marketing cho tour city

Tourism Marketing for
Cities and Towns
USING BRANDING AND EVENTS
TO ATTRACT TOURISTS
Tourism
Marketing
for Cities
and Towns
USING BRANDING
AND EVENTS
TO ATTRACT TOURISTS
Bonita M. Kolb, Ph.D.
AMSTERDAM • BOSTON • HEIDELBERG • LONDON
NEW YORK • OXFORD • PARIS • SAN DIEGO
SAN FRANCISCO • SINGAPORE • SYDNEY • TOKYO
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Kolb, Bonita M.
Tourism marketing for cities and towns / Bonita M. Kolb.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-7506-7945-X (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. City promotion. 2. Tourism—Marketing.
I. Title.
HT325.K65 2006
659.2’930776—dc22
2005022585
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ISBN 13: 978-0-7506-7945-9
ISBN 10: 0-7506-7945-X
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Preface xv
1Tourism to Cities and Towns
Tourism Marketing Defined 1
History of Urban Tourism 3
Growth in Urban Tourism 4
Tourism and Economic Development 5

Economic Health of Cities and Tourism Development 6
Marketing Concepts Applied to Tourism 8
The City as a Product 10
The Urban Marketing Process 10
Analyzing the City’s Tourism Potential 12
Consumer Behavior and the Purchase Process 14
Travel Intermediaries and the Purchase Process 15
Targeting Visitor Segments 16
Targeting Travel Intermediaries 17
Branding the City’s Image 18
Using the Brand 20
Promoting the Brand 21
Summary 22
Strategic Tourism Marketing Plan Worksheet 24
References 25
2Marketing Theory and the External Environment
The Evolution of Marketing Theory 27
The Production Approach 28
v
The Sales Approach 30
The Consumer Approach 31
Tourism Marketing and the Consumer Approach 32
Marketing’s Relationship to the External Environment 33
Components of the Macro Environment 33
Components of the Micro Environment 34
Environmental Scanning Methods 34
Direct Contact Method 35
Research Method 36
Scanning the Macro Environment 37
Economic Environment 37

Social Environment 39
Demographic Environment 42
Scanning the Micro Environment 43
Business Community 44
Civic Community 45
Government Officials 46
Summary 48
External Environmental Analysis Worksheet 49
References 50
3Tourism Product Analysis
Importance of Product Analysis 51
Adapting the Product 52
Core, Supporting, and Augmented Products 54
Involving the Community 55
Stakeholder Analysis 56
Forming the Tourism Committee 57
Conducting a Product Analysis 59
The City as a Tourist Product 60
First Impression Analysis 61
Core Product Analysis 62
Supporting Product Analysis 64
Augmented Product Analysis 67
Analyzing Competing Cities 67
Competitor Analysis 70
Summary 71
Product Worksheet 73
References 74
vi Table of Contents
4 Strategic Analysis
Information Available from Environmental Scanning 75

Information Available from Product Analysis 76
The SWOT Analysis Tool 78
Determining Strengths 78
Determining Weaknesses 79
Analyzing Opportunities 80
Analyzing Threats 81
Conducting a SWOT Analysis 83
The SWOT Process 84
Goals, Strategy, and Plans for Developing a Tourist Sector 86
Consumer Strategic Focus 88
Product Strategic Focus 88
Price Strategic Focus 90
Place Strategic Focus 91
Promotion Strategic Focus 92
Combining Strategies 93
Mission Statement 94
Summary 96
SWOT Planning Worksheet 98
SWOT Agenda Worksheet 98
Strategic Focus Worksheet 99
Mission Statement Worksheet 99
References 100
5 Segmenting and Targeting Potential Tourists
The Marketing Process 101
Segmentation and Targeting 102
Defining Terms 103
The Process 104
Undifferentiated, Concentrated, and Differentiated
Targeting Strategies 106
Undifferentiated Strategy 106

