DM

COURSE SYLLABUS
3rd Semester

TOURISM DESTINATION MANAGEMENT

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Instructors

Dr. Jaume Guia Dr. Natàlia Ferrer

[email protected] [email protected]

Jaume Marin, MSc

[email protected]

Office Hours by appointment – Office number 206

I. RATIONALE
Tourism destinations are geographical areas that are visited by tourists. Improvements in transport technologies, more
open border policies, and the rise of larger middle classes have contributed to the democratization of travel and with
it, practically any zone in the world has become an actual or potential tourist destination. As tourism is an economic
activity and tourism development can become an important source of income for the destinations, all types of
administrative areas (sovereign countries, regions, counties and municipalities) have potential interest in developing
and managing tourism activities in the territory under their jurisdiction to attract and manage visitors and increase the
income and other benefits for their local communities. At the same time, enhancing this attractiveness may bring
negative socio-cultural and environmental impacts on local communities and ecosystems, and therefore, tourism
growth must take these concerns into account. The organizations in charge of all these tasks are known as Destination
Management Organizations (DMOs) and their dimension and complexity is larger, the larger the geographical area
under their jurisdiction, i.e. we can see very large and complex DMOs in large and centralized countries like France,
and one-person DMOs in small tourism municipalities or counties. This course deals with the managerial tasks of
destination managers regarding destination tourism product development, destination marketing and place branding
at local level (small area destinations).

II. COURSE AIMS AND OUTCOMES

This course aims to provide participants with theoretical and managerial knowledge about tourism destination
management, and particularly about how local destination tourism managers develop, market and brand the
destination project. The purpose is to develop skills that prepare participants to engage with destination management
practices in real life situations.
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Learning Goals and Outcomes

Learning Outcomes
Course-specific skills Assessment items
On successful completion of the course, you should be able to:

1 Definition & Define and describe the relevant factual and conceptual knowledge Preliminary reading
description regarding the meaning of destination product, destination brand and assignments & Class
destination marketing discussions

2 Understanding Report on destination product, branding and marketing knowledge Discussions in class &
using clear conceptualizations, consistent explanations, submitted project
exemplification and facts, well-inferred conclusions, and an report
appropriate summary

3 Knowledge Execute a rapid appraisal analysis of a real destination to make a Project execution
application diagnosis and propose recommendations for products, brand and activities, including
marketing field trip research &
submitted report

4 Descriptive analysis Differentiate and categorize the components of existing destination Submitted project
products, brand(s) and marketing strategies report
Develop a conceptual framework depicting the product, market and
5 Conceptual Submitted project
brand structure of a real destination
modelling report

6 Descriptive Evaluate the impacts of the existing configuration of the destination’ Submitted project
evaluation product, brand(s) and marketing strategies’ impacts for the different report
stakeholders

7 Critical analysis Identify and expound on the underlying values, assumptions or power Submitted project
structures of the destination’s product, brand and marketing report

8 Critical evaluation Discuss the potential obstacles for the implementation of the proposal Submitted project
and the unintended potential effects it may produce report

9 Product design Produce a blueprint of the destination product, branding and Submitted project
marketing strategies proposed report

10 Organizational Identify organizational changes or needs that will have to be Submitted project
design considered for the effective implementation of the recommended report
destination strategies

Learning Outcomes
Transferable skills Assessment items
On successful completion of the course, participants should be able to:

1 Communication Deliver presentations and intervene in discussions with a discourse Oral presentations,
that is focused, clear, concise, organized, reflective and critical, that Class discussions, and
shows evidence and is presented convincingly and professionally field trip meetings
addressed to the intended audience

2 Teamwork Participate collaboratively and responsibly in team projects and reflect Teamwork logs &
on their own teamwork, and on the team’s development and Assessment forms
performance

3 Ethical skills Understand and address issues related to inequality and/or social Project execution
justice; recognize contentious moral and political issues; and deploy activities, including
ethical reasoning in grappling with these issues field trip research &
submitted report

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III. COURSE CONTENTS AND READING MATERIALS

1. Destination Management Organizations (DMOs) and the destination product

Beritelli, P., Thomas Bieger, T. & Laesser, C. (2014). The New Frontiers of Destination Management: Applying Variable Geometry
as a Function-Based Approach. Journal of Travel Research, 53(4), 403-417.
Reinhold, S., Beritelli, P., & Grünig, R. (2019). A business model typology for destination management organizations. Tourism
Review.
Morrison, A. (2013). Destination management and destination marketing: the platform for excellence in tourism destinations.
Tourism tribune, 28(1), 6-9.

