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Bachelor thesis
Destination Marketing Organizations in Europe
An in-depth analysis Student: Sabrina Kamann Student number: 040494 Bachelor program: International Tourism Management and Consultancy
DESTINATION MARKETING ORGANIZATIONS IN EUROPE
An in-depth analysis
Commissioned by
Destination Marketing Association International (DMAI)
Bachelor thesis
Breda, 21st of May 2008
Name: Sabrina Kamann Student number: 040494 Bachelor program: ITMC NHTV Breda University of Applied Sciences NHTV Supervisor: Sjef van Hoof
Commissioner: DMAI Company supervisor: Titta Rosvall-Puplett I hereby declare that this thesis is entirely the work of Sabrina Kamann. Any other contributors or sources have been either referenced in the prescribed manner or are listed in the acknowledgements together with the nature and the scope of their contribution.
Executive Summary
The background
The topic of this thesis is ‘Destination Marketing Organizations in Europe – an in-depth analysis’ and
has been provided by Destination Marketing Association International (DMAI). This study includes an
analysis of Destination Management Organizations in Europe in terms of their funding, structure and
educational needs.
The objective
This study gives a thorough insight into DMOs in Europe in terms of their corporate organization and
governance structure, as well as an analysis of their funding sources and engagement in training and
education.
The research questions
The research questions used as a guideline for this research are as follows:
1. Where are potential members of DMAI situated?
2. What is the general structure of a destination marketing organisation in Europe? a. Do they have members or partners? b. Do the members or partners have any influence on the decisions made within the DMO? c. If b is applicable, how is the election process managed?
3. What are the funding sources for destination marketing organizations in Europe? 4. What are the educational needs of destination marketing organizations in Europe?
The methodology
Secondary research
The research has been conducted using both secondary and primary research: The first step of the
research was to perform a mapping, identifying DMOs on a national, regional and capital city level in
Europe. Those DMOs identified served as the sample for this research. Having categorized DMOs and
identified the most common attributes of DMOs worldwide, that knowledge was used as a theoretical
basis for the design of the survey.
Primary research
The survey was designed to investigate the structure, funding and educational needs of the DMOs in
the sample, including attributes such as overall organizational structure, size, corporate organization,
corporate governance, roles and responsibilities, funding sources, annual budget, budget allocation,
vocational training, educational needs and trade event attendance.
The analysis
The results were analyzed by means of a statistical analysis program called SPSS, first separately and,
finally, by testing relationships between several aspects investigated and their level of significance. The
results of the analysis have been clarified by means of descriptive statistics and graphs, as well as
cross tabulations.
The result
The result of this thesis is a profile of the average Destination Marketing Organization in Europe
summarized in the following typification:
The average DMO in Europe is a public-private non-profit organization, viewing destination branding
and tourism planning and development as their main functions. The public sector is an influential
stakeholder of DMOs in terms of Board governance, partnerships and funding. However, DMOs also
maintain close ties with the private sector, as partnerships and memberships play an essential role, too.
The willingness of DMOs to educate themselves according to developments in the industry is
expressed by their increased interest in education and training. DMOs especially indicated interest in
traditional functions such as branding and marketing, as well as tourism planning and development and
trends and developments in the industry.
Preface As diverse as Europe itself, as diverse are its tourism destinations, as are the tourists visiting the
continent, as are the approaches to tourism development. With so much diversity in a rather small
space it is not surprising that those running the tourism industry differ tremendously, as well.
As a conclusion of my studies in the field of International Tourism Management and Consultancy I
conducted research on Destination Marketing Organizations in form of my final Bachelor thesis.
Investigating Destination Marketing Organizations in Europe provided me with an excellent opportunity
to get a deeper insight into the field and operations of DMOs, but also allowed me to gain a lot of
knowledge about the diversity of tourism industry structures in general.
Since this thesis has been commissioned by DMAI, I was able to accomplish an assignment that did not
only reflect my career aspirations, but also was the assignment relevant to the business world, which
stimulated my motivation and confidence to a great extent.
I would like to thank DMAI and especially my supervisors Titta Rosvall-Puplett, Managing Director of
DMAI Europe, and Kristina T’Seyen, Deputy Director of DMAI Europe, for their ongoing support, advice
and efforts to ensure that I would achieve a successful end result and the excellent opportunities for
networking and professional development at the annual DMAI conference in Las Vegas and the CEO
forum in Stockholm. I also would like to thank Sandi Talley, Senior Vice President of Business
Development & Membership, and Lauren Yanusas, Manager, Business Development & Membership for
their feedback and advice.
Besides, I would like to thank my NHTV supervisor Sjef van Hoof for his support, feedback and
inspirations. Moreover, I want to express my appreciation for the patience of Christa Barten, NHTV, who
helped me a lot when it came to SPSS.
Finally, I want to express my sincere gratitude for my family and friends who have supported me
continuously throughout my studies and the process of writing this Bachelor thesis.
