Destination marketing: George

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DESTINATION MARKETING - GEORGE

Norman William Hunt

Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree

MAGISTER IN BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

in the Faculty of Business and Economic Sciences at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University

Supervisor: Professor Margaret Cullen

Co-Supervisor: Professor Andre Calitz

25 November 2015

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DECLARATION “I, Norman William Hunt, hereby declare the following:

 This treatise is my own work except as indicated in the acknowledgements, the text and the complete references table.

 This work is submitted in partial fulfilment of the Magister in Business Administration at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University Business School.

 This document has never been submitted before, either in part or in full, for any equivalent or higher qualification at any other recognised educational institution.”

25 November 2015

__________________________ __________________

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

To my wife Karen and my two sons, Kyle and Ethan, I wish to convey my sincere gratitude for their patience and support during this period of study, without which this achievement would not have been possible. I remain forever grateful for their understanding whilst I spent many hours completing the required theoretical modules and research.

I also wish to thank:

1. My mother, siblings and family in law for their support and faith in my ability to complete this mammoth task. My late father for always believing in my abilities.

2. My circle of friends for their support and patience during this time. Thanks go to Hamman and Lorraine Oosthuizen, Morné and Marlene Gericke and Jannie and Karin Strydom for not giving up on our friendship despite numerous declined invitations from my side.

3. Professor Margaret Cullen and Professor Andre Calitz for their guidance, encouragement and understanding throughout the MBA programme as well as for their assistance in the preparation and completion of this treatise. 4. Professor Jacques Pietersen (NMMU) for his time and patience that he spent

in assisting with the analysing of the statistics that were gathered from respondents.

5. My MBA syndicate group (George: 13.2) members and classmates for the time we spent together as a team to produce the required work output per module and for sacrificing many hours to ensure we were able to excel at the tasks on hand.

6. The respondents who took part in the study for their invaluable contribution made toward this study.

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ABSTRACT

A destination is often given its identity by its brand name, creating an image thereof in the customers’ minds which means that destinations exist not only physically but also mentally in the minds of people. Destination marketers play a role in the creation of the images of such destinations which is dependent on what the destination offers in its depth and breadth. Destination Marketing Organisations (DMOs) should be able to not only understand their destination’s offerings but also who they are targeting and how they should market the destination. DMOs have evolved to become more than mere destination information providers as considerable destination information is now created by fellow travellers which are shared via social networks. The most important change resulting from adopting the concept of social capital in the context of tourism would be that tourism scholars and DMOs become aware of the importance of resources obtained through an individual’s social interactions.

Despite the fact that the town of George has a number of attributes it is able to market to potential visitors, it does however not automatically make it a desired destination. The main objective of this treatise is to determine what would give George its marketable destination identity which will be achieved by gaining an understanding of the local residents’ viewpoints of George and to measure them according to specific attributes which are carefully formulated in a survey questionnaire.

This treatise aims to determine what George can do to create a destination identity and how such an identity can be applied in the successful marketing of George as a destination town. It is an exploratory quantitative study consisting of literature and case study components used to test proposed hypotheses. It aims to provide guidance to the destination marketers by way of researched literature on the topic of destination marketing as well as offer empirical data gathered from responses to a survey conducted with local residents of George which is focused on creating a destination identity through its business, cultural and sporting events.

Based on the statistical analysis of the survey results it will be shown that a relationship exists between Destination Marketing and Events, Branding and Media,

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which plays a pivotal role in the successful marketing of such events and thereby the brand image of the destination.

Based on the literature findings and the empirical data gained for this treatise it was shown that events can be used to create a new brand image for a town like George which already possesses a natural beauty and friendly people. Examples will be discussed where destinations throughout the world have managed to change their brand without changing their environment, from which they have gained a new destination brand. George can strategically convert what it already has to become the destination of choice in terms of intra-town activities and events which could not only enhance its own economy but also that of the surrounding towns. The geographic location of George and that of the surrounding tourist attractive towns make it possible to design and implement intra-town events with relative ease. As found in researched literature, the residents should be made part of any destination marketing campaign. These events should be designed to incorporate the surrounding towns to capitalise on the concept of intra-town events where George becomes the main centre but uses outlying towns to lure tourist. Respondents to the survey indicate that they somewhat agree that George has sufficient infrastructure to host sports (µ = 3.77), cultural (µ = 3.61) and business events (µ = 3.88) and that hosting such events in George would create job opportunities. The responses for all three event types in this regard have a mean value above µ = 4. Respondents indicated that religious events are deemed the most important (mean value µ = 4.25) while also indicating that they agreed with a mean value of µ = 4.18 that entrance fees influence their decision to attend events. The empirical research conducted in George was designed to gain a representative viewpoint of its residents in terms of what they deem the identity of George to be, the main objective (ROM) of which was to determine what would give George its destination identity. The composite image of the residents of George was measured according to specific attributes which were carefully formulated in the survey.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

DECLARATION ... i

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...ii

ABSTRACT ... iii

LIST OF FIGURES ... viii

LIST OF TABLES ... x

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION AND PROBLEM STATEMENT ... 1

1.1 Introduction ... 1 1.2 Problem Statement ... 4 1.3 Research Objectives ... 5 1.4 Research Questions ... 6 1.5 Research Delimitation ... 6 1.6 Research Significance ... 8 1.7 Research Methodology ... 9 1.8 Ethics Clearance ... 10 1.9 Document Layout ... 10 1.10 Chapter Summary ... 12

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW - DESTINATION MARKETING ... 14

2.1 Introduction ... 14

2.2 Destination Marketing ... 16

2.2.1 Destination Evolution ... 19

2.2.2 Positioning the Destination ... 21

2.2.3 Branding the Destination ... 22

2.2.4 Destination Marketing Organisations ... 24

2.2.5 Destination Competitiveness ... 25

2.3 The Role of Events in Destination Marketing ... 26

2.3.1 Sport events ... 28

2.3.2 Cultural events ... 30

2.3.3 Business events ... 32

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2.4.1 Using Social Media ... 34

2.4.2 Using Travel Blogs ... 38

2.4.3 Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) ... 39

2.5 Chapter Summary ... 41

CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY ... 45

3.1 Introduction ... 45 3.1 Research ... 47 3.2 Research Methodology ... 48 3.2.1 Qualitative Research ... 48 3.2.2 Quantitative Research ... 49 3.3 Literature Review ... 50