Concentrated Strategy 107
Differentiated Strategy 107
Segmentation Methods 108
Choosing a Segmentation Method 109
Usage Segmentation 111
Business Travelers 111
Friends and Family 111
Day/Weekend Tourists and Traditional Vacationers 111
Table of Contents vii
Demographic Segmentation 113
Age and Gender 114
Ethnicity 114
Income 115
Family Stage 115
Religion 116
Psychographic Segmentation 116
VALS Model 117
Gallup Tourism Model 118
Social Class 119
Geographic Segmentation 120
Targeting Cultural Tourists 121
Benefits Desired by Cultural Tourists 122
Cultural Tourists and Services 123
Summary 124
Segmentation Worksheet 126
References 127
6Tourist Purchase Behavior
Buyer Decision Process 129
Need Recognition 130
Information Search 130

Evaluation of Alternatives 131
Purchase Process 131
Postpurchase Evaluation 133
High-Involvement and Low-Involvement Purchase Decisions 133
High-Involvement Purchase Decisions 133
Low-Involvement Purchase Decisions 134
Level of Involvement and Promotion 135
Consumer Motivation 136
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs 137
Maslow and Consumer Purchasing 137
Maslow and Tourism Marketing 138
Meeting Physiological and Safety Needs 139
Meeting Belonging Needs 140
Meeting Self-Esteem Needs 141
Meeting Self-Actualization Needs 142
The Product Life Cycle 143
The Introduction of Cities 145
The Growth of Cities 145
The Maturity of Cities 147
viii Table of Contents
The Decline of Cities 147
Diffusion of Innovation 148
Summary 150
Maslow Worksheet 152
Purchase Process Worksheet 152
References 153
7Tourism Research
The Importance of Conducting Marketing Research 155
Marketing Research Issues 156
The Research Process 158

The Research Question 158
Deciding on Sources of Information 159
Quantitative and Qualitative Data 160
Choosing the Research Approach 161
Descriptive Research Approach 162
Exploratory Research Approach 163
Causal Research Approach 164
Research Methods 164
Traditional Survey 164
Survey Distribution 167
Interviews 167
Focus Groups 168
Projective Techniques 170
Observation 171
Experimentation 172
Research Design 174
Designing the Research Sample 174
Sampling Methods 175
Conducting the Research 176
Reporting the Findings 176
The Research Report 177
Summary 177
Research Proposal Worksheet 179
References 179
8 Packaging the Tourism Product
The Role of Packaging in Tourism Marketing 181
Advantages Packages Offer to Visitors 182
Advantages Packages Offer to Cities 183
Table of Contents ix
Developers of Tourist Packages 184

Classification of Packages 186
Components of a Successful Package 188
Pricing the Package 191
Breakeven Analysis 193
Distributing the Package 194
Travel Intermediaries and Purchasing 196
Travel Intermediaries Purchase Process 197
Travel Intermediaries and Distribution 198
Tour Operators 199
Conference Planners and Trade Associations 201
Corporate Travel Departments 202
Trade Intermediaries and Information Needs 203
Summary 204
Worksheet on Development of Packages 205
References 205
9 Branding Tourism Destinations
The Challenges of Promoting Services to Tourists 207
Service Characteristics 208
Intangibility of Services 209
Perishability of Services 210
Heterogeneity of Services 211
Inseparability of Services 213
Communicating the Marketing Message 213
Communication Strategies 214
Communication Process 215
Communicating Product Features, Benefits, and Values 216
Branding 219
Successful Brands 221
Brand Creation 223
Specialized Branding Models 225

Changing a Negative Image 227
Positioning the Product 228
Summary 229
Worksheet on Branding 231
References 231
10 Advertising and Public Relations
Integrated Marketing Communication 233
The Promotion Tasks 235
x Table of Contents
Informative Promotion Message 236
Persuasive Promotion Message 236
Reminder Promotion Message 236
Advertising 237
Advantages and Disadvantages of Advertising 238
Criteria for Successful Advertising 239
Creating the Advertisement 239
Ad Techniques 240
Media Planning 242
Advantages and Disadvantages of Media Choices 243
Cost of Media 243
Promotional Brochures 244
Criteria for Successful Brochures 245
Cost of Brochures 247
Checking the Printed Material 247
Distributing the Brochure 248
Public Relations 249
Functions of Public Relations 250
Public Relations Tools 251
Media Kits 252
Press Release 252