Sabrina Kamann
Breda, May 2008
List of acronyms
BACD British Associations of Conference Destinations
BIT International Tourism Exchange
BTTF British Travel Trade Fair
CEO Chief Executive Officer
CRM Customer Relationship Management
CTF Caucasus Tourism Fair
CVB Convention and Visitors Bureau
DMAI Destination Marketing Association International
DMAP Destination Marketing Accreditation Program
DMO Destination Management Organization
EMITT Eastern Mediterranean International Travel & Tourism Exhibition
EU European Union
FITUR Feria Internacional de Turismo
IACVB International Association of Convention and Visitor Bureaus
IMEX Worldwide exhibition for incentive travel, meetings and events
ITB Internationale Tourismus Börse
ITM Intourmarket
MCI Independent, global association, communications and event management company
MIBEXPO Meeting Industry & Business Travel Exhibition and Conference
MICE Meetings, incentives, conferences, events
NTA National Tourism Authority
NTO National Tourism Organization
RTO Regional Tourism Organization
SPSS Statistical Product and Service Solutions
STO State Tourism Organization
TTW Travel Trade Workshop
WTM World Travel Market
WTO World Tourism Organization
Table of content
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
PREFACE
LIST OF ACRONYMS
CHAPTER 1 – INTRODUCTION TO THE THESIS ..................................................................... 1
Context analysis .................................. ............................................................................... 2
The commissioner ............................................................................................................ 2
The subject ....................................................................................................................... 3
Structure ......................................... .................................................................................... 4
Goal and research questions ....................... ..................................................................... 5
Goal of the thesis .............................................................................................................. 5
Possible result .................................................................................................................. 5
Research questions .......................................................................................................... 5
Methodology ....................................... ................................................................................ 6
CHAPTER 2 – SECONDARY RESEARCH ............................................................................. 8
Introduction to the term DMO ...................... ...................................................................... 8
Mapping strategy................................... ........................................................................... 11
Theoretical limitations of the mapping ............................................................................. 12
Goal of the mapping ....................................................................................................... 12
Research method ........................................................................................................... 12
Results of the mapping ................................................................................................... 13
Practical limitations of the mapping .............. ................................................................. 14
CHAPTER 3 – PRIMARY RESEARCH ................................................................................ 15
The Survey ........................................ ................................................................................ 15
Goal of the research ....................................................................................................... 15
Characterization of DMOs .......................... ...................................................................... 16
In-depth clarification DMOs ............................................................................................. 16
Structure ......................................................................................................................... 17
Educational needs .......................................................................................................... 23
Funding .......................................................................................................................... 25
Concluding observations ................................................................................................. 27
Methodology of the survey ......................... ..................................................................... 28
Data requirements .......................................................................................................... 30
Survey timeline ............................................................................................................... 30
Conclusion......................................... ............................................................................... 31
CHAPTER 4 - ANALYSIS ................................................................................................. 32
Analysis of research results ...................... ...................................................................... 32
Part 1 – Structure ............................................................................................................ 32
Part 2 – Funding ............................................................................................................. 44
Part 3 – Educational needs ................................................................................. 48
Potential relationships ........................... .......................................................................... 54
Statement 1 .................................................................................................................... 54
Statement 2 .................................................................................................................... 55
Statement 3 .................................................................................................................... 56
Statement 4 .................................................................................................................... 56
Statement 5 .................................................................................................................... 58
Statement 6 .................................................................................................................... 60
Statement 7 .................................................................................................................... 62
Research limitations .............................. .......................................................................... 66
Theoretical limitations ..................................................................................................... 66
Practical limitations ......................................................................................................... 66
Non-response analysis ................................................................................................... 68
CHAPTER 5 – CONCLUSION ........................................................................................... 69
DMO profile ....................................... ................................................................................ 70
Suggestions for further research .................. .................................................................. 73
EPILOGUE .................................................................................................................... 75
BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................................................................. 76
APPENDICES ................................................................................................................... I
Organizational chart DMAI ......................... ........................................................................ II
Mapping results ................................... .............................................................................. III
Data requirements tables .......................... ..................................................................... XIII
Sample survey ..................................... ......................................................................... XVIII
Accompanying email ................................ ................................................................. XXVIII
First reminder email .............................. ....................................................................... XXIX
Email: Deadline extension ......................... ................................................................... XXX
Second reminder email ............................. ................................................................... XXXI
List of respondents ............................... ...................................................................... XXXII
SPSS codebook ..................................... .................................................................... XXXIV
SPSS outputs ...................................... .................................................................... XXXVIII
Enterprise categorization ......................... ..................................................................... LXI
SPSS output for statements ........................ ................................................................. LXII
Non-response analysis ............................. ................................................................... LXIV
1
CHAPTER 1 – INTRODUCTION TO THE THESIS The subject of this study is European Destination Marketing Organizations. The topic has been provided
by the commissioner, Destination Marketing Association International (DMAI) in Brussels, Belgium.
In writing this thesis a mapping of existing European destination marketing organizations will be made
(Convention and Visitor Bureaus and Tourist Offices). The DMOs mapped will be analyzed in terms of
their structure, funding and educational needs.
