Keywords

Introduction

Emerging economies, which are also known as emerging markets, are low- or middle-income economies with high economic growth potential. However, they are usually less stable and imperfect with regard to the efficiency and impartiality of their markets due to lapses in their institutional frameworks, which are commonly known as institutional voids (Meyer et al. 2016). They are countries that are transitioning from the developing phase to the developed phase. These economies have lots of potentials and have become increasingly important in the global economy in recent years. Emerging economies have also become very important as tourist destinations. Tourism growth over recent years has largely been driven by emerging economies (Kester & Croce, 2011). Emerging tourist destinations are becoming particularly attractive to tourists from the key generating markets in North America and Europe because they have comparative advantages in cultural, ecological and other alternative tourism products. In spite of this, emerging economies are far from achieving their full potentials, as they are confronted with many challenges, which hinder effective destination marketing. Because emerging destinations have to compete with the well-established tourist destinations and battle with the adverse impacts of crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic, emerging destinations have to adopt more innovative and strategic approaches to destination marketing.

For emerging destinations to achieve their full potentials, they must strive to be competitive in the global tourism market. This requires destination marketing organisations (DMOs) in emerging economies to develop and execute a well-thought-out marketing strategy. This introductory chapter tackles the foundational issues of emerging economies, emerging tourist destinations and destination marketing. The chapter focuses on issues such as the definition of concepts of destination marketing, tourist destination and emerging economies; the geographical scope of emerging economies; as well as features of emerging tourist destinations, destination marketing challenges of emerging tourist destinations, destination mix and destination marketing organisations in emerging economies. The chapter also sets the tone for the rest of the chapters, examining the implications of the issues discussed for destination marketing in emerging economies.

The Tourist Destination

The concept of tourist destination became popular in the post–World War II period when most countries started opening their borders for people and trade. The tourist destination has been defined as a system. According to Tinsley and Lynch (2001, p. 372), it is a “system containing several components such as attractions, accommodation, transport, and other services and infrastructure”. Others have defined the tourist destination as a geographical area (Beirman, 2020; Buhalis, 2000). Buhalis (2000) describes a destination as a geographical region serving integrated services to tourists and composed of a combination of the tourism products or the places with distinct natural attractiveness and properties that may be appealing to the tourists. Thus, a tourist destination is a geographical space in which several tourism resources exist. These include attractions, infrastructure, equipment, service providers, other support sectors and administrative organisations whose integrated and coordinated activities provide tourists with the experience they expect from the destination (Fyall et al., 2019). The geographical elements of Leiper’s (1995) tourism system model (Fig. 1.1) can be used to explain the scope of the tourist destination. The geographical elements include (a) the traveller-generating region, (b) the tourist destination region and (c) transit route region.

Fig. 1.1
figure 1

The tourism system. (Source: Adapted from Leiper (1995))

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The traveller-generating region (or home region) refers to the place where the tourists come from. It is the generating market that stimulates and motivates travel. The transit route region includes both the short period of travel from the tourists’ home region to the destination and other places on the way that the tourists may stop to visit. The tourist destination region is one of the most important elements in the whole tourism system. It is composed of suppliers who cater for the needs of the tourists, physical resources which are crucial for attracting tourists, the management of the destination and the provision of quality service, which is vital for improving the images of destinations and motivating tourists to visit. The tourist destination functions as a “pull” factor and provides the space and resources for tourism activities at the destination. It provides tourists with a variety of attractions, activities and memorable travel experiences.

Elliott (1987) argued that the destination is multifaceted, including service, size, location, ownership, market and, most importantly, the actor-network relationship. Offering this multifaceted set of products and services is, therefore, a prerequisite for creating attractive destinations (Cracolici & Nijkamp, 2008). Ritchie and Zins (1978) identified eight dimensions of destination attractiveness, namely nature and beauty; culture and social characteristics; sport, recreation and education facilities; shopping and commercial facilities; infrastructure; the cost of living; attitudes towards tourists; and accessibility of the destination. Other factors that have been found to contribute towards the attractiveness of a destination include attractions and activities (Ritchie & Crouch, 2003), accessibility of a destination (Kim, 1998), the host community (Kim et al., 2012) and entertainment (Pullman & Gross, 2004).