3.4 Hypothesised Destination marketing model ... 51

3.5 Sampling Design ... 53

3.6 Measuring Instrument ... 54

3.7 Survey Design ... 54

3.8 Questionnaire Distribution ... 55

3.9 Ethics Clearance ... 57

3.10 Validity and Reliability ... 57

3.11 Summary ... 58

CHAPTER 4: RESULTS AND ANALYSIS OF THE EMPIRICAL STUDY ... 60

4.2 Data Analysis and Interpretation Methods ... 60

4.2.1 Univariate analysis ... 60

4.2.2 Multivariate analysis ... 62

4.3 Univariate Analysis and Descriptive Statistics ... 62

4.3.1 Section 1: Biographical Information ... 62

4.3.2 Section 2: Media ... 74

4.3.3 Section 3: Events ... 79

4.3.4 Section 4: Branding ... 82

4.3.5 Section 5: Communication ... 83

4.4 Multivariate Analysis and Inferential Statistics ... 84

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4.4.2 Empirical evaluation ... 89

4.5 Summary ... 104

CHAPTER 5: FINDINGS, RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSIONS ... 106

5.2 Summary of the Research ... 108

5.2.1 Research Question 1 (RQ1) ... 109 5.2.2 Research Question 2 (RQ2) ... 109 5.2.3 Research Question 3 (RQ3) ... 109 5.2.4 Research Question 4 (RQ4) ... 110 5.2.5 Research Question 5 (RQ5) ... 110 5.2.6 Research Question 6 (RQ6) ... 111 5.3 Summary of Contributions ... 111

5.3.1 Opportunities and Spin-offs ... 111

5.3.2 George Infrastructure ... 112

5.3.3 Respondents Interaction with Events ... 112

5.3.4 Event Attractions ... 112

5.3.5 Ease of Attendance of Events ... 113

5.3.6 Perception of George ... 113

5.3.7 Available Resources and Events ... 114

5.3.8 Technology and Media ... 114

5.3.9 Sharing Event Information ... 114

5.4 Opportunities for Future Research ... 115

5.5 Limitations of the Study ... 115

6. CONCLUSION AND FUTURE RESEARCH ... 116

7. REFERENCES ... 117

APPENDICES ... 123

Appendix A: Questionnaire ... 123

Appendix B: Ethical Clearance Form ... 127

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LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1.1: George Statistics. Source: Statistics South Africa ... 3

Figure 1.2: Overview of Chapter 1... 4

Figure 2.1: Chapter 2 RQs and ROs. ... 15

Figure 3.1: Chapter 3 RQs and ROs. ... 46

Figure 3.3: Conceptual destination image model ... 52

Figure 4.1: Chapter 4 RQs and ROs ... 61

Figure 4.3: Frequency Distribution of Gender ... 63

Figure 4.4: Frequency Distribution of Age ... 63

Figure 4.5: Frequency Distribution of Language ... 64

Figure 4.6: Frequency Distribution of Ethnic Group... 65

Figure 4.7: Frequency Distribution of Religion ... 66

Figure 4.8: Frequency Distribution of Marital Status... 66

Figure 4.9: Frequency Distribution of Employment Status ... 67

Figure 4.10: Frequency Distribution of Work Sector ... 68

Figure 4.11: Frequency Distribution of Number of People in Household ... 68

Figure 4.12: Frequency Distribution of Income Level per Household ... 69

Figure 4.13: Frequency Distribution of Property Ownership ... 69

Figure 4.14: Frequency Distribution of Suburb ... 70

Figure 4.15: Frequency Distribution of Years living in George ... 71

Figure 4.16: Frequency Distribution of Years living in George ... 71

Figure 4.17: Frequency Distribution of Proud to live in George ... 72

Figure 4.18: Frequency Distribution of Encourage others to live in George ... 72

Figure 4.19: Frequency Distribution of Identify with George ... 73

Figure 4.20: Frequency Distribution of Highest Qualification ... 73

Figure 4.21: Frequency Distribution of Internet Access ... 74

Figure 4.22: Frequency Distribution of Active Accounts ... 74

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Figure 4.24: Frequency Distribution of Access to Internet Accounts Frequency ... 77

Figure 4.25: Frequency Distribution of Newspapers read ... 77

Figure 4.26: Frequency Distribution of Radio Stations ... 78

Figure 4.27: Frequency Distribution of Sharing Positively on SocialMedia... 79

Figure 4.28: Likert Scale - Frequency Distribution of Events ... 80

Figure 4.29: Frequency Distribution of Sporting Events ... 81

Figure 4.30: Frequency Distribution of Attending Events ... 81

Figure 4.31: Likert Scale - Frequency Distribution of Branding ... 82

Figure 4.32: Frequency Distribution of what residents associate with George ... 83

Figure 4.33: Likert Scale - Frequency Distribution of Communications ... 84

Figure 4.34: p values per Factor ... 91

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LIST OF TABLES

Table 1.1: RQ, RO and Chapters Outline. ... 7

Table 4.1: Cronbach’s alphas coefficients for all factors ... 89

Table 4.2: Test whether sample mean is significantly greater than 3.4 ... 90

Table 4.2: Two Genders Comparison... 92

Table 4.3: Cronbach’s alpha: Opportunities and Spin-offs ... 93

Table 4.4: Anova comparison of Age Groups ... 93

Table 4.5: Anova comparison of Home Language Groups ... 94

Table 4.6: Cronbach’s alpha: George Infrastructure... 94

Table 4.9: Cronbach’s alpha: Respondents interaction with events ... 96

Table 4.12: Cronbach’s alpha: Event attractions ... 97

Table 4.15: Cronbach’s alpha: Attendance of events ... 98

Table 4.18: Cronbach’s alpha: Perception of George... 99

Table 4.21: Cronbach’s alpha: Available resources and events ... 101

Table 4.24: Cronbach’s alpha: Technology and media ... 102

Table 4.27: Cronbach’s alpha: Sharing event information ... 103

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CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION AND PROBLEM STATEMENT 1.1 Introduction

Pike (2008:24) defines a destination as “a geographical space in which a cluster of tourism resources exist, rather than a political boundary”, thereby seemingly implying that the destination does not belong to one entity. This viewpoint is supported by Saraniemi and Kylanen (2011) with their definition thereof being a set of institutions and actors located in a physical or virtual space where marketing-related transactions and activities take place. It is where production, consumption and experiential characteristics become interconnected in a given space and in fact it is noted that the very process of tourism production and consumption depend on the destination itself.

