THE CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES POSED BY SOCIAL MEDIA FOR DESTINATION Research Paper

THE CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES POSED BY SOCIAL MEDIA FOR DESTINATION MARKETING - Research Paper Example This new and renewed focus on the tourism therefore also requires a new and fresh approach for tourism destination marketing as an essential and critical component of the overall process. This has also required the marketers to take a very strategic approach towards the destination marketing and design and develop their strategies in such a manner which can optimize the use of the resource. Social media has recently emerged as one of the key trends in the information technology market wherein connecting people through web has become a new norm. Social media however, also presented an opportunity for marketing by using the social networking websites such as Facebook and Twitter. This paper will present a review of how the social media can actually have an impact on the destination marketing, what challenges and opportunities it presents and how marketers can actually take advantage of this new and emerging trend in the market. Destination Marketing Destination marketing is a relativel y new and unique concept outlining as to how the destination marketers can actually take a more robust and strategic view of the destination marketing and use it for strategic purposes. This view is considered as in-line with the mainstream marketing which is managed as a strategic business planning tool to achieve the overall business objectives. Destination marketing therefore is also viewed as a market oriented strategic approach to develop the locations in such a manner that they take into consideration the overall interests of the customers while at the same time balancing the requirements and interests of other stakeholder groups in the community also. (Blumberg, 2005) This approach to destination marketing therefore views this as a very conscious and thoughtful process which requires a commitment of time and resources to develop and build the locations in such a manner that they can reflect the overall market sentiments. What is however, different for the destination marketer s is their inability to control the product because of the overall nature of the product they are marketing. This therefore also offers them an insight into how to tap the target market in order to ensure that the location attracts the people who are willing to visit it and spend there. This change or shift from the traditional marketing concepts where more focus is being given on the product, destination marketers will have to face a dual challenge of balancing the act between the product and the target market for the product. The focus on the target market is also based on the assumption that different individuals prefer different locations due to different reasons. In order to tap into the different niches which the differences in the choices of the consumers can offer therefore require an strong focus on the target market and how it behave and react to different changes taking place in the marketing. Since in destination marketing, marketers often do not control the product dire ctly therefore this leaves a little room for them to actually modify or change the product but rather use its existing attributes to attract the target market. As such marketers therefore often tend to create a kind of experience which can develop the customer satisfaction and can generate the repeat customers. This is because of the fact that the destinations offer different and unique experiences and each one have their own strengths and