However, for most emerging economies, their natural resource endowments have served as the main sources of attraction to tourists. Tang and Rochananond (1990) examined the attractiveness of Thailand as a tourist destination and found that natural beauty and climate, culture and social characteristics, cost of living and attitudes towards tourists were the more favourable attributes. Dickman (1997) coined the abbreviation 5As to describe the destination mix, namely attractions, access, accommodation, amenities and activities. However, a sixth element—available packages—has been added to the mix to make it 6As (Buhalis, 2000). Attractions are the locations, people, activities and things that draw visitors to a destination. Attractions could be in the form of natural and cultural landmarks, historical sites, monuments, zoos and game reserves, aquaria, museums and art galleries, gardens, architectural buildings, theme parks, sports facilities, festivals and activities, animals and people (Benckendorff, 2014). Access is the transport infrastructure and technology that enable people to reach their destination. Accommodation includes all forms of lodging or place of stay that caters for the needs of tourists regularly and at any time (Silaban et al., 2019). These include hostels, hotels, inns, boarding houses, rest houses and lodging houses. Amenities are the support facilities or infrastructure that can fulfil the needs and desires of tourists (Dewi et al., 2017). Singh et al. (2015) noted that there are four types of amenities, namely tourist infrastructure (accommodation facilities, facilities for arrivals servicing, tourist information and trails), paratourist infrastructure (transportation facilities—roads and transport points), local facilities (communal and public transport, trade and service facilities) and gastronomy and accompanying facilities (sport, leisure, entertainment). Activities can be described as tourism products that can build a portfolio or image for the country (Sharafuddin, 2015). Available packages refer to the availability of services bundled by intermediaries that promote the tourist destination. The United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO, 2007) has indicated that the tourist destination is shaped by attractions, public and private amenities, accessibility, human resource, image and character, and price. The tourist destination concept has evolved tremendously since the 1990s with concepts like destination management, destination competitiveness, destination image and destination marketing.

Destination Marketing

There is now a recognition that what tourist destinations offer is not just a combination of various goods and services in a geographical unit, but rather the experience of visiting a specific destination (Fyall et al., 2019). Destination marketing is a type of marketing that seeks to promote a destination (town, city, region, country) with the view to increase the number of visitors (Lomanenko, 2018). Destination marketing can be defined as a proactive, visitor-centred approach to the economic and cultural development of a destination that balances and integrates the interests of visitors, service providers and the community (Wang, 2011). It is also defined as a management process through which the national tourist organisations and/or tourism enterprises identify their selected actual and potential tourists; communicate with them to ascertain and influence their wishes, needs, motivations, likes and dislikes, at the local, regional, national and international levels; and develop and adapt their tourist products with the view to achieving optimal tourist satisfaction, thereby fulfilling their objectives (3G Learning, 2015). It is about engaging with key players to drive awareness of the destination, thereby driving interest, increasing tourist arrivals at the destination. Destination marketing is a managerial process, demand-driven research, advertising and communication activity wherein the focus is on enticing potential external consumers.

Destination marketing is now acknowledged as a pillar of the future growth and sustainability of tourism destinations in an increasingly globalised and competitive market for tourists (UNWTO, 2011). Destination marketing as a management tool is a form of market-oriented strategic planning and hence as a strategic approach to place development rather than a promotional tool (Blumberg, 2007). Destination marketing covers all the activities from conception of ideas to realisation of profits. The scope of destination marketing can relate to the functions of marketing as well as the roles and responsibilities of the destination marketing organisations (DMOs) that revolve around customer satisfaction (Roshani, 2020) and as the main vehicle to compete and attract visitors to their distinctive place or visitor space (Pike & Page, 2014).

Destination Marketing Mix

Marketing activities play an essential role in determining the competitive position of a tourist destination; thus, various marketing mix elements need to be optimised. Marketing mix is a strategy of an organisation to do the tasks in offering its product and influence the demand (Bakhshi, 2007; Kumar & Sharma, 2009). Some experts (see, e.g. Kotler et al., 2008; Lilien, 1994) have recommended the use of marketing mix models for decision-making. This is also true for emerging tourist destinations. The classical marketing mix model consists of 4Ps, namely product, price, place and promotion (McCarthy, 1975). However, this has been criticised for not including uncontrollable external environmental factors. Thus, the marketing mix has been extended into 7Ps, adding people, process and physical evidence to the mix.