Commissioner
Company: Destination Marketing Association International Contact: Mrs. Titta Rosvall-Puplett Position: Managing Director Address: Avenue de Tervueren 300 Brussels, B-1150 Belgium Phone: +32 (0)2 789 23 44 Fax: +32 (0)2 743 15 50 Email: [email protected] Name and contact details of the student Name: Sabrina Kamann ID code: 040494 Address: Spoorstraat 11 4811BC Breda The Netherlands Mobile: +31 (0)6 42 624 443 Email: [email protected], [email protected]
2
Context analysis
The commissioner
Destination Marketing Association International is the “the world’s largest and most reliable resource for
official destination marketing organizations and is dedicated to improving the effectiveness of over 1,300
professionals from 600+ destination marketing organizations in more than 25 countries.” (Destination
Marketing Association International, n.d.)
DMAI provides its members with educational resources, opportunities for networking and marketing
benefits (Destination Marketing Association International, n.d.). Moreover, DMAI offers opportunities for
professional development, organisational development and business development.
Destination Marketing Association International was founded in 1914 as the International Association of
Convention and Visitor Bureaus (IACVB) to promote sound professional practices in the solicitation and
servicing of meetings, conventions and tourism (Destination Marketing Association International, n.d.).
The association’s headquarters are located in Washington, D.C., USA. DMAI contracted a global
association management company, MCI to develop the European market and run the European office in
Brussels, Belgium, for DMAI in January 2007 (Destination Marketing Association International, n.d.). Ever
since the opening of its European office, DMAI has partnered with European stakeholders of the tourism
and hospitality industry, such as BACD (British Associations of Conference Destinations), in order to
establish and enhance relationships with European destination marketing organizations, convention and
visitor bureaus and tourism boards. (Destination Marketing Association International, n.d.)
Mission statement of DMAI
“To enhance the professionalism, effectiveness, and image of destination marketing organizations
worldwide.” (Destination Marketing Association International, n.d.)
3
The subject
As aforementioned, the subject of the thesis is European destination marketing organizations. Having
opened its European office in Brussels, Belgium in January 2007, DMAI is particularly interested in a
mapping of European destination marketing organizations and an in-depth analysis of their structure,
funding and educational needs. Since it aims at providing DMOs worldwide with strategic advice and
support, knowing about the structure and funding patterns of DMOs in Europe is crucial to DMAI.
Providing workshops and other opportunities for professional development to industry members, it is also
of interest to DMAI to find out about educational needs of DMOs in Europe.
DMAI has released several research publications on this subject containing information on the North
American market; however, there are no publications regarding the European market yet. This thesis will
provide DMAI and its members with an insight into the European market and the characteristics of
European DMOs; the results of the research will be posted on the DMAI website under the resource
section, distributed to DMAI Board of Directors in July and presented to the European Advisory Council in
October.
4
Structure
Chapter 1: Introduction to the thesis
Chapter one will provide an insight into the thesis by means of a context analysis, a description of the
goal and research questions and an explanation of the overall methodology used.
Chapter 2: Secondary research - The mapping
Chapter two provides an introduction to the term DMOs and defines the term used for this thesis.
Besides, it defines the mapping strategy, including a list of the countries in the sample and the
methodology used. Moreover the theoretical limitations of the mapping are explained and the results
described. The chapter concludes with the practical limitations of the mapping.
Chapter 3: Primary research - The survey
The first aspect in chapter three is a description of the goal of the survey, followed by a categorization of
DMOs. The categorization will provide more in-depth information on DMOs and elaborates on the aspects
of structure, funding and educational needs. Thereupon, the chapter includes a theoretical framework,
outlining the methodology used for the survey and the survey timeline. The chapter is finalized by means
of concluding observations.
Chapter 4: The analysis
Chapter four consists of the analysis of the survey results. The first part of the chapter describes the
outcomes and clarifies the predominant responses by means of written abstracts and charts. The second
part of the chapter aims at establishing relationships between the different aspects subject to the survey.
This has been done by means of statements that are examined in terms of their connection. In order to
examine statistical significance, SPSS has been used. The chapter concludes with the theoretical and
practical research limitations.
Chapter 5: Conclusions
Chapter five summarizes the analysis of the survey results by means of a DMO profile.
Moreover, it includes some suggestions for further research and a personal evaluation.
5
Goal and research questions
Goal of the thesis
The goal of the thesis is for DMAI to get a better insight in European destination marketing organizations.
This goal will be achieved by means of a mapping of destination marketing organizations in Europe. The
knowledge obtained through the mapping will be used to develop a database together with DMAI.
Besides, the thesis will contain an in-depth analysis of destination marketing organizations in terms of
their structure, funding and educational needs, the goal of which is a clear profile of European destination
marketing organizations. The results of the analysis will be presented at the DMAI European Advisory
Council. The European Advisory Council has been established by DMAI and serves as a consultancy
group to the DMAI regarding European affairs and education delivery strategy (Destination Marketing
Association International, 2007).
Possible result
Ideally, the outcome of the research will provide DMAI with a clear profile of destination marketing
organizations in Europe and can serve as a tool to further develop relationships with destination
marketing associations or provide an insight into trends and developments in the industry regarding
educational needs.
Research questions
Based on the research topic provided, the following research questions can be formulated:
1. Where are potential members of DMAI situated?
2. What is the general structure of a destination marketing organisation in Europe? a. Do they have members or partners? b. Do the members or partners have any influence on the decisions made within the DMO? c. If b is applicable, how is the election process managed?
3. What are the funding sources for destination marketing organizations in Europe? 4. What are the educational needs of destination marketing organizations in Europe?