Publicity Photographs 254
Speeches 254
Sponsorship 255
Summary 255
Advertising Plan Worksheet 257
Public Relations Plan Worksheet 258
References 258
11 Sales Incentives, Direct Marketing, and Website Development
Sales Incentives 259
Sales Incentive Tools 261
Price Deals 262
Contests and Sweepstakes 264
Premiums 266
Frequency Programs 267
Direct Marketing 267
Advantages of Direct Marketing 268
Obtaining Customer Information 269
Direct Marketing Methods 270
Direct Mail 270
Table of Contents xi
Opt-in Email 271
Direct Marketing and Sales Incentives 272
Website Development 273
Tourism Office Website 273
Website Advantages 273
Website Design 275
Addressability 276
Interactivity 276
Memory 276
Design Process 278

Website Components 278
Website Testing 279
Website Addresses 279
Summary 280
Sales Incentive Worksheet 281
Website Design Worksheet 282
References 282
12 Trade Promotion, Budgeting, and Collaboration
Trade Promotion Mix 283
Personal Selling 285
Skills Needed for Personal Selling 286
Personal Selling Process 286
Prospecting and Preapproach 287
Presentation 288
Objections, Closing, and Follow-up 289
Familiarization Trips 290
Steps in Developing a Fam Tour 290
Trade Shows 292
Personal Selling at Trade Shows 292
Trade Show Success 293
The Marketing Budget 295
Budgeting Methods 295
Percentage of Sales 296
Competitive Parity 297
Objective and Task 297
Difficulties in Establishing Tourism Budgets 298
Working Collaboratively 300
Advertising Agencies 300
Working with Consultants 300
Marketing Partnerships 302

xii Table of Contents
Collaborating with Neighboring Cities 302
Collaborating with the State Tourism Office 303
Summary 304
Trade Promotion Worksheet 306
References 306
Index 307
Table of Contents xiii
PREFACE
Tourism Marketing for Cities and Towns teaches readers how to develop a city’s
brand to attract tourists and their spending. The brand that is developed will
use a city’s already existing tourist attractions, distinctive cultural features,
natural beauty, and/or heritage. These unique features plus the available tourist
services can then be packaged together and promoted to tourist segments,
including day visitors, business travelers, and traditional tourists. To create this
branded package the reader must learn how to analyze the urban tourist
product, target the correct visitor group, research their needs, and then develop
a promotion plan. Special emphasis will be given to designing a promotion
plan using branded events and tourist packages targeted at specific tourist
segments.
What is unique in this book’s approach is that it encourages those study-
ing or working in tourism to view tourism development as a community-based
effort to encourage economic development. Partnering with other city organ-
izations and tourism businesses in planning events will provide the tourism
office with additional resources. Collaborating with public groups will help to
ensure that the community feels involved rather then isolated from the tourism
industry. This information will be of especial value to smaller cities and towns
that do not have a developed tourist industry.
Particular attention is given in the book to the concept of analyzing the city

