Five lessons for promoting regional destinations

Embrace change and look for ways to diversify and expand your offerings, while staying true to what makes your region unique.

The Swiss Alps has long been synonymous with world-class skiing and chocolate. But today, it is expanding its tourism offering, inviting travelers to experience outdoor adventures, wellness retreats, cultural explorations, and gourmet dining. Supported by Switzerland’s playful new “no drama” tourism campaign with Swiss tennis legend Roger Federer, the Swiss Alps is positioning itself as the ultimate “drama free vacation destination”.  The Swiss Alps attracts 25 million tourists, generating 55 million overnight stays and creating 170,000 FTE jobs annually. By excelling in many areas, the Swiss Alps is able to create year-round vibrancy and resilience against seasonal fluctuations.

Create a cohesive and authentic brand that mirrors the vision and unique characteristics of your region.

As a UNESCO World Heritage site, the Great Barrier Reef is globally recognised for its unique marine biodiversity and conservation efforts. With a growing demand for nature-based and sustainable tourism, destination marketing for the Reef increasingly highlights vital conservation and preservation efforts. While tourism at the reef contributes $5.7 billion to the Australian economy, Tourism & Events Queensland notes that tourism activities are low risk and well managed due to access being regulated by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority. As a result, conservation efforts are able to be pursued such as the protection of 320 reefs from being destroyed and the production of 290 million baby corals. 

Sustainable tourism practices help to enhance visitor experiences, raise awareness on environmental issues, and in turn, promote environmental stewardship. This conservation focused marketing approach has helped  the Reef set the benchmark for how tourism can positively impact conservation efforts. 

Keep your destination vibrant year-round with a mix of events, activities, and experiences that attract locals and visitors, ensuring a steady stream of activity.

Queenstown, New Zealand, shines as a year-round destination, offering an array of activities and experiences for every visitor. From skiing and snowboarding in winter, to biking and lake activities in the warmer months, this year-round appeal contributes 39% of the town’s GDP and 52% of employment in 2020. Tourism is the cornerstone of Queenstown’s economy, but also the key to its global cultural and recreational appeal. The destination’s diverse offerings cater to a wide range of interests, ensuring a steady stream of visitors regardless of the season. Queenstown’s model highlights the benefits of diversifying a destination’s offerings, and developing a broad range of cultural and recreational activities that can be enjoyed regardless of the season.  

Leverage data and stakeholder insights to understand evolving tourism trends. This helps regional destinations adapt and pursue targeted investment opportunities.

To elevate Geelong and the Bellarine as a premier tourist destination, Urbis utilised mobility data, Tourism Research Australia data, and stakeholder feedback to understand different movement patterns for various types of visitors to the region. The findings helped uncover key insights to drive high-yielding, sustainable tourism, and deliver benefits for the local economy and community. This included identifying  priority projects for the region’s Sustainable Destination Master Plan, which aims to unlock 14 million visitors and over $2 billion in spend by 2032. 

Align efforts between your workforce and industry partners to foster sustainable growth and support community wide benefits.  

Shirakawa-go, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Japanese Alps, exemplifies how a regional destination can integrate tourism into its economic and social fabric. With a tourist-to-resident ratio 1,000 times the local population and with 70% of the town’s residents running tourism businesses, Shirakawa-go highlights the importance of collaboration between businesses and the community in supporting the visitor economy. This partnership preserves cultural heritage and manages over-tourism through crowd control and promoting off-peak travel. Collaboration ensures tourism benefits the entire community.  By working together, Shirakawa-go’s stakeholders create a cohesive visitor experience that enhances both economic and social wellbeing.