Please note that the questions listed above reflect the general outline of the research. However, the
survey will contain further and more specific questions about aspects relating to the structure, strategic
issues, funding and educational needs of destination marketing organizations in Europe.
6
Methodology Thesis preparation
In order to begin the thesis well prepared and with a broader picture of destination marketing DMAI
provided subject related literature; the books to be read prior to my thesis are “Fundamentals in
Destination Management & Marketing” by Rich Harrill, Ph.D. and “ Destination BrandScienceTM” by Duane
Knapp & Gary Sherwin.
i. Mapping
The mapping of destination marketing organizations in Europe will serve as the basis for all further
research to be conducted within the framework of my thesis.
The mapping will be done to gain a clear insight into the locations of potential members for DMAI,
therefore, all destination marketing organizations in Europe.
Related research question:
1. Where are potential members of DMAI situated?
Research methods:
Desk research: DMAI database
Field research: Internet; websites of DMOs
ii. In-depth analysis
a. The survey
The in-depth analysis will be conducted by means of a survey. The questionnaire will be designed to gain
information on destination marketing organizations regarding their structure, funding and educational
needs. It will be distributed to DMOs listed in DMAI’s database and to those located within the scope of
the mapping.
Related research questions:
2. What is the general structure of a destination marketing organisation in Europe?
a. Do they have members or partners?
b. Do the members or partners have any influence on the decisions made within the DMO?
c. If b is applicable, how is the election process managed?
3. What are the funding sources for destination marketing organizations in Europe?
4. What are the educational needs of destination marketing organizations in Europe?
Research methods:
Field research: Qualitative and quantitative (open and closed questions)
7
b. The analysis
Having distributed the surveys to the various DMOs in Europe, a follow-up will be undertaken within the
duration of the questionnaire. This will be done by means of follow–up emails. Once the deadline set has
been reached, the data will be analysed and a report reflecting all representative results will be
composed. The data will be analysed by means of SPSS, which is a software program used for statistical
analysis: It enables data management, examines potential relationships between data and allows the
prediction of trends and enables strategic management decisions.
It can be assumed that the response rate of the survey will be rather high, since the DMOs targeted also
benefit from the outcome of this research: DMAI will be able to better fulfil DMOs’ needs and develop and
strengthen relationships, which finally will contribute positively to the benefits DMOs obtain through their
membership with DMAI.
8
CHAPTER 2 – SECONDARY RESEARCH
Introduction to the term DMO “By 2012, the Destination Management Organization will be the dominant, most influential and most
respected force behind the world’s largest industry, or…not exist at all.” (Mintel, 2005)
According to Michael Gehrisch, CEO and President of DMAI, Destination Marketing Organizations,
synonymous with Convention and Visitor Bureaus (CVBs), “serve as a coordinating entity, bringing
together diverse community stakeholders to attract visitors to their area.” (Gehrisch, 2005). Moreover,
Gehrisch claims all CVBs to have the “overall mission of promoting long-term development and marketing
of a destination.” (Gehrisch, 2005). Gehrisch states that a CVB “Creates a brand for the entire
community”, to get the destination “into the public’s consciousness, creating a continuous awareness of
and demand for the ‘product’.” (Gehrisch, 2005)
According to the Mintel report “Destination Marketing – International – April 2005”, DMOs can be
understood as umbrella organizations, comprising the following organizations:
o National Tourism organizations o Regional/provincial state tourist organizations o City tourism organizations o Coastal resort organizations o Ski or other sport organizations (Mintel, 2005)
Figure 1
According to the World Tourism Organization (WTO), DMOs can be
assigned to three different categories: DMOs on a national level, also
often called National Tourism Organization (NTO) or Authority (NTA),
DMOs on a regional level, Regional Tourism Organizations (RTOs), and
DMOs on a local level that serve a city or rather small geographic area
(World Tourism Organization, 2007).
In chapter 1 of the book ‘Fundamentals of Destinations Management and
Marketing’, Bill Geist points out, that CVBs serve two main groups of
stakeholders in the industry: The customers, being leisure travelers and
group planners, and their clients, members of CVBs or partners or
businesses in the areas (Geist, 2005). Depending on each stakeholder’s characteristics, a CVB or DMO
is to provide adequate services in order to fulfill the customers’ or clients’ needs and expectations and,
therefore, stimulate a positive reputation of the destination.
9
Despite marketing being the main function of DMOs, Michael Gehrisch claims that there is a “general shift
in the industry away from a narrow focus on marketing towards a more comprehensive approach
emphasizing planning and development, as well as marketing.” (Gehrisch, The contemporrary bureau,
2005).
This aspect is also expressed in the Mintel report, stating that DMOs act as “facilitators, taking a ‘bird’s
eye view’ of the destination and fulfilling the role of an umbrella organization.” (Mintel,
2005).
In the report it is stated that several keynote speakers at the ENTER051 conference claimed that DMOs
should be regarded as “master planners” (Mintel, 2005). This statement accords with the aforementioned
shift recognized by CEO Michael Gehrisch.
The World Tourism Organization also recognizes the increasing roles and responsibilities of a DMO and
points out that a DMO’s main task “should be to lead and coordinate activities under a coherent strategy.
