Visitor Relationship Orientation of Destination Marketing Organizations

Abstract

The proposition underpinning this study is that engaging in meaningful dialogue with previous visitors represents an efficient and effective use of resources for a destination marketing organization (DMO), compared to above-the-line advertising in broadcast media. However, there has been a lack of attention in the tourism literature relating to destination switching, loyalty, and customer relationship management (CRM) to test such a proposition. This article reports an investigation of visitor relationship marketing orientation among DMOs. A model of CRM orientation, which was developed from the wider marketing literature and a prior qualitative study, was used to develop a scale to operationalize DMO—visitor relationship orientation. Owing to a small sample, the partial least squares method of structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data. Although the sample limits the ability to generalize, the results indicate that the DMOs’ visitor orientation is generally responsive and reactive rather than proactive.