However, tourism destinations’ distinctive characteristics have compelled some experts to propose other elements of the marketing mix, such as Morrison’s (2009) 3Ps (partnership, packaging and programming). Similarly, Bao (2018) argues that partners, passion and the presentation should be added to the list to complete the traditional 7Ps. Nevertheless, tourism destination marketers need to find the right combination of marketing mix elements to offer suitable products to meet the right target markets and attract tourists. A case in point is the marketing mix strategy of Indonesia, which won the best destination marketing award in 2016 from Travel Weekly Asia. The marketing mix strategy of Indonesia involved the application of a promotion strategy by the Ministry of Tourism, which resulted in Indonesia winning. The strategy applied by the institution to promote Indonesia as an attractive tourism destination was Branding-Advertising-Selling (BAS), which was intensively conducted to significantly project the “Wonderful Indonesia” image between 2015 and 2016. This strategy increased Indonesia’s position on the travel and tourism competitiveness index from not available (NA) to 47 out of 144 countries during the period. Indonesia’s marketing strategy also focused on Bali, Jakarta and Batam-Bintan, applying the 3As, namely attractions, accessibility and amenity. The success of this strategy was followed by the design of an intensive promotional strategy to market ten new priority destinations to target 20 million tourists in 2019. Furthermore, as noted by Amran (2015), the government issued deregulation policies to attract international tourists, for instance, by (a) issuing a free visa regulation for international tourists from 169 countries, (b) permitting cruise ships to embark and disembark from Indonesian harbours and (c) issuing clearance approval for a yacht to enter Indonesian Territorial Waters (Clearance Approval for Indonesian Territory—CAIT).

Destination Marketing Organisations

Destination marketing organisations (DMOs) have become vital for coordinating the activities of emerging tourist destinations. The UNWTO (2007) categorised them into three, namely national tourism authorities (NTAs), regional provincial or state DMOs (RTOs) and local DMOs. Tourist destinations are generally managed by DMOs. According to Destinations International, a DMO is an organisation representing a particular destination and supporting local community’s long-term development through travel and tourism strategies. Moreover, the UNWTO (2007) states that DMOs are responsible for managing and marketing destinations. The main functions of DMOs are marketing and ensuring that tourist destinations remain competitive (Pike & Ryan, 2004; Volgger & Pechlaner, 2014; Wang, 2008) by providing a collective platform for marketing destinations to tourists.

According to Timareva et al. (2015), DMOs play a role in organising and integrating all destination mix elements such as events, facilities, transportation, infrastructure and hospitality resources, based on long-term travel and tourism planning strategies. The strategy employed by a DMO usually includes image building, branding, marketing and communication, with the aim of attracting tourists to a destination. In the rural tourism destination context, Adeyinka-Ojo (2014) suggests that a DMO is a network management organisation that plays a role as network manager (Volgger & Pechlaner, 2014), especially in coordinating with industry and collaborating with tourism destination stakeholders (Wang, 2008). The primary goals of a DMO are to provide mutual benefits for various stakeholders, market the tourism products of a destination, position the destination, improve the host community’s well-being, build brands and ensure tourists’ loyalty towards tourist destinations. To achieve these goals, DMOs need to collaborate and share the same visions with the host community, an important stakeholder that creates a tourism destination experience (Bhat & Gaur, 2012). Overall, DMOs need to ensure that internal communication and socialisation run effectively; thus, the stakeholders hold on to the shared destination vision and are committed to developing tourist destinations (Bregoli, 2013).

The responsibilities of DMOs should include both an “external destination marketing” (EDM) function and an “internal destination development” (IDD) function. The EDM function is meant to include all activities aimed at attracting visitors to the destination. These activities have an external orientation in that they aim to influence the actions of persons outside the destination. IDD activities are described as encompassing all other forms of activities (apart from marketing) undertaken by DMOs to develop and maintain tourism in the destination. The function of destination development is internal in that the activities are aimed at initiatives internal to the destination (Arbogast et al., 2017) (Table 1.1).

Table 1.1 Summary of the activities of the DMO categorised as either EDM or IDD
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DMOs as a vehicle for tourism destination management and development are unlikely to be able to claim too much responsibility for destination management, but they can play an important part in the management of the destination product (Blumberg, 2007). DMOs seek to attract more tourists to a destination. Today, DMOs, according to Čorak and Živoder (2017), have a complex task to ensure sustainable destination development through optimal use of resources and welfare of the local community and achieve competitiveness in a fast-changing social and economic climate. Furthermore, the DMO, as the leading entity in the tourism destination, has a crucial role in promoting a greater engagement of the tourism sector, its industries, as well as policy and decision-makers with sustainable development. DMOs should align their policies and actions with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) (UNWTO, 2019). This will allow them to maximise tourism’s contribution to all the 17 Goals and in particular to the SDGs where tourism is specially included: (a) Goal 8: decent work and economic growth; (b) Goal 12: sustainable production and consumption; and (c) Goal 14: life below water. Within this context, DMOs are called upon to incorporate the 17 SDGs in their plans and policies and to monitor their implementation on an ongoing basis in order to ensure compliance with the final goal of maximising the contribution of tourism destination to the SDGs.