as a product. The city’s main features, tourism services, and image are all care-
fully discussed because a thorough analysis of the city as a product is essen-
tial to developing a successful marketing strategy. Numerous checklists are
provided of ideas for features and services that can be incorporated into a
branded image. In addition to targeting potential tourists, the book contains
information on promoting the city as a tourist destination to tour companies
and convention-planning businesses.
xv
This book is a combination of theory and practice. The theory is introduced
first, but each chapter quickly focuses on how marketing can be implemented
to develop tourism. In every chapter, numerous examples are presented of
cities and towns that have successfully utilized branding and packaging to
attract tourists. Of particular interest to teachers and practitioners is the inclu-
sion of worksheets at the end of each chapter. The worksheet questions can
be used immediately to put into practice student or practitioner ideas. When
completed, the worksheets will form the basis for a strategic marketing plan.
This book is intended for students enrolled in tourism and travel programs.
Specific classes in which it could be adopted include those on urban tourism,
tourism marketing, destination marketing, and general tourism and travel mar-
keting. The book could also be helpful in urban studies programs. Because
many cities and towns rely on cultural facilities to attract tourists, the book
would also be of value in cultural or arts marketing classes. Practitioners in
the fields of travel and tourism, city management, economic development, and
destination marketing will find this book useful in implementing their job
responsibilities. In addition, practitioners in arts marketing will find this book
helpful in targeting tourists as part of their audience development strategy.
The organization of the book follows the marketing process. The first
chapter explains the history of tourism marketing and presents a broad
overview of the subject. Chapter 2 discusses marketing theory and provides
information on how to analyze the external environment for threats to the

tourism industry and opportunities of which tourism marketers can take
advantage. Chapter 3 goes into great detail on how to analyze the city by means
of the concept of a core, supporting, and augmented product. How to analyze
all of the information from the environmental analysis and the product analy-
sis for strategic marketing opportunities is covered in Chapter 4. Chapter 5
examines how to segment potential tourists into groups based on external and
internal characteristics, while Chapter 6 examines the motivation of tourists
in choosing destinations. To attract tourists it is important to understand their
needs, so Chapter 7 covers the topic of tourism research. Chapters 8 and 9
describe ideas on how to package and brand the city as a tourist product.
Tourism promotion via advertising, public relations, sales incentives, direct
marketing, and websites is covered in Chapters 10 and 11. Chapter 12
describes how to promote to tour companies and convention-planning busi-
nesses using personal selling, trade shows, and familiarization tours. In addi-
tion the chapter covers budgeting and ideas for collaborative efforts with
neighboring cities and the state tourism office.
xvi Preface
CHAPTER
1
Tourism to Cities and Towns
CHAPTER OBJECTIVES
• Examine the history and current status of urban tourism.
•Establish the connection between tourism and economic development.
•Explain the application of marketing concepts to tourism promotion.
• Introduce the purchase process and its connection with targeting visitor
groups.
•Present the relationship between branding and promotion.
TOURISM MARKETING DEFINED
Although marketing is a new field of academic study as compared to such fields
as chemistry and philosophy, marketing is not a new human activity. After all,

people have always produced surplus goods or services that they wanted to
barter or sell. To do so they first needed to find someone willing to make the
exchange. The practice of marketing simply takes this basic human behavior
and plans its strategic implementation.
1
Tourism is also a new field of academic study, but it too is an activity with
a long history. After all, people traveling to visit other places is not a recent
phenomenon. As early as the religious pilgrimages of the Middle Ages, seeing
the sites was always a part of the reason for undertaking a trip.
The marketing of tourism is simply applying the appropriate marketing con-
cepts to planning a strategy to attract visitors to a destination, whether resort,
city, region, or country. While there are many definitions of marketing, the
definition used by the American Marketing Association on their website,
www.marketingpower.com, perhaps defines marketing best: “the process of
planning and executing the conception, pricing, promotion, and distribution
of ideas, goods, and services to create exchanges that satisfy individual and
organizational goals.”
The definition describes marketing as an exchange that satisfies both the
individual (the visitor) and the organization (in this case, the city and its cit-
izens). Unfortunately marketing is sometimes misunderstood as only selling;
with the city convincing the tourist to visit even if they really don’t want to
come. While selling is an important part of promotion, there would be no long-
term gain for a city to focus only on convincing people to visit without first
making sure the city offers the experiences they desire. Even if a city used
high-pressure sales techniques to convince tourists to visit, this would be a
shortsighted strategy because tourism success relies on repeat visitors. A
tourist swayed by a sales pitch that paints an unrealistic picture of what the
city has to offer would most likely be unhappy with the experience and not
visit again.
The definition states that the marketing exchange should also meet the