The destination is often given its identity by its brand name, creating an image thereof in the customers’ minds (Saraniemi and Kylanen, 2011). Destinations therefore exist not only physically but also mentally in the minds of people. Marketing a destination needs to either create a new image or maintain the current image if it is positive. The strategic marketing and the branding of the destination are dependent on what the destination offers in its depth and breadth which can be categorised into a framework of:

 Ideographic, which relates to its natural or man-made material presence such as mountains or buildings;

 Organisational, which refers to its spatial and capacity character of scale and scope; and

 Cognition-based features which underline one’s perceptions, feelings, actions and experiences of the destination such as sense of security or degree of participation in an attraction which is often influenced by the price at which such participation is possible (Saraniemi and Kylanen, 2011).

Destination Marketing Organisations (DMOs) should therefore be able to not only understand what their destinations offer but also who they are targeting and how they should market the destination, with the understanding that a destination does

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not belong to one entity and that local residents’ viewpoints and support are key to the success of any such campaign.

The geographic space focused on in this treatise is that of the town of George which is situated in the heart of the nature-rich Garden-Route and which lies 420km east of Cape Town and 320km west of Port Elizabeth in South Africa. It is situated in the centre of the Knysna, Oudtshoorn, Mossel Bay and the Hessequa local municipalities and is considered to be the administrative capital of the Southern Cape.

According to the Statistical Services of South Africa (George Municipality, 2014); StatsSA) the municipal boundary of George is home to 193,672 residents (or 0.37% of the national population of 51,770,560) which is made up of 50,4% coloured, 28.2% black, 19.7% white and 1.7% other races. The predominant language spoken in the area is Afrikaans which is spoken by 66% of the local population and is followed by IsiXhosa (21.2%) and then English (7.9%). The split between male and female is 49.2% and 50.8% respectively, while the percentage split between married and single status residents is 45% and 55% respectively. In terms of education fewer than 5% of local residents over the age of 20 have no schooling, 94.5% completed some schooling while 11.6% completed some form of higher education. From an economic perspective 33% of the local active employment population between the ages of 15 and 64 are employed, 8.5% are unemployed, 24% are not economically active and 2.65% fall within the discouraged work seeker categories. This equates to a total unemployment rate of 20.7% which compares favourably with the national figure of 26%. A total of 49.4% of households in the area earn an income ranging between R19, 601 and R153, 800 per annum. A detailed chart of the various income brackets per household form part of Figure 1.1.

It is in this environment that the survey is conducted, the aim of which is to gain an understanding of what the viewpoints of the local residents are regarding their town of George as a destination town. Such a viewpoint or image of a destination refers to a holistic or composite image that is formed based on the cognitive and affective evaluation of the destination’s attributes (Ji & Wall, 2014). The residents composite image of George is measured according to specific attributes which are carefully formulated in the survey questionnaire which forms the basis of the treatise.

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Figure 1.1: George Statistics. Source: Statistics South Africa (www.statssa.gov.za, 2011)

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Figure 1.2 illustrates an overview of Chapter 1. The following paragraphs will elaborate on the problem statement, the research objectives and related questions as well as the research delimitation. Before concluding this introductory chapter, the concepts and definitions will be discussed as well as the research significance and methodology. The ethics clearance and report structure will also be addressed.

Figure 1.2: Overview of Chapter 1

1.2 Problem Statement

The mere fact that George exists as a physical location does not automatically make it a desired destination town. A destination is often given its identity by its brand name, creating an image thereof in the customers’ minds (Saraniemi & Kylanen, 2011). Destinations therefore exist not only physically but also mentally in the minds of people. To this end, one needs to understand what a destination is considered to be and how such a destination can be marketed most effectively. In the context of this treatise, the focus and energy need to be diverted towards the main research problem statement, that George lacks a destination identity. Research conducted in 2014 in the city of Qingdao which also offers a variety of natural and man-made attractions found that simply having such a variety of attributes does little to project an impressive image to potential visitors and residents (Ji & Wall, 2014). A

•1.1: Introduction •1.2: Problem Statement •1.3: Research Objectives •1.4: Research Questions •1.5: Research Delimitation •1.6: Research Significance

•1.7: Research Methodology and Design •1.8: Ethics Clearance

•1.9: Report Structure •1.10: Summary

Chapter 1: Introduction and Problem Statement

Chapter 2: Destination Marketing (Literature Study) Chapter 3: Research Design and Methodology

Chapter 4: Results and Analysis of the Empirical Study Chapter 5: Findings, Recommendations and Conclusion

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destination town or city is able to create such a good reputation by focusing on a distinct image to be portrayed, as opposed to adopting a diverse approach even though it may help destination marketers if they have more marketing material or attributes to work with. The findings of the research showed that marketers are in fact more successful in differentiating their destination town from its competitors by building a strong and unique brand image of the destination (Ji & Wall, 2014). Similarly, even though the town of George also has a variety of attributes that can be used by marketers to market it as a destination town, it lacks a strong and unique brand image. This leads to the problem statement which is below.

Problem statement: George lacks a destination identity.

The empirical research conducted in George was designed to gain a representative viewpoint of its residents in terms of what they deem the identity of George to be. 1.3 Research Objectives

The main research objective of this study is as follows:

o ROM: Determine what would give George its destination identity.

The following secondary objectives need to be addressed in order to achieve the above main research objective:

o RO1: Conduct a literature review on Destination Marketing.

o RO2: Conduct a literature review on the use of business, cultural and sports

events for Destination Marketing.

o RO3: Conduct a literature review on integrated marketing communication

(IMC) for Destination Marketing. Establish the broad offerings that media and events can add to the marketing of George as a marketable destination.

o RO4: Explain the research methodology used for this research.

o RO5: Understand local residents’ viewpoints in terms of what they perceive

George to be and what events they should host.

o RO6: Address the research problem by identifying the shortfalls between the

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6 1.4 Research Questions

The Main Research Objective (ROM) forms the basis for the formulation of the Main

Research Question (RQM) as follows:

o RQM: What factors would give George its destination identity?

