DESTINATION MARKETING
Destination Marketing:
Getting To The Local
Area: Part 2!
By Isaac T. Ngatia
continent. New places are already opening
up, bringing in competition to already
existing destinations.
I
received a number of comments
from the first part on Destination
Marketing. Thank you to the readers
who shared feedback. The first part looked
at the need for uniqueness, private public
partnerships as well as collaborative
approach with the community in mind. different platforms as well as on different
types of devices is a key aspect for
consideration. This helps to address the
different types of visitor segments. For
instance, Facebook could well suit for
communication meant for a mass market,
like for public beach at the coast.
While these are some key cornerstone
considerations for any destination, the
local nuances also play a key factor in
making the decision, especially when it
comes to recommendations.For example,
there are several similar attractions
especially within the wider East and
South Africa region. The question
therefore is what would make one choose
one destination from the other? Taking
Kenya for example, what would make one
choose Lamu in North Coast vis Kwale
in South Coast? Or Marsabit park vis
Amboseli National park? While personal
preferences may play a key role, what
can destinations do to communicate and
enhance their attractiveness? However, the same may not apply for
the premium cabins in a ranch - where
customized email with relevant details
could be more applicable.Most markets,
especially across Africa are heavily skewed
towards mobile phones as a device for use
in communication. This calls for mobile
enabled and compatible messaging. This
is communication that is concise to suit
the device but also comprehensive to
meet the business objectives. For example,
cross-platform messaging services such as
WhatsApp have business options. Hence,
WhatsApp for business can be useful
messaging tool, given the mass reach of
the service.
Social Media Presence
Presence in digital platforms especially
on social media is now a key aspect
especially in drawing visitors - whether
new or ones on repeat visits. There should
be a continuous engagement and updates
on these platforms. In addition, this is a
key channel for addressing concerns and
complaints. Research has shown that
genuinely addressing complaints is a
key aspect in customer satisfaction and
retention. Engaging, rather than ignoring
online engagement, is a key driver to
generating conversation with current or
potential visitors.
Having seamless communication across
32 MAL32/19 ISSUE
Profiles
Understanding the origin and profiles of
visitors is a key element in destination
marketing. For instance, with the rise
in number of visitors from other Africa
countries, are there measures in place to
understand their profiles? Would these
profiles help to generate more demand,
and have a return on their investment?
With many varied types of current and
potential visitors, defining the profiling
parameters then becomes a key process.
This then leads to defining the kind of
investments and type of offering that
a destination provides to the market.
Destination marketing across Africa is
just gaining momentum. Competition
will increase as more people explore the
There are a number of factors that are
driving this scenario, such as: Rise in
incomes; Falling cost of the internet,
enabling more flow of information
about places - either in text or pictures;
Rising need for cultural understanding;
Reduction in insecurity spots - while there
are still reports that taint this effort, the
incidences of insecurities are declining
across the continent. The main challenge is
maintaining this peace over the long term.
The sporadic incidences like recent attacks
in South Africa may have a short term
impact. There should be concerted efforts
so that growth may be realized.
The drive has been helped as well by
the increasing penetration of devices,
especially smartphones; More investments
in infrastructure across the continent -
from railway networks to better roads; and
Collaboration and agreements to enable
cross-border travels, such as Single African
Air Transport Market or the Customs
Unions and of course regional agreements
that enable single visa for multiple country
entries within a given region.
The pace of these changes may vary by
county, states or regions as different
countries within the continent are at
different phases of development, and with
different priorities. All in all, the need
for marketing destinations will only gain
momentum as places compete to attract
visitors, investors or any other target
groups.
Isaac is a marketing research
consultant within the Africa and
Middle East region. You can reach
him on this and related issue via
email at: itngatia@gmail.com or
on Twitter @IsaacTN.