Promoting Niche Tourism Destination Brands

Abstract

Abstract Promoting tourism destination brands presents many challenges and this article opens by briefly reviewing the destination brand management context. Critical to the creation and promotion of a durable destination brand is the identification of the brand's values, the translation of those into a suitably emotionally appealing personality and the targeted and efficient promotion of that message. While this is difficult, it is not impossible to achieve in destination marketing, and, having reviewed some of the key issues in brand management, the article explores the context and creation of the New Zealand and Wales tourism brands. The recent initiatives of both Tourism New Zealand (TNZ) and the Wales Tourist Board (WTB) represent the first ever-global branding strategies for both destinations and the article examines how innovative promotion can showcase landscapes, peoples, cultures and tourism activities. The article concludes that through effective marketing research and partnerships, and by harnessing the World Wide Web (WWW) and public relations opportunities, both TNZ and WTB are creating strong travel destination brands, positioned as appealing niche players in today's global tourism industry.