The following secondary research questions need to be addressed in order to achieve the above main research question:

o RQ1: What is Destination Marketing (Town Branding)?

o RQ2: How are events being used nationally and globally to market

destinations?

o RQ3: How can media and events be used effectively to market what George

has to offer as a destination town?

o RQ4: What research design and methodology must be selected for this study?

o RQ5: What are the opinions of the residents of George?

o RQ6: How do the empirical findings compare to researched literature when

determining what George can do to become a destination town of choice? 1.5 Research Delimitation

The carefully selected resources for the purpose of this treatise mean that some topics will be deliberately excluded even though they may be relevant to the general field of study. The study is focused on the town of George and as such respondents that reside within the town’s boundaries were targeted to gather relevant empirical data. The research was limited to focusing on specific information that could aid George in determining its destination identity and consists of a literature study relating to essential factors in marketing a destination such as how events can be used to this end and what the critical factors for IMC are for Destination Marketing.

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The research questions and objectives are linked to various chapters as depicted in Table 1.1.

Research Question (RQ) Research Objective (RO) Chapter

1 What is Destination Marketing (Town Branding)?

Conduct a literature review on Destination Marketing.

Chapter 2:

Destination Marketing. (Literature study)

2 How are events being used nationally and globally to market destinations?

Conduct a literature review on the use of events for Destination Marketing.

Chapter 2:

Events in George. (Literature study)

3

How can media and events be used effectively to market what George has to

offer as a destination town?

Conduct a literature review on IMC for Destination Marketing. Establish the broad offerings that media and events can add to the

marketing of George as a marketable destination.

Chapter 2:

Media and events as a communication

medium. (Literature study)

4 What research design and methodology must be selected for this study?

Explain the research methodology used for this research.

Chapter 3:

Research design and methodology

5 What are the opinions of the residents of George?

Understand local residents’ viewpoints in terms of what they perceive George to be and what

events they should host.

Chapter 4:

Local perceptions. (Empirical study)

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How do the empirical findings compare to researched literature when determining what George can do to become a destination town of choice?

Address the research problem by identifying the shortfalls between the empirical findings and the literature in order to determine what George can

do to become a destination town.

Chapter 5:

Findings, recommendations and

conclusions. (Empirical study)

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8 1.6 Research Significance

The study aims to determine what George can do to create a destination identity and how the findings can be applied to become a destination town. The study will provide guidance to the destination marketers by means of researched literature on the topic of Destination Marketing as well as by empirical research gathered through responses to a tailor made survey for the area and the purpose of this treatise. It is hoped that this approach will contribute to creating George a destination identity through its business, cultural and sporting events. The role of residents in Destination Marketing is important which is why their opinions are captured in a survey.

This research is anchored in the concept of Social Capital which has been acknowledged as an important asset to enhance the innovation potential of organisations through the use of intellectual capital (Mahmood, 2015). This includes socially acceptable values and norms as reflected in behaviours during socialisation and interactions amongst individuals in a society (Timberlake, 2005). According to Finkbeiner (2013) the value information and knowledge which is anchored in the human behaviour of communication is what enriches the value of an entity and makes it gain competitive advantage. Finkbeiner (2013) continues by saying that the supporting social media has evolved to be a part of social life by involving many actors with all kinds of motivation to engage online. As Mahmood (2015) states, such behaviour has been shown to lead to teamwork and coordination for the mutual benefit of all stakeholders involved.

Destination marketers have evolved to become more than mere destination- information providers as considerable destination information is now created by fellow travellers which is shared via social networks. The most important change resulting from adopting the concept of social capital in the context of tourism would be that tourism scholars and DMOs become aware of the importance of resources obtained through an individual’s social interactions (Lee et al., 2014). Lee et al. (2014) state that in imperfect market situations where everyone is not optimally connected, social ties can provide useful information about opportunities to access resources otherwise not available to them.

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9 1.7 Research Methodology

In this section, a broad overview of the research design is given. The more detailed review of the adopted methodology adopted for this treatise is elaborated on in chapter three. The following process steps were followed to address the main problem as well as the aforementioned accompanying sub-problems.

1.7.1 Literature study

A literature review will be conducted to gain an understanding of what Destination Marketing is and what purpose it serves. There are many sources that offer a wealth of researched information on the topic of Destination Marketing that are available to the researcher. For the purposes of this study and the compilation of this treatise, the following resources will be used to carefully select relevant and accredited information:  E-journals;  Physical journals;  Books;  Articles; and  The Internet.

A literature review will then be used to develop hypotheses as well as the research instrument to test them. The importance of the research instrument is based thereon that a destination town belongs to each business and resident of the host community. Killion et al. (2008) explain that although the destination image or brand is primarily created by single entities, it is managed by each business and resident. Sönmez and Sirakaya (2002) also mention that once the residents are loyal to the brand that they may feel such a strong connection to the branding efforts of the destination that the brand will end up playing a role in defining their self-concept and further propose that the residents may even become evangelists for the brand and spread the brand by word-of-mouth (WOM).

1.7.2 Data Collection

A research questionnaire was developed to determine what the residents of George have to say about the topic. An empirical study will be conducted amongst the residents of George using an online questionnaire as well as a paper based

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questionnaire. The targeted sample accommodated the demographics of George and consisted of questions specifically designed to gain supporting evidence relating to the research objectives of this document. Information gained from literature was also used in the planning formulation of the survey questions.

1.7.3 Data Analysis

The results of the survey will be automatically captured on the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU) web survey platform which will be exported to Microsoft Excel. The data will be cleaned of any corrupt information to ensure that the integrity of the results be maintained. The data were then analysed with the assistance of a NMMU Statistical Consultant. Descriptive statistical methods were used to summarise the collected data into a more compact form which could identify any patterns in the data. Inferential statistics will be used to verify if conclusions made from the sample data can be inferred onto a larger population. Cronbach alphas will be calculated to establish the reliability of the instruments.