The responsibility of a DMO is not only limited to planning, marketing and promotion but also coordinating various developmental activities (Presenza et al., 2005; Ritchie & Crouch, 2003). For destinations to remain competitive, DMOs must play an important role of marketing, promoting, building favourable images and providing information about tourist destinations (Prideaux & Cooper, 2003). Pike (2004) stated that the function of a DMO relates to human resources, politics, destination policy and strategy, finance and budgeting, destination branding, tourism assets and attractions, destination communication, promotion and monitoring of performance. Heath and Wall (1992) also have a different perspective on the function of DMOs, stating that the main tasks of DMOs are strategy formulation, promotion of stakeholders’ interest, product development and marketing.

DMOs’ success indicators are divided into two aspects: external and internal performances. Marketing is part of the external performance, while internal performance could be measured by coordination of destination stakeholders (Ritchie & Crouch, 2003; Presenza et al., 2005) to create quality, satisfying and memorable tourist experiences (Gartrell, 1988). The success can be achieved by managing networking, transparency, resources and professionalism, which are essential for effective coordination and integration of the DMO and other stakeholders (Volgger & Pechlaner, 2014). In the fourth industrial revolution era, technology development encourages DMOs to use online platforms such as websites and social media to build the image of and promote destinations (Molinillo et al., 2018). In Singapore, for instance, the DMO and tourism board aim to change the image of the country, which is one of the biggest hubs in Southeast Asia, from a “stopover” destination to a real tourist destination. To achieve this goal, a strategy that involves sharing real stories of residents and local experts about the attractions in Singapore has been employed. The campaign is conducted on microsites, exposing potential tourists to cultural attractions including food, and the uniqueness they will experience when they visit Singapore. In this case, the DMO and the tourism board, with the help of media experts, created an original and memorable experience for tourists visiting Singapore.

Nevertheless, some DMOs, especially in emerging economies, are confronted with a number of challenges. Perhaps, the greatest challenge is the fragmented nature of the tourism industry, with varied interest groups, which makes coordination of the activities of various stakeholders towards the realisation of shared goals a very daunting task (Laws et al., 2011). There are also problems with weak institutional structures and government bureaucracy, which result in inefficiencies and delays in decision-making. Waitt (1996), for instance, examined the destination marketing of Korea post-Olympic Games 1988 and found that the government bureaucracy was an obstacle to Korea becoming the leading destination, even though the country had received attention worldwide from the successful hosting of the Olympic Games.

Features of Emerging Economies

Though there is no commonly accepted definition of emerging markets (Arnold & Quelch, 1998), they could be described as low- or middle-income economies with high economic growth potential. They are countries that are transitioning from the developing phase to the developed phase. Emerging economies are also known as developing countries. Emerging economies have shifted from agriculture and export of raw materials to industrialisation and have invested in a more productive capacity. Several countries fall into this category. However, in the context of this book, they include the newly industrialised economies in East Asia such as Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore (Asian NIEs); Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRICS); Mexico, Indonesia, Nigeria and Turkey (MINT); Colombia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Egypt, Turkey and South Africa (CIVETS); Countries of Central and Eastern Europe, including the former Soviet Union, China and Mongolia (Transition economies); and the new emerging economies of Africa, namely Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. Emerging economies differ significantly from developed countries in terms of their cost and factor conditions; their stages of economic, social and political development; as well as their business systems (Enderwick, 2007).

Sunje and Civi (2008) describe an emerging market as a market within the political borders of an independent state that has a lower level of economic development, transitional economy and society, a high rate of economic growth and a huge future growth potential.

Atadil et al. (2017) describe emerging markets in the context of tourism as both emerging sources and destination markets. Emerging economies exhibit a lot of potentials, including a rapid pace of economic development, high growth potential, trade liberalisation and a free market economy. These economies have become increasingly important in the global economy in recent years. Emerging market economies accounted for close to 70% of global output growth and just over 70% of global consumption growth during 2010–2015 (International Monetary Fund [IMF], 2014). It has been projected that by 2035, the GDP of emerging markets will permanently exceed that of all advanced markets (Wilson & Purushothaman, 2003). It has been forecasted that by 2050, the BRIC economies, namely Brazil, Russia, India and China, will overtake developed countries such as the United States, Japan, Germany, the UK, France and Italy (Wilson & Purushorthaman, 2003). This has been attributed to the strong competitive challenge from domestic firms in these emerging markets (Ramamurti & Singh, 2009).