They do not control the activities of their partners but bring together resources and expertise and a
degree of independence and objectivity to lead the way forward.” (World Tourism Organization, 2007).
Moreover, the WTO states that “though DMOs have typically undertaken marketing activities, their remit
is becoming far broader, to become a strategic leader in destination development.” (World Tourism
Organization, 2007). A more detailed elaboration on the roles and responsibilities of DMOs can be found
in chapter 3.
As cited in the Mintel report, Professor D Fesenmaier, described the six main characteristics of DMOs: He
claims DMOs to be responsible for the promotion of a destination, while the destination is understood to
be comprised “of a large number of small enterprises, of which most do not cooperate”. Secondly,
Fesenmaier points out that DMOs “do not own or manage any physical resources beyond, perhaps, a
convention centre or similar facility”, meaning they cannot claim any ownership rights of the destination
itself. Thirdly, he states that DMOs are confronted with the challenge of communicating a consistent
image of the destination, in order to ensure the visitors’ “seamless experience”. However, he claims that
DMOs are not necessarily responsible of selling products, which complicates the aspect of performance
management, and, therefore, the success of a DMO. Fesenmaier points out, that DMOs “are largely
governed by political forces, controlled by boards that are out of touch with the challenges facing the
DMOs”. Besides he emphasizes on the struggles DMOs face when in terms of acquiring funding schemes
and grants to finance their operations (Mintel, 2005).
1 = Conference organized by the International Federation for Information Technology and Travel & Tourism (IFITT), www.ifitt.org/enter
10
Taking the aforementioned shift into consideration and in order to clarify the term DMO for the context of
this thesis, the following definition has been chosen:
“Destination Management Organization – Organizations that lead a community’s hospitality and
tourism industry and are often a driving force behind local economic development plans. These groups
are occasionally called destination marketing organizations, but have moved to a more holistic approach
that now includes, research, human resources and technology.” (van Harssel, 2005)
In line with the definition chosen, the terms ‘Destination Management Organization’ and ‘Destination
Marketing Organization’ will be used interchangeably throughout this thesis.
11
Mapping strategy As aforementioned in chapter 1, the first part of this thesis consists of a mapping of Destination
Management Organizations (DMOs) in Europe.
DMOs of the following types will be included in this research:
o National Tourism organizations o Regional/provincial state tourist organizations o Capital city tourism organizations
The mapping will be conducted investigating the DMOs of the following European countries:
EU-members
Non-EU members
Candidate EU countries
Austria Al Albania Croatia
Belgium Andorra Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
Bulgaria Armenia Turkey
Cyprus Azerbaijan (European Union, n.d.)
Czech Republic Belarus
Denmark Bosnia and Herzegovina
Estonia Georgia
Finland Iceland
France Liechtenstein
Germany Moldova
Greece Monaco
Hungary Montenegro
Ireland Norway
Italy Russia
Latvia San Marino
Lithuania Serbia
Luxembourg Switzerland
Malta Ukraine
Netherlands Vatican City State
Poland (European Union, n.d.)
Portugal
Romania
Slovakia
Slovenia
Spain
Sweden
United Kingdom
(European Union, n.d.)
12
Theoretical limitations of the mapping
Due to the limited timeframe allocated to the mapping process the mapping will only include a country’s
DMO on a national level, those on the regional level and the capital city level. DMOs listed on websites as
regional tourism boards represent the regional level. However, depending on the country’s tourism
industry structure, there are provincial DMOs or State Tourism Organizations (STOs) rather than regional
institutions. The adequate organizations have been chosen according to the listings on NTO
organizations’ websites and their compliance with the definition of DMOs as mentioned earlier in this
chapter.
By means of this holistic approach and the rather broad scope of the research, DMOs of each level will be
investigated, ensuring a thorough and representative insight into the DMOs of each country in terms of
their structure, funding and educational needs. In some countries, DMOs and CVBs are separate
institutions. In that case, the CVBs of a country and the capital city have been mapped as well.
However, another limitation relating to the scope of this research refers to language barriers. The
mapping will only be conducted including websites with information provided in English, German or
Dutch. This will contribute to the validity of the research in terms of the organization’s compliance with the
definition of DMOs subject to this thesis.
Goal of the mapping
The goal of the mapping is to obtain contact information of each national, regional and capital city DMO of
each country listed above, containing the full name of the DMO, mailing address, website address and
telephone numbers. When provided on the website, the mapping will also list contact details of the
relevant department (destination marketing, branding).
The information obtained through this mapping will serve as a basis for the second part of this thesis,
namely the DMO survey. The DMOs identified through this mapping will be the sample for the survey.
Research method
The mapping has been conducted by means of desk research, using the internet as the primary source.
Websites of state tourism organizations, regional tourism organizations, CVBs and tourism boards have
been searched in order to obtain the relevant information.
The related research question is: Where are potential members of DMAI situated?
13
Results of the mapping
In total the national, regional and capital city DMOs of 49 countries have been mapped, their contact
details, consisting of the full name of the organization, postal address, postcode, city, website address,
email address and telephone numbers have been obtained. A total of 337 addresses have been found
and will serve as the sample for the survey subject to this thesis. The complete mapping results can be
found in the appendices on page III.