2. Destination product: attributes & Motivations (Pull & Push factors)

Loker-Murphy, L. (1997). Backpackers in Australia. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 5(4), 23-45.
Klenosky, D.B. (2002). The ''Pull'' of Tourism Destinations: A Means-End Investigation. Journal of Travel Research, 40,385-395.
Oh, H.C., Uysal, M. & Weaver, P.A. (1995). Product bundles and market segments based on travel motivations: a canonical
correlation approach. Int. J. Hospitality Management, 14(2), 123-137.

3. Destination branding
3.1. Destination brand identity
Berrozpe, A., Campo, S., & Yagüe, M.J. (2017). Understanding the identity of Ibiza, Spain. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing,
34(8), 1033-1046.
Casais, B., & Monteiro, P. (2019). Residents’ involvement in city brand co-creation and their perceptions of city brand identity: a
case study in Porto. Place Branding and Public Diplomacy, 15(4), 229-237.
Saraniemi, S., & Komppula, R. (2019). The development of a destination brand identity: A story of stakeholder collaboration.
Current Issues in Tourism, 22(9), 1116-1132.
3.2. Destination brand attractiveness, identification and USP
So, K. K. F., King, C., Hudson, S., & Meng, F. (2017). The missing link in building customer brand identification: The role of brand
attractiveness. Tourism Management, 59, 640-651.
Kumar, V., & Kaushik, A. K. (2017). Achieving destination advocacy and destination loyalty through destination brand identification.
Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 34(9), 1247-1260.
Miller, M. M., & Henthorne, T. L. (2007). In search of competitive advantage in Caribbean tourism websites: Revisiting the unique
selling proposition. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 21(2-3), 49-62.
3.3. Destination brand architecture
Datzira-Masip, J., & Poluzzi, A. (2014). Brand architecture management: The case of four tourist destinations in Catalonia. Journal
of Destination Marketing & Management, 3(1), 48-58.
Zelenskaya, E., & Elkanova, E. (2020). Designing place brand architecture: the potential of a sub-brands strategy. Journal of Product
& Brand Management.
Almeida-Santana, A., & Moreno-Gil, S. (2018). Effective island brand architecture: promoting island tourism in the Canary Islands
and other archipelagos. Island Studies Journal.

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4. Destination marketing – Brand positioning
4.1. Communication: Brand logos, names & slogans
Hem, L. E., & Iversen, N. M. (2004). How to develop a destination brand logo: A qualitative and quantitative approach. Scandinavian
Journal of Hospitality and Tourism, 4(2), 83-106.
Gertner, R. K., & Freire, J. (2018). Impact of place brand names on destination image. International Journal of Leisure and Tourism
Marketing, 6(1), 39-50.
Pan, S. (2019). Tourism slogans–Towards a conceptual framework. Tourism Management, 72, 180-191.
4.2. Communication: Destination narratives
Bassano, C., Barile, S., Piciocchi, P., Spohrer, J. C., Iandolo, F., & Fisk, R. (2019). Storytelling about places: Tourism marketing in
the digital age. Cities, 87, 10-20.
Moin, S. M. A., Hosany, S., & O'Brien, J. (2020). Storytelling in destination brands’ promotional videos. Tourism Management
Perspectives, 34, 100639.
Lund, N. F., Cohen, S. A., & Scarles, C. (2018). The power of social media storytelling in destination branding. Journal of
Destination Marketing & Management, 8, 271-280.
4.3. Communication channels
Labanauskaitė, D., Fiore, M., & Stašys, R. (2020). Use of E-marketing tools as communication management in the tourism industry.
Tourism Management Perspectives, 34, 100652.
Pan, B., MacLaurin, T. & Crotts, J.C. (2007). Travel Blogs and the Implications for Destination Marketing. Travel of Tourism Research,
46(1), 35-45.
Harris, A. & Prideaux, B. (2017). The potential for eWOM to affect consumer behaviour in tourism. In S. K. Dixit (Ed.), The Routledge
Handbook of Consumer Behaviour in Hospitality and Tourism, pp. 266-277. Routledge.