In spite of this, emerging economies are confronted with many challenges which hinder them from achieving their full economic and tourism potentials. These include informality and less developed government and regulatory infrastructure (Marquis & Qian, 2014; Marquis et al., 2011); lapses in institutional frameworks (Meyer & Peng, 2016); inadequate commercial and physical infrastructure (Sunje & Civi, 2008); susceptibility to external conflicts, coups and internal tensions (Hiatt & Sine, 2014); less transparency; state intervention and high volatility of key economic, political and institutional variables (Xu & Meyer, 2013); as well as a youthful population, expanding workforce and rapid urbanisation (Marquis & Raynard, 2015). These socio-economic challenges, coupled with the impacts of crises, have significantly impacted the efforts of DMOs in their efforts at competing in the global tourism industry. Technological advancements, structural changes in the tourism market, economic downturn, war and terrorist threats, climate change, natural disasters as well as epidemics and pandemics have resulted in crises that affect DMOs in fundamental ways (Gretzel et al., 2006).

Tourism Prospects of Emerging Economies

Tourism has become one of the most important sectors in many emerging markets (Singh, 1997). For these economies, tourism has become a major source of economic growth and foreign income (Norwak et al., 2003). The UNWTO (2015) projects that arrivals in emerging destinations between 2010 and 2030 will increase at twice the rate of the advanced economies, and this will account for a 57% share of the market. Africa, the Middle East, and especially Asia and the Pacific regions are expected to grow faster. Compared to the emerging economies, the growth rate in tourist arrivals in mature destinations in the developed economies of Northern and Western Europe, and North America will be comparatively slower during the coming two decades.

As a result of these prospects, many governments of emerging economies are leaving no stone unturned at developing their tourism industries. This is also because emerging markets enjoy a huge cost and price advantage from tourism (Enderwick & Nagar, 2011). Tourism growth globally, over recent years, has largely been driven by emerging economies (Kester & Croce, 2011).

Tourism in emerging markets has drawn increasing attention (Cohen et al., 2014). Emerging tourist destinations have increasingly become attractive to tourists from the key source markets in North America and Europe due to their natural and cultural attractions, which offer suitable alternatives to the traditional attractions in advanced countries. Many destinations in South East Asia, Africa and Latin America offer cultural, heritage and natural attractions, which appeal to Western tourists who are in search of novelty and exotic experiences. Hitchcock et al. (2009) describe this as the search for something different, with tourists prioritising new natural and cultural environments. Emerging economies have a comparative advantage in their natural endowments, including climate, wildlife and cultural resources. They offer a rich supply of attractions and natural resources that appeal to the main source markets in Europe and America. According to Laws (1996), the shift in tourists’ interests towards destinations in Southeast Asia, Africa and the Pacific is a reflection of changes in tourists’ preferences. Emerging economies must capitalise on these shifts in preferences by leveraging their competitive advantage in cultural and natural attractions.

Challenges of Marketing Emerging Destinations

Despite their huge potentials in the global tourism market, emerging economies are confronted with a myriad of challenges that impede successful destination marketing. Tourism-related challenges confronting emerging economies include the absence of a national tourism organisation (NTO), poor coordination among institutions, non-prioritisation of the tourism industry by government, insufficient use of ICT, lack of proper marketing and promotion, inadequate human resources and poor tourism infrastructure (Arshad et al., 2018; Kimbu, 2011). According to Mitchell (2006), the most apparent challenges facing the tourism industry in developing economies include poor infrastructure; poor product development and management; poor marketing; poor linkages within the local economy; poor institutional and technical capabilities; and shortage of suitable, qualified and skilled personnel. The preponderance of crises, including financial crisis, natural disasters and epidemics in emerging markets, is a major drawback to destination marketing. These crises do not only render destinations unsafe for travel but also cast a slur on the image of such destinations. Over the past decade, emerging economies have had a disproportionate share of crises, including the tsunami in the Indian Ocean basin, SARS pandemic in the Asia Pacific region, Ebola epidemic in West Africa and political unrests in North Africa and the Middle East.

The technological dependency of emerging markets (Wu & Pangarkar, 2006) is also a major constraint to destination marketing, especially in the COVID-19 era when almost everything has been moved to the virtual space, and there has been the emergence of virtual tourism and smart destinations. The inadequacy of ICT infrastructure in most emerging economies renders them uncompetitive in the global tourism market.

