Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
that can identify the issues which would then enable marketers to develop
solutions. As Pike (2005) explains, there is very little research anyway into
destination branding, so this creates challenges for DMOs to be pragmatic
and strategic when developing marketing campaigns based on how the
consumer relates and connects with destinations. The research into a general
audience is limited. However, there is even less literature on niche target
audiences, such as family tourism and how young tourists connect with
a destination. There has been little examination of young tourists' travel
intentions and what type of destination marketing activities are effective in
capturing them (Bronner & de Hoog, 2008; Nanda
et al
., 2006).
Any marketing approaches to be considered need to take into account
how young people respond to messages. As Neal
et al
. (2000) explain,
young people, aged 8-16, have the ability to understand messages and can
cognitively digest them with logic or, as Brooks suggests, the 'younger we
are, the more we absorb' and 'our children and their imaginations are like
sponges that absorb information flowing around them' (Brooks, 2008: 8-9).
Lindstrom (2004) maintains it is critical that young consumers are appealed
to through their senses and their creativity, in a genuine and informative
approach. They can quickly decipher marketing messages and determine if
they are sincere.
For this reason the Future Laboratory explained in the
Independent
newspaper (Demetriou, 2004) that 'Sunshine Teens particularly like brands,
but remain cynical about advertising'. One option when trying to reach
them is to involve them in the marketing activity, to provide them with an
experiential approach, a tactic successfully used by marketers in the chil-
dren's consumer product industry (Schor, 2005). Creativity and experiencing
this ('experiential' as defined by Belch
et al
., 2012) is an approach that
appeals to a young audience, especially if packaged into stories (Kavaratzis
& Ashworth, 2005).
Anna Clark, author of
History's Children: History Wars in the Classroom
(2008), expressed it in a media interview as 'they don't just want the
message, they want to think it themselves, too' (Guilliatt, 2008). Clark
detailed in
History's Children
that young people want to be more engaged
about history, culture and the location where history took place. She
surveyed 34 schools across Australia, interviewing 182 students, 43 teachers
and 20 curriculum officials. This was the first time a qualitative survey
with in-depth analysis had been undertaken on this topic in Australia. The
findings that are featured in
History's Children
indicate that students do not
want to learn about history and culture through rote textbook learning,
nor by teacher monologue or overhead projections, but via experiential
learning. They want to read about a place, its history and culture, as well as
experience it by visiting it. This is a premise that could be used by DMOs
when marketing to the younger tourist.