1.8 Ethics Clearance

An Ethics Clearance request was submitted to the NMMU Business School. Full ethics clearance was granted on 11 June 2015 and is valid for a period of three years, the reference number of which is H-15-BES-BS-016. The granted clearance is attached in Appendix B.

1.9 Document Layout

Figure 1.3 portrays an overview of the chapters as contained in this treatise by way of the ROs, the RQs and the related chapter’s numbers. This figure is shown at the start of each chapter to further elaborate on the specific contents related to the particular chapter. A summary hereof is as follows:

1.9.1 Chapter 1: Introduction and Problem Statement

Chapter 1 provides an introduction to the research topic whilst also providing an outline of the chapters by way of identifying and displaying the structure of the Research Problem, Questions and Objectives.

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1.9.2 Chapter 2: Destination Marketing (Literature Review) This chapter will focus on addressing:

 Research Question 1 (RQ1) to determine what Destination Marketing is.

 Research Question 2 (RQ2) to understand how events are used nationally and globally to market destinations? This will be done by performing a literature review.

 Research Question 3 (RQ3), the focus of which will be to address the question: “How can media and events can be used effectively to market what George has to offer as a destination town?” This will be achieved by conducting a literature review on IMC for Destination Marketing in order to establish the broad offerings that media and events can add to the marketing of George as a marketable destination.

1.9.3 Chapter 3: Research Design and Methodology

Chapter 3 will elaborate on the research methodology used as well as the design of the measuring instruments and selected sample, in order to answer Research Question 4 (RQ4): “How can the research methodology be designed and provided in such a way that the study can be reproduced?”

1.9.4 Chapter 4: Research results and analysis of the Empirical Study

The purpose of this chapter is to gain an understanding of what the residents’ perceptions of George are and what events they believe should be hosted locally. This is achieved by analysing the data gained from the empirical study. Research Question 5 (RQ5) will be addressed which asks what the opinions of the residents of George are.

1.9.5 Chapter 5: Findings, conclusions and recommendations

Chapter 5 will encapsulate the results and elaborate on the findings thereof. It will address Research Question 6 (RQ6) which asks: “How do the empirical findings compare with the literature?” It addresses the research problem by identifying the

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shortfalls between the empirical findings and the literature in order to determine what George can do to become a destination town.

Figure 1.3: RQs, ROs and Chapter Outline.

1.10 Chapter Summary

Chapter 1 was designed to introduce the study and to highlight the main problem to be addressed which is to determine if George lacks a destination identity. The chapter started off by highlighting what George has to offer residents but does not yet elaborate on whether any of the attractions or events contribute in any way to the destination image of George.

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The chapter continued by explaining what steps were followed to try and solve the problem with the end goal being to meet the proposed research objectives.

Chapter two will focus on the literature review of marketing destinations as destinations, along with their drivers and measurement tools. It aims to uncover what Destination Marketing is about and to identify what the essential factors are in the successful marketing of a destination. Further to this, it will investigate how events and media are used nationally and globally to market destinations and how IMC can be applied to achieve this.

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CHAPTER 2

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW - DESTINATION MARKETING

2.1 Introduction

Chapter 1 rendered an outline of the research study by introducing the research questions and objectives and it also discussed the geographic and demographic identity of George. Chapter 2 will elaborate on the concept of Destination Marketing by way of a literature study, the focus of which will be to address three research questions as follows:

 RQ1: What is Destination Marketing (Town Branding)?

 RQ2: How are events being used nationally and globally to market destinations?

 RQ3: How can media and events be used effectively to market a destination town?

The objective of Chapter 2 is to perform a literature study in order to establish specific objectives per RQ. An overview of the RQs and ROs of Chapter 2 are depicted in Figure 2.1 while Figure 2.2 shows an overview of the Chapter.

 The RO1 of RQ1 is to conduct a literature review on Destination Marketing (Town Branding).

 The RO2 of RQ2 is to identify the events for Destination Marketing.

 The RO3 for RQ3 is to conduct a literature review on IMC for Destination Marketing to establish the broad offerings that media and events can add to the marketing of George as a marketable destination.

This chapter will start off by providing the reader with a theoretical overview of the relevant and current literature about the topic of Destination Marketing in order to be able to compare the findings of this research with what has already been researched. Section 2.3 will discuss how business, cultural and sport events are used to market destinations and Section 2.4 will close off with a discussion about how media and events can be used effectively to market what George has to offer as a destination town.

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15 Figure 2.1: Chapter 2 RQs and ROs.

Figure 2.2: Overview of Chapter 2.

Chapter 1: Introduction and Problem Statement

•2.1: Introduction

•2.2: Destination Marketing

•2.3: The Use of Events for Destination Marketing •2.4: The Role of Media in Destination Marketing •2.5: Summary

Chapter 2: Destination Marketing (Literature Study)

Chapter 3: Research Design and Methodology

Chapter 4: Results and Analysis of the Empirical Study

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16 2.2 Destination Marketing

A destination image is the product of all the experiences of an individual and is subject to the influence of many sources whether they be a negative or positive (Araújo, 2013). Destination marketers strive to promote a positive image of their tourism destination region, but the promotion can be undermined due to difficulties and crises experienced in the region which include factors such as natural disasters, wars, terror attacks, crime waves and political tensions (Avraham, 2014).

Examples of destinations that have managed to acquire positive destination images are places such as Paris in France as a romantic destination, Venice and its 118 small linked islands as a cultural city and Rio de Janeiro for its nightlife (Kemp et al., 2012). One of many experiences that are able to influence the destination image is cinema, which according to results from a recent study suggest that films with predominantly negative contents can turn viewers’ cognitive evaluation of the depicted place generally lower and can even affect the aspects of the destination that are not directly depicted on the film (Global & Network, 2013).

The study referred to was aimed at assessing the effects that the film “City of God” had on the image of Brazil as it focused on some of the worst aspects of Brazilian reality such as violence, poverty, the precarious life conditions in the suburbs and the urban war caused by drug trafficking while only one landscape was briefly depicted (Kemp et al., 2012). The results of the study suggest that the influence of the film on viewers’ cognitive and affective image of Brazil and their intention to visit the country is negative. The authors found that the beauty of the landscape and the adventure portrayed in the film were not enough to overcome the effects of the negative aspects portrayed and the results of this study therefore suggest that films with predominantly negative contents are not only able to negatively influence viewers’ cognitive evaluation of the depicted destination, but also non-film related aspects which the viewer might have of the destination already.

