Destination positioning and temporality: Tracking relative strengths and weaknesses over time

A key goal of the marketing activities for any destination marketing organisation (DMO) is to achieve a competitive market position for the destination. The proposition underpinning this project is that a destination's market position will change positively only slowly over time. A core construct in market positioning is destination image, requiring an understanding of perceived strengths and weaknesses relative to the competitive set of rivals for any given travel context. Despite the importance of this, there has been a lack of research published about the temporality of a destination's competitive position. Studies of a destination's image or competitive position have tended to be a snapshot at only one point in time. In this project the cognitive perceptions held of a competitive set of five destinations in New Zealand were examined at two points in time over a period of 14 years. Results indicated no changes in the market position of the destination of interest, between the two samples. Conceptually, the study demonstrates the value in tracking destination positioning over time. From a practical perspective the findings suggest destination marketers should adopt a long term approach to destination positioning, given the difficulty in changing consumer perceptions. The focus of marketing communications should be on reinforcing positively held perceptions that are representative of competitive strengths.