There is also a problem with the images and the tourism product offerings of some destinations in emerging economies. Third World destinations face major difficulties in creating favourable destination images and are often portrayed negatively in international tourism marketing, especially in terms of context and content (Dieke, 2010; Echtner & Prasad, 2003). Images influence actual travel behaviour (O’Leary & Deegan, 2005), so the association of destinations in the developing world with crude and negative images tend to affect tourist arrivals in those destinations. Finally, emerging economies have not made significant strides in differentiating their tourism product offerings (Shani et al., 2009). Daye (2010) laments that destinations such as the Dutch Caribbean islands are mainly undifferentiated in terms of their tourism product offerings and also in terms of general consumer awareness of those destinations. However, destination positioning and clarity of destination image are factors that significantly influence the competitiveness of tourist destinations (Dwyer & Kim, 2003).

Structure of the Book

The book is composed of 13 chapters, further organised under 3 sections (Parts I, II and III). Part A, which is entitled “Destination Attributes and Features”, is composed of the first four chapters. In Chap. 1, Ishmael Mensah, Mohd Raziff Jamaluddin, Vanessa Gaffar, Gina Alcoriza, Kandappan Balasubramanian and S. Mostafa Rasoolimanesh introduce readers to the concepts, prospects and challenges of destination marketing in emerging economies. Vanessa Gaffar examines the marketing mix strategies of emerging tourist destinations using Indonesia as a case study in Chap. 2. This is followed by an analysis of special events as destination marketing strategies in emerging economies in Asia by Raziff Jamaluddin in Chap. 3. The section ends with an assessment of the competitiveness of emerging tourist destinations by Emmanuel Gamor and Ishmael Mensah in Chap. 4.

Part B, which comprises four chapters, is labelled “Travel Behaviour and ICT Applications in Destination Marketing”. The section begins with an analysis of the travel decision-making process and motivations for travel to emerging tourist destinations by Benjamin Appiah Osei in Chap. 5. In Chap. 6, Eunice Amissah, Evelyn Addison-Akotoye and Sarah Blankson-Stiles-Ocran examine the issue of service quality, tourist satisfaction and destination loyalty in emerging economies. Christopher Mensah, Richmond Sakyi and Mavis Adjoa Forson provide an overview of destination distribution systems and disintermediation in emerging economies in Chap. 7. The section ends with an examination of the progress of information technology’s applications in destination marketing in emerging economies by Kandappan Balasubramanian and S. Mostafa Rasoolimanesh in Chap. 8.

Part C is entitled “Destination Marketing Process and Activities”. There are five chapters in this section (Chaps. 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13). The section begins with an examination of the approaches to market segmentation, targeting and positioning of emerging tourist destinations, with reference to the Maribojoc Bohol area of the Philippines by Maria Criselda G. Badilla in Chap. 9. In Chap. 10, Ishmael Mensah examines the use of homecoming events for diaspora tourism promotion in emerging economies, using the Year of Return 2019 campaign in Ghana. The impacts of destination branding slogans on tourist arrivals in the Philippines is analysed by Reil G. Cruz and Joy Sheelah B. Era in Chap. 11. This is followed by an evaluation of the opportunities and challenges of the “One Belt One Road” as a globalisation strategy for ASEAN destinations in Chap. 12. The final chapter (Chap. 13) completes the section with an examination of the issue of marketing emerging tourist destinations during crises and pandemics by Ishmael Mensah.

Conclusion

Tourism destinations are becoming competitive as more and more destinations look to tourism as the new economic generator, replacing activities in agriculture, mining and manufacturing (Goeldner & Ritchie, 2006). This is especially the case with emerging economies that have to compete with the well-established destinations in North America, Australia and Europe. The fact is that tourist destinations in emerging economies are confronted with a number of issues, including crises like terrorism, political unrest, natural disasters and epidemics, as well as institutional and structural deficiencies, which tend to affect the image, attractiveness and marketing efforts of DMOs of such destinations. Addressing these challenges calls for a well-coordinated management and marketing strategy. The tourist destination is very dynamic and new issues have emerged in contemporary times, which have implications for destination marketing in emerging economies. These include the emergence of new tourist destinations, destination branding, disintermediation in the distribution system, application of ICT, changes in consumer behaviour and collaboration. This book addresses these issues by explaining the concepts and drawing practical examples from emerging economies. This book aims to highlight the destination marketing challenges, best practices and strategies relevant to emerging economies.