| A frequently observed phenomenon in the tourism industry is one where the tourists visiting less-known(Less Known)destinations find satisfaction and high value(High Value)in experiencing such destinations.Initial data from Ctrip Shanghai headquarters showed that Chinese do use online tools to explore and book travels to ex-Yugoslavia(ex-Yu)countries.Interviewing some Chinese tourists,who had traveled to ex-Yu,revealed shared impressions that these tourist destinations have limited popularity but a very high tourism value.This phenomenon has stimulated the author's interest in the research of the core concept of this article,i.e.Less Known High Value(LKHV)tourist destinations.From the analysis of this phenomenon,this paper aims to explore and expand on theory in tourism destination marketing,a branch of marketing;such expansion can be applied by Destination Management Organizations(DMO)to improve Destination Competitiveness(DC),in Sustainable way,aligned with Marketing Mix elements as macro areas,to gain wider applications.The literature review covers the most important concepts and theoretical models that form both the basis of this research and the core research content.The review found research gaps in the two most cited theoretical models for managing DC,“Destination Competitiveness and Sustainability Model”(Ritchie? Crouch,2003)and “Integrated Model of Destination Competitiveness”(Dwyer et al.,2004),along with a highly valued theoretical and practical guide for DMO-Morrison's “Marketing and Managing Tourism Destinations”(2019).These do not sufficiently address the potential of “less known” destinations via “pair-match”approach: marketing of a destination tailored to a Tourist Target Group(TTG).The concept of “less known” stands for both generally unknown destinations and destinations that might be very well known,globally or regionally,for some specific type of attraction to some tourists in a season,but are not known for other specific attractions to a certain potential TTG.Lack of Over-crowding and increased focus on a TTG would yield higher service quality and satisfaction,i.e.“high value”.In literature,promoting the Destination Image(DI)and improving its attractiveness,along with tourist satisfaction,are confirmed as vital issues in tourism industry.DMO shape the online image of tourist destinations through social media,managing destinations in innovative ways and establishing brands.The main research body is divided into the following four points,distributed from Chapter 3 to Chapter 7,with each chapter dedicated to a specific aspect.First,the systematic steps of LKHV are constructed,from the perspective of theoretical expansion of tourism destination marketing strategy,i.e.Destination Branding(DB)strategy.Academically,the origins are related to the work of two scholars: I)the idea of "Management by Objectives",proposed by Dwyer et al.(2004),which forms the conceptual structure of LKHV;II)the marketing model in Ritchie ?Crouch's(2003)section on "targeted policy planning and development".This paper integrates the essence of these two scholars' work,thus the LKHV model extends DB process to eight logical and systematical sequential steps(0 + 7)as follows: 0)analysis of local resources as the constraint of the subsequent steps;1)define Target Tourist Group(TTG);2)analysis of TTG expectations and competitors' best practices;3)SWOT analysis of destination vs TTG expectation;4)definition of vision;5)establish DB matching TTG;6)DB integration;7)DB communication focused on TTG(online channel).Second,as an example of the marketing application of LKHV model,this paper analyzes the situation of inbound tourism in ex-Yu countries,focusing on the impact via Economic Indicators(EI)such as GDP and employment,with seasonality as a core constraint.Results are statistically significant: Croatia is the largest recipient;EI have significantly high values for Croatia and Montenegro,values for Bosnia and Herzegovina and Slovenia are nearing the global average,while Serbia and Northern Macedonia are not very dependent on tourism.The2016-2019 seasonal tourism trends were calculated separately for each country and superimposed on a number of figures for analysis.All six countries have similar and significant seasonal trends,thus,Seasonality constitutes a major constraint: the peak season is in the middle of summer,while the low season covers most of the year,with shoulders around winter solstice.The low season is where the marketing opportunity is identified.In this case study,the preliminary condition for further exploration of LKHV steps in tourism destination marketing is satisfied.Third,further exploration of the marketing application of LKHV