14
Practical limitations of the mapping
Language barriers
The main difficulty encountered during the mapping process related to language barriers: Especially
websites of regional tourist organizations and DMOs of Eastern or Central European states were in the
national language only, so that it was not always clear, whether the particular website represented the
desired institution responsible for tourism in that area. Therefore, the information of some
regional/provincial DMOs might not be complete or not included in the results of the mapping. Examples
of the respective countries are Estonia, Latvia, Poland and several countries not belonging to the
European Union, as for instance Russia. Surprisingly, Italy, being one of the countries with the oldest and
most developed tourism industry, could only partly exhibit regional DMO websites in languages other than
the language of the country.
Different industry structures in different countries
This research limitation refers to the different stages of tourism industry development in each country. In
Western and Southern European countries, tourism development is rather advanced. Each DMO at each
level, national, regional, capital city, has its own website, clearly outlining their DMOs’ fields of operations
and contact details. Therefore, information on those particular DMOs is rather complete. However,
countries with a less developed tourism industry, often only seem to have one national department or
institution responsible for tourism development, planning and marketing of the destination country. In that
case, the only institution available has been included in the mapping. Examples of the respective
countries are Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Slovenia, Lithuania, Latvia, Romania and almost all countries not
belonging to the European Union, with Switzerland, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Monaco being the main
exceptions and providing complete and informative DMO websites in several languages.
Incomplete websites
Not all website guaranteed complete information on the DMO and their contact details. Therefore, not all
contact information could be obtained. In some cases, only email contact information was provided on the
website. Therefore, not all information on each DMO consists of all contact details described above. Due
to the limited timeframe it was impossible to contact every respective DMO. Examples of respective DMO
websites are the websites of Greece, Latvia, Romania and most of the non-EU member countries.
Limited timeframe
As aforementioned in the section on ‘Limitations of this thesis’, a limited timeframe has been allocated to
the mapping process. Therefore, only DMOs on a national, regional and capital city level have been
included in this mapping. Consequently, the results of this mapping, serving as a basis for the following
step of the thesis, will only be representative of a certain amount of DMOs per country, but not all
European DMOs.
15
CHAPTER 3 – PRIMARY RESEARCH
The Survey The second part of this thesis deals with the analysis of the DMOs identified during the mapping process.
This is done by means of a questionnaire that will be distributed to all European DMOs included in the
mapping. The questionnaire will investigate aspects relating to the structure, funding and educational
needs of Destination Management Organizations in Europe. Each of these aspects will be investigated in
detail by means of in-depth questions clarifying the respective attributes.
Goal of the research
The overall goal of this thesis is for DMAI to get a better insight into the structure, funding and educational
needs of Destination Marketing Organizations in Europe.
16
Characterization of DMOs This characterization provides an insight into DMOs in terms of their roles and responsibilities. Moreover,
it clarifies DMOs in terms of their structure, funding schemes and educational needs based on information
obtained from relevant technical literature. This chapter serves as a theoretical basis for the survey.
In-depth clarification DMOs
As already defined in chapter 2, DMOs are “Organizations that lead a community’s hospitality and tourism
industry and are often a driving force behind local economic development plans. These groups are
occasionally called destination marketing organizations, but have moved to a more holistic approach that
now includes, research, human resources and technology.” (van Harssel, 2005)
The three different categories of DMOs all have similar roles and responsibilities. However, it is often the
case that the operations of DMOs on the local level, or sometimes regional level, are subordinate to the
operations and decisions of DMOs on the national or regional level. As it is clarified in the table below,
DMOs on a national level decide on the overall strategic directions a country’s tourism industry is to
pursue. Moreover, it decides on the desired image a country wants to communicate and the related
promotional activities. However, tasks such as strategy, research and development take place on all three
levels of tourism destination management. Besides, it is remarkable that most responsibilities relating to
tourism destination management are being executed on the local level.
Table 1: Typical roles and responsibilities – Natio nal, provincial/regional, local National Provincial/Regional Local
Destination promotion, including branding and image
√ √
Campaigns to drive business, particularly to SMMEs √ √ √
Unbiased information services √ √ √
Operation/facilitation of bookings √
Destination coordination and management √
Visitor information and reservations √
Training and education √ √ Business advice √ √ Product ‘start -ups’ √ √ Events development and management √
Attractions development and management √
Strategy, Research and development √ √ √
(World Tourism Organization, 2007)
17
Flanagan, Mangan and O’Connor state in the book “Tourism Destination Marketing – Gaining the
Competitive Edge”, that the main goal of a Regional Tourism Organization (RTO) is to attract tourists to
their specific geographic region (Dr. Flanagan & Ruddy, 2000). This certainly holds true for DMOs on
each level and should be an integrated part of the vision and mission statement.
Structure
General structure
“There is a plethora of DMO structures, with no widely accepted model”.
Steven Pike claims in his book “Destination Marketing Organizations” (Pike, 2004) that originally, DMOs
were “government departments or industry association collectives”. However, nowadays there are more
different types of corporate governance that Destination Management Organizations can adopt.