In the same sense, the impact of ongoing war in a country and the associated media coverage also make it difficult to promote a destination image irrespective of whether the destination has abundant local attractions to offer, as was found in a study in Turkey (Sönmez & Sirakaya, 2002). Despite its Mediterranean location, its generally

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safe and hospitable environment, general mood and vacation atmosphere and local tourist attractions and hospitality, Turkey has not managed to consistently achieve its tourism goals which may be attributed to the contamination of Turkey’s image by the war-covering media, which in turn influenced the destination image in the minds of world travellers. The study showed that new information relating to potential safety, security and health problems at a destination can lead to tourists removing the destination from their list of alternatives to travel to. Destination image plays a central role in the process of marketing a destination as it has a direct impact on the destination-choice decision (Dolnicar, 2010).

Restoring a damaged destination image is necessary when negative perception can be a barrier in attracting tourism and one strategy applied by destination marketers to improve the image of such a place is by hosting spotlight events which are used to attract various visitors in the hope that this will lead to an improvement of the destination’s public image, even if the event does not necessarily tackle the cause of the image problem (Avraham, 2014). Spotlight events have proven to be a popular marketing strategy as they offer a platform to attract opinion leaders as well as journalists to improve the image of the destination and are considered a good opportunity to draw outsiders that might never consider visiting. According to Avraham (2014) while sport events are the ultimate example of a spotlight event, smaller locations employ similar methods by hosting festivals and athletic events. Creating a new brand image or successfully marketing an existing brand image is essential in positioning and differentiating a location or region (Sönmez & Sirakaya, 2002). The authors claim that by communicating the right message to the tourist, one can enhance the destination’s image and thereby improve the overall effectiveness of marketing efforts to potential visitors. Sönmez and Sirakaya (2002) suggest that such branding can include, amongst others, components such as the destination’s history and its heritage and its culture, but also make reference that the branding strategy must also include and manage the destinations’ stakeholders as this will result in greater synergy and acceptance of the marketing strategy if they feel they are part of the process. Sönmez and Sirakaya (2002) also mention that once the residents are loyal to the brand that they may feel such a strong connection to the branding efforts of the destination that the brand will end up playing a role in

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defining their self-concept and further propose that the residents may even become evangelists for the brand and spread the brand by word-of-mouth (WOM).

The loyalty referred to in the previous paragraph is defined as repeat purchasers who feel a sense of belonging to an organisation and who are reluctant to change even if the competitor has similar offerings. The importance of identifying whether loyalty exists and where it can be found lies therein that loyal customers provide a solid base of regular heavy users who are able to generate a reliable revenue stream and are thought to be the most profitable user group due to the low costs required to retain them rather than the costs associated with attracting new consumers. The loss of this segment of customers can threaten the livelihood of an organisation or destination (McKercher & Denizci Guillet, 2011).

A study conducted in China in 2011 aimed to determine whether tourists or markets are loyal to specific destinations and the findings suggest that individual tourists rarely revisit international destinations (McKercher & Denizci Guillet, 2011). In terms of mature markets some form of loyalty was found, based thereon that overall arrivals from these markets are largely stable. The study was tested by examining year-on-year visitation and repeat-visitation intentions of Hong Kong residents to 11 popular destinations, which identified low individual repeat visitation intention but overall market stability. It found that the profiles of actual and intended visitors were almost the same while those of visitors to different destinations were not, which led to the conclusion that markets are broadly loyal. One reason given for the fact that individuals are not loyal to specific destinations is that they are now more activity-and interest-based than destination-based (McKercher & Denizci Guillet, 2011). Despite this, it was found that arrival figures from mature outbound markets to established destinations do not change much over time which implies that some form of loyalty behaviour must exist at a larger macro level.

One of the criteria used to evaluate whether a destination is successful in becoming a tourism attraction is by measuring the number of positive revelations of visitors to the area. Another criterion is to measure the money spent per capita and yet another is to measure the prospects of repeat visits to the destination (Westering & Niel, 2008). A destination can also enhance repeat visits by offering tourists new products

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and attractions to ensure they remain competitive (Saayman et al., 2009). As explained by Mao and Zhang (2012), loyalty to a destination has two dimensions; WOM and destination attachment (DA). WOM is conveyed either negatively or positively depending on the tourists experience and satisfaction, while DA is predetermined by a tourists’ preference during the planning phase of the visit. The marketing strategy of a destination needs to relate to these two aspects where WOM can play a pivotal role in attracting or repelling potential tourists and where the DA image may need to be sculpted into the attraction or desire that the tourist seeks to fulfil. Marketing a destination needs to either create a new image or maintain its positive image (Mao & Zhang, 2012).

The strategy therefore calls for marketers to not only understand what people do on vacation, but also how they make their travel decisions (Mao & Zhang, 2012). If marketers understand how this affects the tourists’ loyalty towards a particular destination, then it could reform the marketing goals of tourist destinations in the future as the tourist’s preference for a destination can lead to repeat patronage and positive WOM. Another important task of the marketers highlighted by the authors is that of being able to measure the tourists’ satisfaction due thereto that it is directly linked to repeat business and in turn enables marketers to focus their efforts on improving the offering resulting therein that the overall competitive advantage of the destination is enhanced. The authors explain that the tourists’ DA can also be positively influenced by loyalty schemes where they are rewarded in some way for visiting or repeat-visiting a particular destination. The loyalty that tourists have for a particular destination is driven by their preference for that destination, although the relationship between loyalty and preference remains a critical missing link in the field of tourism research (Mao & Zhang, 2012).

2.2.1 Destination Evolution

The destination itself is shaped by the local community which normally progresses through five stages (Litvin, 2010). According to Litvin (2010), this occurs as the community wrestles with the growth of the tourism industry amongst them. The first stage experienced is that of euphoria where the strangers are welcomed due to the opportunities and money that they bring to their community. This then eventually evolves into a feeling of apathy where the tourist is taken for granted and in fact

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becomes a target for profit-making. When the market becomes saturated, the sentiment changes to one of irritation as the local communities then feel that the tourist is stealing something from them despite the fact that they are prospering from the tourism spend. The stage following this is that of antagonism where the tourist is blamed for destroying all that was fine with the result that the tourist is ripped off. In the final stage, the communities accept that things will never again be the way it was before the tourists set foot on their ground and that the only thing left to do is to manage the situation as best they can.