needs of both the city and those who live there. The city has a mission to
provide for the needs of its citizens, including maintaining the infrastructure,
providing for public safety, and encouraging economic development. There-
fore developing the city as a tourist destination should be undertaken only if
the economic benefits improve the quality of life for the city’s citizens. The
economic benefits tourism can provide include increasing tax revenue so that
more money is available for infrastructure maintenance, attracting visitors who
may someday relocate to the city, and providing for economic development
through attracting new businesses. Therefore marketing cities is providing a
product that meets the needs of visitors while improving the quality of life for
the city’s citizens—the primary mission of the city.
2 Tourism Marketing for Cities and Towns
HISTORY OF URBAN TOURISM
The activities of cities and towns have always been of interest to both visitors
and those who stayed at home. Postcards of city scenes produced in the late
19th century were designed to show Main Street bustling with markets,
parades, and festivals. In fact, when Main Street developed, one of the most
important criteria in planning the layout of a building’s site was to maximize
the traveling public’s exposure to each business (Francaviglia, 1996).
The marketing of places in the United States can be traced back to the
selling of the western frontier to American citizens. Once the railroads had
connected the populated east with the sparsely populated west, efforts were
initiated to motivate people to travel. The “See America First” movement, an
early example of such an effort, was started to encourage U.S. citizens to use
the new cross-continental railroads to visit the west. To meet the needs of
the new tourists, entrepreneurs first built luxury hotels in places such as
Tourism to Cities and Towns 3
What’s in a Slogan? Topeka by Any Other Name . . .
The City of Topeka decided they needed a new marketing campaign to
attract tourists, so they assembled a committee of 11 citizens to provide

ideas on an appropriate brand image. The group decided to focus on
Topeka’s railroad heritage and the importance of freedom, themes that
were to be incorporated into a logo and slogan.
To involve the community in the process of developing the campaign,
the group then requested ideas for slogans from local residents. Good
suggestions were received, such as “Topeka, a great place to grow” and
“Topeka, the beat of the heartland.” Sorry to say, not everyone had such
a positive view; or else they just had a sense of humor. Other sugges-
tions included “Topeka, not as bad as you think” and “Topeka, you won’t
get a lot of unwanted relatives visiting you.” It is not anticipated that the
last two will be used! (Topeka Capital-Journal, 2004)
Questions to Answer
• Do we have a slogan we can use in promoting our city?
• If we do, when was our slogan last reviewed?
• If a new slogan is needed, how can we involve the community in its
development?
California’s Yosemite Valley that duplicated the luxurious ambience of eastern
resorts. While enjoying the natural splendors was the first inducement to
tourism, it was only a short time later that experiencing the excitement of the
new cities, particularly San Francisco, became the reason to travel west. Early
promotional messages contrasted the adventure of exploring the cities of the
United States with visiting the old civilizations of Europe. A good example of
this approach was used by the See America First movement, with the slogan
“See Europe if you will, but See America first” (Shaffer, 2001).
The construction of the transcontinental railroads also led people to settle
permanently in the vast geographic region between the two coasts. These fledg-
ling towns located in the United States heartland marketed to easterners to
encourage them also to move west. Many cities were successful in attracting
visitors by marketing the advantages of their new town in comparison with
other, older, established cities. For example, the city of Wichita, Kansas, grew

