By Peter Semone
My colleague Professor Metin Kozak of Mugla University in Turkey and I have recently published a paper on tourism destination branding. We have used the Mekong Sub-regional marketing effort as an example of best practice.
The result of multiple stakeholder consultation was the innovative brand Explore
Mekong, which depicts the ‘last tourism frontier’ nature of the destination.
The abstract reads:
In early 2008, the Bangkok-based Mekong Tourism Office (MTO) led a noteworthy regional tourism brand development exercise, the objective of which was to create a more recognizable identity for the Greater Mekong Sub-region’s (GMS) burgeoning hospitality and tourism industry. This paper provides a synopsis of the stakeholder-inclusive approach taken by the MTO to develop a tourism logo and slogan for the GMS. The branding exercise was part of a larger marketing plan for the sub-region and applied a very practical methodology. In total, the Mekong Tourism brand development was conducted in five phases, each of which is described in this paper along with any relevant and pertinent lessons learned. The paper begins with a section that describes the institutional role of the MTO, which provides the reader with the necessary context to understand how and why the branding exercise was undertaken in the first place. The paper ends with a summary of implications for the practical implementation of the study findings.
To download a copy of this Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research article from Taylor and Francis click here
Further to my post of earlier this week concerning PATA Task Forces, I have received a very constructive and proactive response from PATA.
Greetings from PATA.
PATA taskforce reports are valuable source of information of the Association. Hence, we are in the process of digitalising PATA taskforce reports and to have them available to PATA members in the near future.
This is the kind of results oriented ‘knowledge-based’ activity that is going to get PATA out of its current doldrums and back in the leadership saddle of Asia Pacific travel and tourism.
Some years ago during the de Jong administration, the PATA Education and Training Committee requested that the PATA secretariat produce a compendium of all task force reports produced by the association over the past 30+ years.
Behind this idea, the Education and Training Committee had hoped to promulgate the knowledge contained in these historical reports and thereby reinforce the significance of PATA’s 60 year leadership in developing Asia Pacific tourism.
A first DVD was produced in 2005. Unfortunately, Mr de Jong and his team weren’t able to maintain focus and momentum on this project and it fell to the wayside thereafter. By the time the Duffel administration took over, the project was buried at the bottom of the association’s list of priorities.
Hopefully someone in the new administration can take the initiative to reignite this project.
It would be a crime to ‘trash’ such an important aspect of PATA’s history at a time when the association needs to re-establish its imprimatur on Asia Pacific travel and tourism.
My journal article A Case Study: Enhancing Laos’ Tourism Sector Performance Through Destination Human Resource Development has recently been published in the Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research.
It is founded on the work being undertaken to develop the Lao National Institute of Tourism and Hospitality (Lanith) and provides an excellent roadmap for emerging destinations to manage the myriad challenges associated with developing a competent and effective human resource environment. The key message is that destinations which focus on improving the capacity of their tourism sector workforce can benefit from improved service quality and enhanced sector profitability.
ABSTRACT
Tourism in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Laos) is a relatively new phenomenon that commenced in earnest in the late 1990s. A decade later, the country’s tourism portfolio is dominated by regional visitors originating from neighbouring China, Thailand and Vietnam who generally tend to come in large numbers, are relatively low spenders and register short average length of stays. In order to reap the fiscal benefits of tourism and sustain the nation’s fragile cultural and ecological makeup, the Government of Laos is being challenged to establish ways to shift the balance of its tourism demand to more profitable and lower impact market segments. A human resource development strategy published by the Lao National Tourism Administration in collaboration with Luxembourg Development Cooperation suggests that a sustained investment in people will improve tourism sector service quality, which in turn will result in increased industry profitability. This paper explores the existing human resource environment in Laos’ tourism sector and outlines the required actions by various stakeholders to achieve improved sector performance and stewardship of the country’s fragile culture and environment.
To access the article from Taylor and Francis Online click here.
Mekong, which depicts the ‘last tourism frontier’ nature of the destination.