According to the WTO these are:
o Department of single public authority; o Partnership of public authorities, serviced by partners; o Partnership of public authorities, serviced by a joint management unit; o Public authority(ies) outsourcing delivery to private companies; o Public-private partnership for certain functions – often in the form of a non-profit making
company; o Association or company funded purely by a private sector partnership and/or trading (World
Tourism Organization, 2007)
While each type of governance has its strengths and weaknesses, a public-private partnership seems to
have the most advantages for a DMO: The public sector provides a rather secure framework, pursuing
long-term approaches and with a greater consideration of quality and a more integral view, whereas the
private sector is more dynamic, pursuing a short-term strategy and paying more attention to specific
aspects such as sales and customer relationship management (CRM). (World Tourism Organization,
2007)
According to Mr. Tony Rogers, author of the case study “Destination Management in the United
Kingdom”, the most common structure of DMOs in the United Kingdom is that of a public-private
partnership (Rogers, 2005). This is also stated by Steven Pike, claiming that a “shift towards public-
private partnerships” is noticeable among DMOs (Pike, 2004).
There are also several legal forms a DMO can opt for: The most common legal form DMOs in the United
Kingdom opt for is that of a non-profit organization (Rogers, 2005).
18
DMO governance
Most of the times, a DMO is governed by a Board of Directors. The Board’s responsibilities relate to
‘philosophical, legal, and financial’ aspects of the operation and management of a DMO (Lathrop, 2005).
This implies the following roles and duties:
o “Defining the purpose of the bureau and establishing its governing principles o Providing advice and consent with respect to overall bureau policy and goals o Approving the annual operating budget and monitoring the bureau’s finances o Approving membership structure and fees o Providing direction and oversight for the bureau’s operations o Monitoring the performance of the CEO or president or executive director o Representing the bureau’s interests among external audiences and serve as advocate for tourism
and destination management issues.” (Lathrop, 2005)
The Global Governance Press Policy states that „The purpose of the Board, on behalf of (identify
ownership here), is to see to it that (name of the organization) (1) achieves what it should and (2) avoids
unacceptable actions and situations.” (Carver & Carver, 1997)
When defining the structure and functions of a board it is essential to consider the composition of board
members; A DMO’s board should not only consist of representative from the tourism industry, but might
also include representatives from other industries, facilitating contacts with the community or other
stakeholders at the destination not directly related to tourism. Relationships with representatives are
pivotal in attaining a DMO’s goals; the more players and supporters of the tourism industry, the more
increases the likelihood of asserting the DMO’s interests. (Lathrop, 2005)
Steven Pike quotes Poetschke by stating that there are 4 critical success factors relating to the
“governance of DMOs of globally competitive destinations:
o A significant level of private sector control over authority spending o Understanding of the need to incorporate public sector objectives to achieve a balance between
marketing and new product development o A dedicated stream that is not subject to annual government control o A broad, integrated, mandate encompassing all functions critical to developing a strong tourism
industry, such as marketing, education, research and infrastructure development.” (Pike, 2004)
These success factors outline the importance of different industry representatives from both public and
private sector as board members and clarify their interdependence in achieving the DMOs’ goal.
As aforementioned, in order to attain optimum efficiency of the Board, its roles and responsibilities need
to be clearly defined. This can be done by means of committees, each being responsible for a particular
field of operations. According to Carver & Carver in ‘Reinventing your Board’, “Board committees are any
groups set up by the Board, instructed by the Board, or reporting to the Board…” (Carver & Carver,
1997). Even though committees are a mean to increase the Board’s efficiency, they can also negatively
19
impact a Board’s operations: “…Committees can damage the Board’s ability to hold its CEO accountable,
just as can chairs and treasurers” (Carver & Carver, 1997). In order to avoid these situations “It is a rule
of Policy Governance that board committees may exist only to assist in the board’s own job and never to
involve themselves in job of staff.” (Carver & Carver, 1997).
The typical Board committees are:”
o Executive Committee o Strategic Marketing o Resource Development” (Lathrop, 2005)
Other aspects worth considering when composing the Board of Directors refer to the size of the Board.
Generally speaking, the smaller the Board the more effective it is. However, the amount of Board
members finally depends on the characteristics of the particular tourism destination and the number of
representatives needed from other industries. (Lathrop, 2005)
Concerning certain governance standards of DMOs, the World Tourism Organization refers to DMAI’s
Destination Marketing Accreditation Program (DMAP), which “is an international accreditation program
which provides a platform for official destination marketing organizations to assure their stakeholders that
they have achieved certain standards.” (World Tourism Organization, 2007). These standards relate to
various operational aspects, such as governance, finance, human resources, technology, marketing,
visitor services, group services, sales, communications, membership, management and facilities, brand
management, destination development, research/market intelligence, innovation and stakeholder
relationships (Destination Marketing Association International, 2008).
Governance specific aspects DMAI investigates by means of this program relate to, among others,
incorporation, bylaws, vision and mission statement, budget, policy and financial reports.
Partnerships
The World Tourism Organization points out that “The role of governance in tourism is undergoing a shift
from a traditional public sector model, delivering government policy, to one of a more corporate nature
emphasizing efficiency, return on investments, the role of the market and partnership between public and
private sectors.” (World Tourism Organization, 2007) Therefore, it can be stated that partnerships play a
pivotal role in the operations of DMOs and, consequently, are a decisive factor of success in achieving
the DMO’s goals.