from 50 people in 1870 to 40,000 in 1888. This growth was the result of a col-
laborative effort between the local newspaper, businesspeople, and civic organ-
izations that positioned Wichita as a new, and better, Chicago (Ward, 1998).
Growth in Urban Tourism
The recent growth of the tourism industry results from three social changes:
development of the transportation infrastructure, increased disposable income,
and improved access to communication technology. The development of the
transportation infrastructure allowed tourists to easily visit locations that were
once considered remote. In addition, more people now have sufficient dispos-
able income to use for travel, the cost of which has meanwhile decreased due
to competition between companies in the tourism industry.
Access to improved communications technology has also sparked a growth
in tourism. People now have an increased awareness of different countries and
cultures. This awareness can in part be credited to the vast amount of global
information provided by the Internet. This knowledge of other people and cul-
tures, combined with convenient transportation systems and the necessary
income to fund the trip, means more people are motivated to travel to new
destinations, including cities.
These three social changes—transportation systems, increased disposable
income, and communications technology—have increased the number of
people traveling and also the frequency of travel. This overall increase in
tourism provides an opportunity for even a small city or town to develop as a
tourist destination. However, for this to happen, cities and towns need to
understand marketing strategy. Attracting tourists will occur only if the city
or town has a desirable product that is properly branded and promoted.
4 Tourism Marketing for Cities and Towns
Everyone’s Heard of Vancouver BC, But What about
Vancouver, WA?
What happens when everyone has heard the name of your city but thinks
it’s someplace else? When Hilton Hotels decided to open a $73.1 million

hotel and conference center in Vancouver, Washington, just across the
border from Portland, Oregon, they realized they had a problem. To sell
the Hilton as a conference destination, they would have to sell the city
as a location. Fortunately, since the hotel is the key to revitalization of
downtown Vancouver, business leaders were happy to help in develop-
ing promotional materials that would portray a new, vibrant image for
their city.
A year before the hotel was even opened the city had already pro-
duced a brochure with a short history of Vancouver and a map of local
businesses. The Hilton used this promotional material to help attract
conferences. The hotel and the community are working together because
each has an interest in ensuring that both the hotel has customers and
the city has visitors (Nelson, 2004).
Questions to Answer
• Is the name of our city distinctive in any way?
•Does it have any positive or negative associations?
• Is the name of our city similar to that of a better-known city?
• How can our name be incorporated into a slogan that can be promoted
to tourists?
Tourism to Cities and Towns 5
TOURISM AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
The idea of using tourism to encourage economic development is now new.
The City Beautiful movement, which was influential at the beginning of the
20th century, maintained that physical improvements to a city’s infrastructure
would in turn help to improve social relations among its citizens. Of course
the recommended improvement projects, such as civic centers, parks, and
street improvements, cost money that taxpayers were not always willing to
spend. Therefore those involved with the movement reminded local citizens,
particularly those with businesses, that not only would the improvements
make the city a more pleasant place in which to live, they would also attract

tourists. The movement’s supporters argued that these visitors would then
spend money that would increase business revenue and therefore indirectly
benefit all citizens (Cocks, 2001). The same argument is still being made today.
While cities welcome the money spent by visitors, tourism is not the total
answer to improving the economic health of economically troubled cities and
towns. However, it can be one part of the solution to increase business revenue
and provide employment opportunities. Developing a tourism industry can
also change the image of the city, and this new more positive image can be the
catalyst for other positive economic changes, such as attracting new residents
and new businesses.
Economic Health of Cities and Tourism Development
Cities can be described as being in one of three stages of economic health:
economically strong, in decline, or in transition. An economically healthy city
will have expanding business and industry sectors that induce new residents
to move to the city because of employment opportunities. Such a city probably
will already have an established tourism industry because its positive image
attracts tourists. In fact local residents might even complain about the nega-
tive effects caused by the many tourists visiting the city.
6 Tourism Marketing for Cities and Towns
Warhol in Slovakia?
Although Andy Warhol’s parents were both born in Medzilaborce in
eastern Slovakia, he never even visited the city. However Medzilaborce
decided there was enough connection to brand itself as “Warhol City.”
How was this strategy implemented? Tourism officials had nine houses
and four bus stops in the town center decorated in Warhol’s signature
pop style. Photos of the houses and bus stops were then used on the
city’s promotional materials, including giant billboards. Surprisingly, in
a place that was never even on the tourist map, the Warhol Family
Museum of Modern Art now welcomes 10,000 visitors a year (Reid,
2004).

