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Tourism organisations play a vital role in developing and managing destinations. Whether they're government bodies, private companies, or non-profit organisations, they all perform key management activities to ensure tourism runs smoothly and benefits both visitors and local communities.
Key Definitions:
Public Sector: Government departments, tourism boards, local authorities
Private Sector: Hotels, tour operators, attractions, transport providers
Voluntary Sector: Conservation groups, heritage organisations
Partnership Organisations: Public-private partnerships, destination management organisations (DMOs)
Planning: Setting goals and creating strategies
Organising: Arranging resources and responsibilities
Leading: Motivating staff and stakeholders
Controlling: Monitoring performance and making adjustments
Coordinating: Ensuring all parts work together effectively
Marketing is one of the most crucial management activities for tourism organisations. It involves understanding visitor needs and promoting destinations effectively to attract tourists.
Tourism organisations use various marketing strategies to promote destinations and attract visitors:
Collecting data about target markets, visitor preferences and travel trends to inform marketing decisions.
Example: VisitBritain conducts regular surveys to understand international visitors' perceptions of the UK.
Creating and distributing promotional materials through various channels.
Methods: Social media, websites, brochures, travel shows, advertising campaigns and influencer partnerships.
Developing a unique identity for a destination that differentiates it from competitors.
Example: "Incredible India" campaign showcases the country's diverse cultural experiences.
Launched in 2010, this campaign invited Australians to share their favourite places through photos and stories. It evolved into a global campaign featuring authentic Australian experiences. The campaign used digital platforms, TV, print media and partnerships with travel companies. It resulted in significant increases in visitor numbers and tourism spending, demonstrating effective destination marketing.
Tourism organisations must manage their finances effectively to achieve their goals while remaining financially viable.
Tourism organisations need to plan their income and expenditure carefully. This includes:
For example, a national tourism board might allocate its budget across marketing campaigns, staff costs, research and grants to local tourism initiatives.
Tourism organisations obtain funding from various sources:
For instance, the Edinburgh Festival receives funding from the Scottish Government, Edinburgh City Council, corporate sponsors and ticket sales.
People are at the heart of tourism. Effective human resource management ensures that tourism organisations have the right staff with the right skills to deliver quality experiences.
Tourism organisations manage their human resources through several key activities:
For example, a hotel chain might run customer service training programmes for all front-of-house staff to ensure consistent service quality across all its properties.
Tourism organisations must consistently deliver high-quality experiences to satisfy visitors and encourage return visits and recommendations.
Many tourism organisations implement formal quality management systems:
For example, VisitEngland's Quality Assessment Scheme rates accommodation providers with star ratings based on regular inspections.
Effective customer service management includes:
The National Trust trains its staff and volunteers to provide excellent visitor experiences at its heritage sites across the UK.
Tourism is vulnerable to various crises, from natural disasters to health emergencies. Effective crisis management helps tourism organisations prepare for, respond to and recover from such events.
Tourism organisations typically follow these steps in crisis management:
The COVID-19 pandemic severely impacted global tourism. Tourism organisations responded with various crisis management strategies:
These responses demonstrated how tourism organisations can adapt their management activities during a crisis.
Tourism organisations increasingly focus on sustainability to ensure that tourism benefits destinations in the long term without damaging natural and cultural resources.
Tourism organisations implement various sustainable management practices:
Reducing environmental impacts through:
Involving local communities through:
Managing visitor impacts through:
Successful tourism organisations integrate all these management activities to achieve their goals. They need to:
By effectively managing marketing, finances, human resources, quality, crises and sustainability, tourism organisations can develop successful destinations that benefit visitors, local communities and the environment.