Tourist Attractions and their Marketing Communication: Off the Peg or Tailor-Made?

Abstract

This research is concerned with marketing communication for tourist attractions. Specifically, off-the-shelf versus tailor-made communication is discussed. Evaluated were 10 popular Norwegian tourist attractions, selected for a study of how to adapt their marketing and marketing communication strategies to international target groups. Do they work satisfactorily, or are there important development issues? A central part of this evaluation is linked to the basis for marketing communication. For instance, is it correct to communicate the same message to all target groups and segments? Or should a message be derived from the uniqueness of an attraction and the distinctive features of a target group?

KEYWORDS:

• cooperation
• cultural attractions
• fjords
• holistic marketing communication
• international marketing strategy
• Norway
• scenery
• tourism
• uniqueness