskap har planeringsperspektivet till stor del fått en dominerande roll inom diskussioner och forskningslitteratur. Det finns dock fler faktorer som bör beaktas i destinationsutvecklingssammanhang, varav samarbete och nätverk samt destinationsmarknadsföring utgör viktiga aspekter. Med fokus på, och en teoretisk förförståelse för dessa begrepp angriper denna studie de två fallstudieobjekten Ornö och Utö i Stockholms södra skärgård i syfte att utröna hur begreppen påverkat de skilda utvecklingar som skett på öarna. Utö präglas av ett starkt samarbetsklimat där aktörer, med turistbyrån som samordnande funktion, skapat en gemensam identitet och en enad marknadsföringskanal utåt. Genom att samordna resurser skapas även ett nätverk där kunskapsspridning och samarbete leder till positivt resursutnyttjande. Lokalbefolkningen på Utö känner en delaktighet i den utveckling som sker och en positiv attityd råder, inte minst genom att de flesta är direkt anknutna till näringen genom sina eller anhörigas arbetsplatser. På Ornö råder å andra sidan en brist på kommunikation aktörer emellan, liksom avsaknad av entreprenörskap och kunskap om näringen, vilket lett till att försök till fungerande samarbeten stagnerat. Dessutom leder ett bristande förtroende till turistbyråns kunskap och erfarenhet till att en position som samordnare inte kunnat utvecklas. Detta har i sin tur lett till en svag och fragmenterad marknadsföring liksom att lättillgängligheten för besökare försvårats då det saknas ett lättöverskådligt helhetserbjudande. / The development and marketing of a destination can contribute with benefits such as employment growth and infrastructural improvements. At the same time, uncontrolled exploitation can have the reverse effect and work negatively on sensible cultural- and natural environments. Knowledge about these effects has, in discussions and literature about destination development, led to the dominating roll of the perspective of planning. Meanwhile there are other important factors to consider when looking to the big spectra. In this context collaboration, networking and destination marketing becomes significant aspects to review. With a focus on, and theoretical preunderstanding for, these concepts this thesis will focus on the two case-studies of Ornö and Utö, two neighbouring islands in the archipelago of Stockholm, Sweden. In spite of their physical similarity the two islands have undergone very different developments as tourism destinations. The purpose with this thesis will therefore be to determine how the concepts of collaboration, network and destination marketing have influenced the development of the islands.

In a tourism context, the image potential customers have of a destination is a very important issue. Images play an essential role in destination choice matters and in this regard, as tourism services are intangible, images are said to become even more important than reality. The concepts of destination image and destination marketing and branding are closely interrelated. The ultimate goal of any destination is to influence possible tourists’ travel-related decision making and choice through marketing activities. Although it is not possible to influence all aspects of image formation, tourism marketers try to strategically establish, reinforce and, if necessary, change the image of their destination by communicating a strong destination brand. Hence, image studies are considered to be a vital part of marketing and branding strategies. However, not everyone has the same image of a destination, as image perception changes according to different influences, such as personal, cultural and psychological ones. The purpose of this thesis was primarily to give an overview of destination image theory and its interrelationships to destination marketing and branding. In this respect, the study aimed at finding out in how far a DMO can achieve to develop a marketing strategy that is consistent and somewhat standardised, and yet adapted to the individual market and culture in which it is operated. Furthermore, the study wanted to investigate whether marketing approaches should be changed for people with different images of a country as a destination, or if alternatively a “one-size-fits-all” approach should be employed. In addition to a literature review, a case study made it possible to show how a real organisation handles those questions. The case of the Austrian National Tourist Office ANTO provides a good example of an internationally operating destination marketing organisation that uses market research, and among others also image studies, to adapt its marketing mix and branding approach to the individual markets’ characteristics and the image held of the destination Austria. By means of applying the qualitative method of personal in-depth interviews and thorough analysis, interesting data concerning the topic of destination image and marketing could be collected and compared to the findings from literature. Results indicate that destination image studies are the foundation of successful marketing strategies and that in times of ever-increasing competitiveness, image is one of the few points of differentiation from other tourist destinations. It is necessary to be aware of the fact that customers’ cultural differences have an influence on how different they perceive images. Therefore, DMOs should have a powerful overall strategy which globally leads into one pre-defined direction, but then locally adapt this common strategy to regionally differing cultural specifics. Even though destination brands should be strong and consistent, it is not advisable to communicate the exact same image to all customers.

The Chinese outbound tourism market has experienced rapid growth over the past few years. This noticeable development provides the background and rationale for the study that identifies the travel behaviour of Chinese tourists, and the expectation and perception regarding South Africa. Based on the findings, some recommendations for marketing strategies and implementation are given, in addition to suggestions for future research directions in this field. The theoretical discussion focuses on concepts of travel behaviour. Travel behaviour, including travel motivation, decision-making process, and destination choice are then presented in more detail. The development of the Chinese economy and Chinese outbound tourism are also presented and discussed. The empirical research focuses on the travel behaviour of Chinese outbound tourists. The goal here is to determine and analyse the travel behaviour of tourists, outbound from Beijing, and their views on South Africa as a tourism destination. To accomplish this, the empirical research is designed from the quantitative perspective, and the data was collected by fieldworkers at the Beijing International Airport, using intercept surveys. This helps the researcher to understand the needs, motivation, and behaviour of the Chinese outbound tourists and assists the researcher in analysing the marketing strategy of South Africa as a tourist destination. / Thesis (M.Com. (Tourism))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.

The thesis is devoted to marketing study of the tourist destination Prague and its aim is to analyze and evaluate the potential of tourism development in Prague and its utilization in marketing of Prague as a tourist destination. It defines basic terms about destination marketing - marketing analysis, market segmentation, marketing strategy, marketing mix and implementation plan together with the control. The thesis includes analysis of primary and secondary offer of destination, identification of main competitors, the results of marketing research and presents the basic elements of marketing mix of destination Prague. Based on the findings, the final part of study contains proposals and recommendations for destination marketing and improvement of current situation.

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