Questions to Answer
•Was anyone famous, or infamous, ever born or ever live in our city or
the surrounding geographic area?
• If not, have such a person’s relatives been born or lived here?
• If so, how can we use their association with our city in promoting our
image to potential tourists?
However, there are two reasons that even economically strong cities must
still think about promoting their image. First, if their tourism strategy is suc-
cessful, it may be copied by a competing city that offers similar attractions
with less crowding. Second, even if the city has no fear of competition, a
change in the public’s opinion of the city or a desire for a new experience can
cause a decline in tourist numbers. For these reasons, even cities that are suc-
cessful tourist destinations must remember that marketing is an ongoing effort.
On the other end of the spectrum are cities that have lost businesses and
industry and are in economic decline. This decline may be because the indus-
tries have become outdated or because businesses have moved elsewhere,
taking with them jobs and tax revenue. The result is an out-migration of the
city’s residents, who must look for new opportunities in other cities. Many of
the citizens still living in the city will suffer from a high level of unemploy-
ment and as a result need a variety of social services. Unfortunately the city is
less prepared to meet these needs because of the loss of tax revenue. To find
the funds to help unemployed citizens, cities often must neglect maintaining
the city’s physical infrastructure. This neglect results in a further decline in the
city’s image.
This type of economically depressed city may find it too difficult to attract
tourists because of the neglected infrastructure and the city’s negative image.
If the city does put its resources and energy into developing a tourism market,
it can result in developing a tourist enclave surrounded by an economically
depressed community whose residents feel shut out from any benefits tourism
might bring.

Tourism to Cities and Towns 7
The Importance of Saying It and Meaning It
“I Love New York” and “Virginia Is for Lovers” both have instant asso-
ciations in people’s minds because the slogans have both been in use for
more than 25 years. One of the secrets to successful branding is to ensure
that the slogan and logo are remembered, by using it frequently over a
long enough period of time. In addition, what the slogan says about the
city must actually be true. Whether the new Dallas slogan of “Live Large,
Think Big” or San Francisco’s “Only in San Francisco” is successful
remains to be seen. However, it may be Columbia, South Carolina’s new
slogan of “Where Friendliness Flows” that will last the longest. Why?
Because the city is having hotel workers, waiters, and taxi drivers take
“friendliness” training so that the slogan will be more than just words
(DePasquale, 2004).
(continued)
Developing a new tourism sector where one does not already exist works
best for a city that is in a state of economic transition. The city may decide to
focus on developing tourism as a result of external influences, such as the loss
of business and industry. Rather than waiting until the number of lost jobs
results in an economic crisis, tourism is seen by the city as a way to diversify
the economy. Because the city is not yet in decline, it still has the ability to
attract the funds necessary to improve the city’s infrastructure. Citizens will
support investing in infrastructure improvements because they understand
that, besides attracting visitors, the strategy will retain and attract new busi-
nesses and residents. A city in economic transition is able to develop as a
tourist destination because it still has the available tax revenue and citizen
enthusiasm to support the implementation of a marketing strategy.
Of course as the tourism marketing strategy is implemented, the city still
needs to be aware of possible complaints from the community about the devel-
opment of a tourism strategy. Usually these complaints are on three subjects:

overcrowding, undesirable visitors, and low-paying jobs. The way to address
the first two complaints is by carefully targeting the correct segments of poten-
tial visitors. The way to avoid the last is by not relying on tourism alone as a
means of economic development. In fact, if tourism is the only option for eco-
nomic development, the city may be too far in decline to successfully attract
tourists.
MARKETING CONCEPTS APPLIED TO TOURISM
The standard strategic model for marketing a product is an equal focus on the
“Four P’s” of product, place (distribution), price, and promotion. However,
when applied to the marketing of cities, this model must be adjusted. The city
as a product can only be experienced or consumed by traveling to that city.
Consequently the product is also the place. Different visitors can consume this
8 Tourism Marketing for Cities and Towns
Questions to Answer
• Does the positive image that will be used to promote tourism accu-
rately reflect our city?
• If not, how can we make sure that the city reflects the positive view
of the slogan?
•What steps can be taken to ensure that the attitude and behavior of
our city’s hospitality workers reflect our slogan?