model analyzes the seasonal trends of Chinese outbound tourism,compares them to inbound trends of ex-Yu and finds a high degree of complementarity between the lowest points in ex-Yu inbound tourism off season and the peak outbound travel in China,between January and February.This suggests that Chinese tourists may significantly increase inbound tourism to former Yugoslavia countries,especially during their off-season.Since Europe was the destination chosen by 3.83% of Chinese travelers in 2018,a hypothetical scenario is proposed: if a certain percentage of Europe-visiting Chinese travelers were attracted to ex-Yu,all ex-Yu countries would experience meaningful boosts during the low season.The results confirm the potential significance and contribution to the tourism-related businesses,albeit to a lesser extent for Croatia,given its overall extremely high numbers in inbound tourism and over-reliance on T?T industry.Concerning sustainability,the total number of foreign visitors would be under their average annual values across all ex-Yu thus avoiding issues related to the high season.Fourth,Chinese travelers are examined as potential TTG for DMO in former Yugoslavia countries.Ctrip's Shanghai headquarters' data on Chinese use of online tools to travel to Ex-Yu proves that the proposed application of the LKHV model steps is methodologically reasonable.Based on a questionnaire survey to Chinese residents in Shanghai and nearby areas,this paper analyzes various motivations/barriers to travel,along with their prior knowledge(known,less known,unknown),ex-Yu Destination Image(DI)and their Intention to Travel there.The results showed that 64.72% have never been abroad,only 2.34% have visited at most one of the six ex-Yu countries,while 48.04% lack basic prior knowledge.The DI of former Yugoslavia countries was mainly related to "sports"(25.12%),"history"(19.62%)and "culture"(18.90%)key terms.The main motivation for travel was "general leisure"(40.43%),which was consistent with previous literature research on Chinese travelers.The main barriers to travel were "destination awareness-unknown"(26.79%)and "safety issues"(18.18%).This shows that ex-Yu countries are indeed "Less-Known" destinations to Chinese respondents,with lack of effective knowledge/familiarity as main indicator for neutral Intention to Travel.Since 48.13% use online tools for managing their tourism needs,there is an opportunity for the application of later steps of the LKHV model,of which several rely on online means of branding,marketing and overall customer relations.Finally,regarding COVID-19 pandemic,which halted the world during 2020 and heavily impacted the T?T industry(Chinese domestic tourism almost recovered by Q4 of 2021),the research in this paper found that modified behavioral trends in tourism emerged as strong constraints,concerning Health ?Safety,Mobility,Last-minute trips,Nature,Rural ? Road trips,Demographic shift to young(TTG),Sustainability and “localhood” in focus.Via multiple case studies,LKHV model was aligned with new strategies of DMO in several countries,aiming to boost domestic travel,as a reaction to lockdowns and fall in inbound tourism.In cases of Croatia and Slovenia,the state level government put effort in constructing the environment of “COVID-19 free” brand awareness,while elsewhere this burden was left to local DMO,using mostly online channels.The research had 10 conclusive findings and propositions,summarized in both managerial and theory-building contributions.Managerial contribution: 1)The DMO in ex-Yu region can benefit from this research to a)better understand their current situation,b)approach the Chinese as TTG c)approach other potential TTG and develop local destinations.2)“Less known” destinations can identify a TTG and deploy easy-made online content in a quick and affordable manner.E.g.,some destinations in China,less known to domestic tourists,easily meet the LKHV conditions and can benefit.3)The COVID-19 presented new major constraints/barriers to travel;local DMO can use “pair-match” approach to guide TTG into discovering local “less known” destinations,via online channels for rapid deployment and response in booking,e.g.for last minute travel of small groups,giving “high value”.Theory-building contribution: LKHV model is a Minor Incremental Innovation of Destination Branding Process and further defines and develops certain precise segments of already existing theoretical models in Destination Competitiveness,Management and/or Branding.Minor Incremental Innovation means it is easy to learn and implement by DMO,while innovating existing processes in their Marketing strategy. |
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