Multi-Country Destination Development

A Strategy to Stimulate Long Haul Travel to Community Tourism Destinations in the Americas

Dr. Don Hawkins Eisenhower Professor of Tourism Policy

Organization of American StatesTwenty-Third Inter-American Congress of Ministers & High

Level Authorities of Tourism, Lima, Peru. Sept. 4, 2015

Slide presentation in English

http://dtxtq4w60xqpw.cloudfront.net/sites/all/files/pdf/informe_introductorio_de_base_sp_final.pdf

Full report in Spanish

http://dtxtq4w60xqpw.cloudfront.net/sites/all/files/pdf/00_dhawkins_multi_country_haiti_slides_4-30-2015.pdf

multi-country destination trip

A single trip that

includes visitation to

destinations shared

by two or more

countries that offer

and promote a joint

tourism product or

route requiring air,

land or water

connectivity

Collecting places• Enumerating the

destinations visited & community uniqueness

Variety and Novelty Seeking• Diversified experiences

Numerosity• Create a higher perceived

value in the consumer’s mind before, during and after the trip

Economic Motive• Consumer satisfaction –

value for money paid

Lower Perceived Risk• Reducing the uncertainty

risk especially in group travels

Multiple-Country Trip Motivation: Travelers’ Perspective

Cumulative Attraction• The presence of

compatibility between a given set of attractions can create a synergy that makes the attraction power of the combination larger than the sum of its parts.

Special Interest Appeal• A combination of

thematically similar destinations can be the center of attention for special interest tourists looking for a variety of different experiences in their field of interest.

Complementarity• Different destinations can

combine their resources to become complementary attractions and gain an additional competitive advantage as a group.

Joint Marketing• Regional marketing

cooperation with neighboring countries can offer economies of scale and boost competitiveness e.g. Yachting OECS.

Multi-Country Travel: Destination Perspective

Qhapaq Nan(Andean Road System)

La Ruta Maya Slave Routes

Spanish Gold Routes

Forts of the Caribbean Routes

Tourism Route Examples

Jesuit Route

Jesuit Route

Tourism Route Development

Constraints Lessons Learned Development assistance agencies

are country focused and lack mechanisms for effective regional cooperation & community engagement

The major challenge in planning and

establishing transnational cultural heritage routes is to ensure an effective and sustainable mechanism for international cooperation

Planning and management need to be harmonized and well-coordinated; the complete story of the route should be interpreted at all points of tourism interest, even if the visitor travels to only one part of the route.

Community inclusiveness and benefit sharing through enterprise development and job creation need to be included as essential elements in route planning and implementation

Benchmarks that might be adapted to the Americas region is the European Institute of Cultural Routes in Luxembourg & the UNWTO Silk Road

Successful water and land route development requires that attention be given to regional cooperation for infrastructure investment

Recommendation

The Global Travel Association Coalition (GTAC) in 2015 recommended the following policies to stimulate multi-country destination development:

1. Expand transparent visa processes, visa waiver programmes, regional visa agreements, trusted traveler programmes & seamless travel procedures at borders

2. Use new technologies to improve travel efficiency and security. 3. Advance air, rail, sea and road connectivity 4. Stimulate government and private sector co-operation 5. Strengthen public/private partnerships to assure legislative and

funding needs for improvements and expansion of infrastructure

It is recommended that the Organization of American States, possibly in cooperation with the UNWTO Regional Commission for the Americas, bring together tourism stakeholders from the public and private sector to determine the challenges and opportunities in advancing regional tourism integration in the Americas with priority given to multi- country route development that directly benefits local communities

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