4.4. Distribution channels

Dieck, M. C. T., Fountoulaki, P., & Jung, T. H. (2018). Tourism distribution channels in European island destinations. International
Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management.
Skoultsos, S. O. F. O. K. L. I. S., Kontis, A. P., & Sarantakou, E. F. T. H. Y. M. I. A. (2017). Conceptualization of changes in tourism
industry’s distribution channels: the case of peer-to-peer business models and sharing economy platforms. Journal of Tourism
Research, 16(B), 292-303.
Schott, C., & Nhem, S. (2018). Paths to the market: analysing tourism distribution channels for community-based tourism. Tourism
Recreation Research, 43(3), 356-371.

IV. ACADEMIC ACTIVITIES AND COURSE SCHEDULE

The course activities entail the critical reading of academic articles, discussion seminars, fieldwork during fieldtrip, a
collaborative project, tutorials, and a public presentation and discussion of the project’s results. Prior to the first
gathering in the classroom participants will have read critically a certain number of texts and articles, identified key
concepts and made critical comments and question on them. Before starting to work on the project, there will be a
few seminars devoted to collectively discuss the topics of the course and to introduce the terms of the project. Then
there will be a four days field trip during which each team will gather data in order to make a rapid appraisal of the
destination. This will be followed by some other tutorial sessions where the instructor will help the teams move
forward with the assignment. In the last sessions, each team will present orally the results of the project. Finally, the
instructors will grade and provide feedback to the participants. The project consists of a rapid appraisal of a tourism
destination’s products, marketing and branding, after having visited it, and a proposal of avenues for further
development.

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Course Schedule

Sessions Academic Activities Preparatory Tasks

Summer Assignment on designated background reading Do the reading as instructed before preparing
the assignment

Seminars to collectively discuss the topics of the Come to class ready to apply the knowledge
1-3
course, to present the terms of the project, and to learnt from the designated background reading
get ready to start its execution and to use it in the discussions

Seminars and autonomous work aimed at preparing Come to the seminars with a good background
4-5
the fieldtrip and fieldwork on the visited destination knowledge of the destination to be visited

Fieldtrip and fieldwork activities Come to the fieldtrip well prepared to make the
6-9
most of the experience, do the observation and
gather the information for a rapid appraisal
exercise
Teams will work autonomously moving the project Do your tasks according to the plan set up by the
10-12
forward (independent work) team the previous day

Seminar sessions for teams to meet and work Come to class with a clear and full understanding
13-14
together, and to consult and discuss the progress of the project, and ready to work with the team
with the instructor mates to move the project forward and discuss
progress with the instructor as needed

Public oral presentation and discussion of the Come to the presentation with the discourse to
15-16
project’s results by all the teams be discussed well prepared

V. COURSE EVALUATION AND GRADING

The evaluation will be done according to the official grading scale explained below. For each of the learning outcomes
the level of command will be graded as exemplary, proficient, basic or poor. Both course-specific learning outcomes
and transferable learning outcomes will be detail about these levels of command for each of the learning outcomes is
provided in the rubric of the course.
Activities that will be used for evaluating the learning outcomes are, the background reading assignments, the
participation in the discussions in seminars, tutorials and in the fieldwork done at the visited destination, the individual
contribution to team performance, the communication skills shown in discussions and in oral presentations, and the
quality of the project’s written report.
The course grades are based on the following scale. There are seven levels of performance: excellent, very good, good,
fair, adequate, inadequate and poor. The last two, inadequate and poor do not allow entitled participants to pass the
course and a re-take is needed. Each grade is based on the level of command demonstrated in each of the learning
outcomes in the rubric, and on how many of them correspond to each level of command.

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Course grading scale

A - Excellent: For the most part of learning outcomes the participant demonstrates an exemplary level of command; while for all
the remaining learning outcomes the level of command revealed is proficiency.
B - Very good: For the most part of learning outcomes the participant demonstrates a proficiency level of command; while for the
remaining learning outcomes the level of command revealed is mostly exemplary and never poor.
C - Good: For the most part of learning outcomes the participant demonstrates a proficiency level of command; while for the
remaining learning outcomes the level of command revealed is mostly basic and never poor.
D - Fair: For the most part of learning outcomes the participant demonstrates a basic level of command; while for the remaining
learning outcomes the level of command revealed is either proficiency or exemplary and never poor.
E - Adequate: For the most part of learning outcomes the participant demonstrates a basic level of command; while for the
remaining learning outcomes the level of command revealed is mostly poor.
Fx - Inadequate: For the most part of learning outcomes participants have poor command; while for the remaining learning
outcomes the level of command revealed is mostly proficient or exemplary.
F - Poor: For the most part of learning outcomes the participant demonstrates a poor level of command; while for the remaining
learning outcomes the level of command revealed is mostly basic.