One of the ATTA’s priorities is ensuring resources are accessible to our community throughout the globe. During the first year of offering AdventureELEVATE in three regions around the world (North America, Latin America, and Europe), one consistent theme was the importance of DMOs (Destination Marketing & Management Organizations) in the decision making and future development of the adventure travel industry.
At each event held throughout May and June 2024, a “Destination Insights” session was held, and attendees were invited based on their experience and positions within DMOs. The number of session attendees ranged from 14-31, and approximately half of attendees in each session had more than 15 years of experience.
Each session revolved around the key questions of who defines the “right” traveler, who this “ideal” traveler is, and how to attract them to a destination. This article summarizes the key discussion points, challenges, and future of destination actions related to identifying and successfully marketing to this traveler.
Partner Engagement and Communication
Answering the above questions about the “right” traveler requires a collaborative approach among various key players in a destination: governments and DMOs, tourism infrastructure organizations, large and small businesses, local health organizations, and of course the residents. This may mean thinking beyond existing committees and networks, and potentially bringing in a third party with a fresh new outside perspective to help facilitate dialogue between businesses and government.
Participants at the AdventureELEVATE Latin America session pointed out that networks also need to be analyzed from a high-level view. Many hyper-local or niche organizations already exist but are disconnected from each other and therefore are not as effective as they could be when working together toward a common goal.
Any good partner analysis process will also engage local communities in destination stewardship. Indigenous peoples in particular will have knowledge of the land and how to conserve it for future generations. Programs highlighting local assets and ambassadors can boost regional pride and encourage residents to care for their community and understand how to best share it with visitors.
One example of how destinations handle this step of the planning process emerged in the AdventureELEVATE Europe session. Attendees noted that in Sweden and Greenland, hiking trails are created to get local people out in nature for physical and mental health reasons, so the destinations chose to put those trails close to accommodation and local transport. This gets people from all over the region to the countryside, and then tourism is used as a tool to pay for the infrastructure. Taking a different approach, Switzerland puts the focus on the tourist experience first, while still ensuring that local people can use the infrastructure. Neither of these is necessarily better than the other, this example simply shows two different thought processes with similar results.
Sustainable and Responsible Tourism
Sharing and conserving a destination’s social, economic, and environmental resources means attracting high-value guests who believe in the importance of leaving a destination better than they found it. On the other hand, the DMO needs to focus on how to balance achieving economic goals without sacrificing local quality of life. This requires a massive shift in DMO perspective from quantity-based metrics (e.g., "heads-on-beds") to value-based assessments.
Undergoing this transformation requires extensive communication and promotion with all key players. Local suppliers need to be educated and supported in their efforts to act more sustainably. This might mean pursuing sustainability certifications, developing products and marketing strategies to support new sustainable offerings, or simply starting by helping suppliers understand the value of sustainable tourism. Results can then be communicated to potential visitors to help them make positive and impactful travel decisions, including prioritizing promotion of certified sustainable offerings and other sustainable travel practices.
A key to longer-term sustainability is addressing seasonality and visitor dispersion. Destinations can focus on local communities to attract low-carbon tourists, and create appropriate programs for different seasons. Local events, particularly those that celebrate regional traditions and customs, can help attract visitors year-round, supporting consistent employment. By showcasing seasonal variations to encourage repeat visits, destinations can also demonstrate their versatility to offer new experiences on return trips.
This requires a massive shift in DMO perspective from quantity-based metrics (e.g., "heads-on-beds") to value-based assessments.
Targeted Marketing Strategies
Once a destination has identified its unique offerings that entice high-value visitors and provide for long-term success, these travelers need to be identified, defined, and targeted. Destination marketing is no longer about having something for everyone; instead DMOs need to embrace niche markets and specific traveler personas, using hyper-segmentation to understand motivations and behaviors. Then focused and tailored products and experiences can be created.
At the AdventureELEVATENorth America session, some discussions focused on the importance of implementing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives, as they are essential in combating exclusivity, barriers, and elitism in the tourism industry. Education plays a crucial role in this effort by raising awareness about unconscious biases, promoting cultural sensitivity, and highlighting the needs of diverse travelers. Accessibility is equally important, encompassing both physical infrastructure improvements and the provision of information and services in multiple formats to accommodate various abilities and backgrounds.
Clear storytelling that reflects the destination's passion and people is the best way to communicate a message and create honest expectations. Any marketing messages must match the destination’s offerings, and a variety of media channels need to be used to reach the target personas. This also means mixing B2B and B2C marketing efforts to create demand with both professional travel advisors and the travelers themselves.
One response in the discussion around who is the right traveler brings up a very important question for future thought: “Any traveler can be the right traveler with education.”
Operational Management
While some DMOs may have strong processes in place, others may need to carefully analyze their internal structures and identify where stagnation may be holding them back. The experts in these sessions recommend adopting a comprehensive holistic approach to marketing and destination management. This requires regular team check-ins and collaborative goal-setting, and working with other DMOs for data collection and sharing successes and challenges.
New technology can be used to identify deep insights into current and potential visitors. Organizing strategic FAM (familiarization) trips with carefully selected participants can help increase market awareness. Overall, it is essential that diverse perspectives are continuously incorporated in decision-making, and all efforts are made to ensure the long-term success and stability of the local community.
Continuous Learning and Adaptation
As the tourism industry overall, and adventure travel in particular, continuously shifts and evolves due to a multitude of factors, destinations absolutely must learn and adapt. This means taking actions like studying other destinations to avoid mass tourism pitfalls, embracing fresh ideas and younger perspectives, developing tools to spread word-of-mouth marketing, adapting communication for diverse target groups and nationalities, and more.
Participating in industry knowledge-sharing events in addition to more informal networking, especially with regional players and even destinations viewed as competitors, is essential for successful and sustainable growth. One way this can be done is by working with organizations like the ATTA to learn what opportunities your destination has that appeal to adventure travelers, and how that can attract respectful, environmentally-conscious visitors.
Based on the discussions, a theoretical roadmap has emerged that underscores the importance of strategic planning, partner collaboration, and a holistic view of destination management that balances economic, environmental, and social factors. DMOs must adapt to changing market dynamics while prioritizing sustainable practices and community engagement.