Litvin (2010) states that no community can stay frozen in time and that over time such communities will all evolve to something different from the way things were originally even without tourism. As such, it is in the interest of the communities to plan and manage the direction of their tourism development to at least lessen the severity of the expected change. According to a study conducted in Beijing, China in 2006 and again in 2008, while businesses welcome tourism, residents often are not afforded the opportunity to have a say in the process and as such are more ambiguous in their response patterns and display an unwillingness to criticise the planning authorities (Litvin, 2010). The study found that even in such cases, the passing of time brings greater tolerance of tourism (Huimin & Ryan, 2012). Litvin (2010) indicates the community should attempt to strategically drive the change of the new development rather than have the new development change the characteristics of the community. In this way the destination may be moulded according to what residents deem acceptable.

One such example is the Ocna Şugătag resort which is a commune in Maramures County in northern Romania and is known for its salt water health resort and the refreshing climatic features. The resort evolved from being a traditional balneal resort to a vibrant week-end destination and even though the evolution almost seemed a natural route to follow due to its already existing attractions, the new image would not have existed today if the community did not strategically design and implement a long-term strategy to support the development by way of providing new suitable accommodation and baths to cater for the new sought after market (Marmatiei et al., 2012).

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21 2.2.2 Positioning the Destination

Hsu et al. (2008) identify the context of the word positioning in this case as the position the brand takes up in the potential tourists mind. Luigi (2004) refers to it as the points of contact through which customers get to know a brand because it should trigger the impulse to consider a purchase decision in the customer’s mind. The example given in Luigi’s study is that of Romania which has a wide variety of attractions such as its natural attractions, its cultural and historical resources, entertainment and nightlife, traditional villages and some cosmopolite cities such as Bucharest, Cluj, Sibiu, Brașov, Timișoara. From this, Romania is able to offer a wide variety of tourist products which include cruises, ecotourism, cultural tours, adventure, conferences, hiking and cycling and wellness tourism amongst others. Luigi mentions that despite this, Romania as a tourist destination only has a few known micro-destination brands such as Transylvania, the Danube Delta, Sibiu and Bucharest and recommends that Romania should catalogue its micro-destinations and then decide which of them will be prevalently promoted. Romania should build a strong image containing only a few of the well-known micro-destinations if it wishes to become an internationally successful tourist destination (Hsu et al., 2008).

According to the study, the main attraction of Romania as a tourist destination is the well preserved nature within its Carpathian Mountains, the Danube Delta and the rural landscapes. The four main attributes identified with Romania are: authentic, rural, hospitality and green. With this framework identified, these attributes then become what is known as Romania’s points-of-difference, which are those attributes or benefits that consumers strongly associate with a brand and which should trigger the impulse to consider a purchase decision in the their mind. These attributes need to be such that the consumer believes they could not find in a competitive brand. The study also reveals the specific demographic target market to market the destination brand to as well as authentic traditions and culture (Hsu et al., 2008).

Although the study does not identify how the target market demographics were decided on, the point is made that there are specific target markets seeking specific destination experiences and as such a destination should create its destination image to capture the target markets attention. This image should carry with it a theme of differentiation, credibility and authenticity, almost alerting consumers to be cautious of an inauthentic brand which can be further promoted if Romania provides

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the experiences that live up to the promises made (Luigi, 2004). The positioning should be unique and relevant to the needs and desires of consumers, while brand integrity assumes the achieving of what is stated by the brand position.

Due to the intangibility of the ‘product’ in the tourists mind, destination marketers often use tangible products to link to these thoughts. An example referred to in the text is where destination marketers use weather patterns “to position the destination in the minds” of seniors, for example “warm weather to escape to in winter months”. The same destination could be used as a ski resort for example to a younger generation. Morgan et al. (2005:64) refer to this as “conveying the essence of the destination to potential tourists”, and also cite examples such as Paris being known as a romantic destination and Rome as the eternal city.

2.2.3 Branding the Destination

Brands provide information to consumers and communicate and establish expectations with stakeholders (Massey, 2009). According to Morgan, Pritchard and Pride (2005:60) a growing number of tourists search for new experiences and lifestyle fulfilment rather than just merely to compare which destination has the best accommodation and attractions. They point out that it is branding that creates an image of what is on offer and how it is positioned in the consumers mind and also that it is of critical importance to a destination’s success when competing for a share of the market.

Pike (2008:214) refers to this as Top of Mind Awareness (ToMA), which refers to what it is that tourists think of when thinking ‘holiday’. It is the aim of destination marketers to have their brand at the top of such a list. Morgan et al. (2005:65) say destinations attempt to achieve this by showcasing what makes them unique, such as their geography, their culture, their history or even a combination of all these selling points. The authors say the aim is to link the brand to that which the tourist is in search of whilst it must also be something that cannot easily be copied by another destination.

According to Pike (2008:95) “a tourist’s perception is his reality” and this perception is also unfortunately influenced by disasters. DMOs are constantly challenged with competing against these negative impacts affecting potential tourists. Examples listed by Pike (2008:323) include tsunamis, terrorism or man-made political disasters

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and crime. According to Morgan et al. (2005:63), it takes many years to establish a brand image and a recognised name and thereby a strong awareness of a destination, which can very suddenly be affected by any of these forces. As in most businesses, disasters cannot always be avoided but if not managed correctly these then become crises. The destination brand and portrayed image need to be continually managed to positively manage the tourists’ perception thereof.

Keyser (2009:236) concurs by saying, “the location of the Destination Marketing battlefield is in the tourists minds”. What she adds is that tourism is currently spread out unevenly across the world with the northern hemisphere taking the largest cut and that tourism is concentrated among the more affluent, developed destinations. This does however not mean that Africa or South Africa for that matter are not relevant tourist attractions. Okech (2010) points out that Africa is one of the main destinations for international tourism in the world due to its abundance of wildlife and cultural heritage. African style Destination Marketing therefore seems to be making its mark in the aforementioned so-called mind battlefields to a level that can be seen as a worthy competitor within the industry on a global level.

The DMOs can play a pivotal role in the marketing of Africa and South Africa to the world. Pike (2008:236) reported that it is destination awareness which is created through Destination Marketing which is achieved by way of creating a positive destination image and then ensuring it is positioned correctly to capture the suitable tourism segment. So despite the negative dark elements constantly being associated with Africa, the image portrayed to the world can be positively influenced but will in all probability need to be done from local ground because the brand must be a conceptual product that belongs to its owners or stakeholders as national constituents. National branding is managed by the entities that hold institutional and financial power in a state, but for the process to be successful, all social groups must partake, ranging from business interests, government parties and a country’s citizens (Vujačić, 2013).

This stresses the point that what is being offered to the tourism industry does not belong to a single entity, but rather to the collective whole of the destination. The successful marketing of a destination will benefit its stakeholders but it requires their participation as a collective whole to achieve this success. Van Schalkwyk and Saayman (2006) suggest that to effectively market a destination, the destination

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market needs to be properly segmented and analysed which would make it easier to apply the right marketing mix, the result of which could be a more sustainable growth rate. Based hereon, a sustainable marketing strategy needs to be formulated and maintained over a long term.

The results of an empirical study done in the United States of America in 2009 found that if organisations wish to be successful in the twenty-first century markets they must create appropriate and effective images which are aligned with their identity, which can only be achieved through ongoing dialogue between the organisation and its various internal and external stakeholders. The organisational image management is a three stage process that involves (1) creating, (2) maintaining and if required (3) regaining an effective organisational image (Massey, 2009). Organisations must seek feedback from stakeholders and if needed adjust their communications strategy.

2.2.4 Destination Marketing Organisations

A destination is a multi-dimensional environment which is made up of many different attractions, people, scenery, accommodation and climate. Pike (2008) further adds hereto that travellers from different regions, socio-demographic groups and lifestyle clusters will respond to different offers at different times for many reasons. DMOs are formed to successfully marry these two concepts on behalf of the destination and its stakeholders by developing a clear, sustainable strategy for growth and tourism development within its boundaries. The increasing levels of competition between tourism destinations force the DMOs to ensure that their funds are spent effectively if they wish to compete with other destinations that are trying to capture the attention of potential tourists. Marketers need to ensure that their costs incurred lead to a high return on investment and that their actions result in as high an impact in the tourists mind as possible (Pratt et al., 2009). Their actions can either be focused on attracting new visitors to the destination or they can be focused on having tourists extend their stay in the destination as a direct result of their marketing campaigns. It is also said, however, that many travellers have already decided to visit a destination before being subjected to the DMOs advertising campaigns thereby questioning the influence that the DMOs have on travellers (Stienmetz et al., 2013). They refer to a survey conducted as part of their research where it was found that only 7.2% of

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respondents claimed that they were influenced by destination advertising, thereby suggesting that destination advertising has little impact on the destination decisions for most travellers. The research did however indicate that attractions and restaurants are the two facets that were most influenced by destination advertising while the actual destination choice was the least influenced by destination advertising.

A tourist destination is not a single product but rather is represented by a number of facets relating to accommodation, attractions, dining events and shopping which can all influence the decisions of tourists. As such these items have each become potential focus areas for destination marketers. A proposal is made that DMOs should therefore consider using a facts-based approach in their advertisements of the destinations.

2.2.5 Destination Competitiveness

According to Hsu et al. (2008) there is a strong link between Destination Marketing performance and in achieving competitive advantage. Keyser (2009) has the same viewpoint and adds thereto that a competitive advantage is dynamic in that it constantly changes as new products and experiences are added and removed. Keyser states that competitive advantage is gained by the Destination Marketing organisations which ensures that its destination’s overall attractiveness is highlighted and that the experience it offers is superior to that of the alternative destinations. The winning prize by way of economic benefits is gained by whichever destination manages to directly or indirectly influence the tourists’ minds to the point where it is chosen as the preferred place to visit.

According to Ashton (2014) there is limited research done on the process of brand image development but their own research on the topic, which was done by way of face-to-face interviews with stakeholders in New Zealand and Southland, found that participants considered that brand concepts such as the name or symbol that represents the region should be based on local geographic locations and that it should include its uniqueness, local attributes and experiences, as well as the events and festivals held by locals annually.

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Those involved in brand development should therefore seek to understand how attribute-holistic, functional-psychological and common-unique help in destination brand image development and then they should implement the destination brand-image which will improve the marketing effectiveness by maximising the benefits to all stakeholders. Their research found that first-time visitors to a destination were motivated by the physical aspects of the event and that the event offered them an opportunity to learn about the destination. In order to successfully attract tourists in a highly competitive global tourism market, destinations have begun improving their destination-marketing efforts by creating a positive brand image which touts their unique benefits and attributes (Howe, 2009).

2.3 The Role of Events in Destination Marketing

According to Avraham (2014) events entail several significant advantages for the host destination in that they attract large numbers of guests and visitors who would not normally travel there were it not for the event. Events also attract opinion leaders such as celebrities, academics and journalists who can positively contribute to the image of the destination through the mediums available to them. Events furthermore encourage local residents to take pride in their place and to reinforce their commitment to its image. It is also viewed as a driver for social cohesion, economic mobility, new attractions, sports and cultural facilities. The last advantage referred to is that events contribute to the future success of the destination by creating awareness and by attracting tourism-business developers for future inbound travel. The Carnival in Rio, the Oktoberfest in Munich, The Film-Festival in Cannes, The Snow-Festival in Sapporo and the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras are examples of how a destination can profile itself and capitalise during the rest of the year on the awareness created by a festival (van Walbeek, 2004). The author links this to something that human beings have being doing since the commencement of time where they have developed traditions to rejoice ever-important events in their lives whether it be the changing of seasons, the harvesting of crops or the celebration of the annual month long Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras which was born out of a street march and protest against discrimination in Sydney’s Oxford street in 1978 and is now publicised as the largest gay and lesbian event in the world. Munich’s Oktoberfest in turn claims to be the largest festival in the world,