20
The WTO states that partnerships are formed for different purposes and can take on different forms,
differing in terms of involvement and obligations: (World Tourism Organization, 2007)
o Good working relationships (including regular liaison) between two or more partners. o Intermittent coordination or mutual adjustment of policies and procedures of partners to achieve
common objectives. o Ad hoc or temporary arrangements to accomplish a specific task or project. o Permanent or regular coordination through a formal arrangement to undertake a specific program
of activity. o A jointly funded organization, which is a legal entity (e.g. a company), established to deliver an
ongoing program of work, with clear defined purpose and objectives.” (World Tourism Organization, 2007)
DMAI views partnerships with stakeholders from both the public and private sector as a guarantee for an
appropriate standard of a DMO; by urging partnerships with the following institutions and bodies, DMAI
includes this aspect as an assessment criterion in their program:
o Government agency(ies) o Business organization(s)/Chamber(s) of Commerce o Economic development agency(ies) o Airport authority(ies) o Port authority(ies) o Lodging association(s) o Parks and recreation authority(ies) o Media o Community leadership organization(s) o Convention center(s) o Sports organization(s) o Arts and cultural organization(s) o Restaurant association(s)
(Destination Marketing Association International, 2008)
The Association claims that “Stakeholder relationships with key organizations are critical for successful
DMOs. These relationships can include serving on each other’s respective boards, participation in
coalitions, involvement in joint ventures, financial support, endorsements, regular communication, etc.”
(Destination Marketing Association International, 2008)
Memberships
The trend of DMOs offering various types of commercial memberships is growing and, accordingly, the
number of businesses applying for membership with DMOs is increasing. No longer, only stakeholders of
the tourism industry become members of a DMO, but any business “that feels it might be attractive to
individual leisure travelers or convention attendees might join a bureau.” (Walters, 2005)
21
Membership schemes serve as a source of funding for many DMOs, but also facilitate connections with
stakeholders of the tourism industry and other sector. However, in order to make membership with a
DMO attractive, a set of benefits should be offered, stimulating the growth in membership applicants.
In line with their DMO certification program, DMAI expects destination marketing organizations to
compose a set of regulations relating to membership dues and a clear outline of the benefits of
membership for each membership category. Moreover, DMAI expects DMOs to stimulate member
involvement by means of regular opportunities for member feedback (Destination Marketing Association
International, 2008).
Performance management
According to the WTO, performance measurement is to be an integrated part of a destination
management strategy (World Tourism Organization, 2007).
“Managing people in a manner that moves the organization from vision and mission statements to
execution by goal planning and goal setting. A systematic cycle of events that, if performed correctly, can
produce powerful events. “(van Harssel, 2005)
Thus it appears that for every organization, performance management is pivotal in order to attain
efficiency targets and objectives. Performance management consists of eight steps, namely: planning,
setting performance objectives, performance reporting and accountability, a performance report providing
information on problems, progress and plans, performance evaluation, performance coaching, personal
and professional development and, finally, continuous improvement (Camner, 2005).
22
Performance can be measured against several objectives, some examples of which are:”
o Room nights o Convention and group bookings o Incremental economic impact of visitors to the destination o Incremental economic impact of tourism and leisure… o Leveraging resources through community-based coalitions, partnerships and alliances o Refining the infrastructure … o Developing a formal planning process including a strategic plan…” (Camner, 2005) o Spreading seasonality
Apart from realizing the eight steps of performance management listed above, David Cramner claims that
there are further measures an organization should undertake in order to stimulate its performance; these
refer to staff motivation, encouragement of independent work attitudes and habits and clarifying best-
practice management implementation and appropriate values (Camner, 2005). He underlines his
statement by quoting Michael Hammer and James Champy in ‘Reengineering the Corporation’:
‘Enthusiasm is one of the most powerful engines of success…’ (Camner, 2005). This clarifies that
creating a stimulating working environment for DMO staff is essential in order to ensure high
performance.
Education and the opportunity for further development can be regarded as the facilitator for successful
performance. The following abstract on educational needs further elaborates on the importance of
effective human resources management within DMOs and its relation to education and training.
23
Educational needs
As mentioned in the previous abstract, education and training is essential in the process of performance
management. Providing employees with the opportunity to further develop their skills and knowledge
usually serves as a valuable tool to motivate and stimulate people’s working attitude and dedication to
their work. These aspects directly relate to the general functions realized in human resources
management; David Camner claims that “in essence, HR (Human Resources) management has three
distinct missions: facilitating the achievement of the business purpose of the enterprise, overseeing and
linking the ‘human side of the enterprise’ to the enterprise’s objectives; and acting as an auditor, ensuring
all is legal and in compliance.” (Camner, 2005) He points out that personal and professional development
contributes to the development of new competencies, skills, talents and knowledge; “The fullest
development of the human capital of an organization will provide the optimal return on investment”
(Camner, 2005). This implies that, despite investing in training and education of staff members is a rather
costly matter, it may pay off by means of increased efficiency of an organization: Luis R. Gómez-Mejía,
David B. Balkin and Robert L. Cardy claim in the book “Managing Human Resources”, Pearson Prentice
Hall, 5th edition (2006), that “not conducting training can be a costly choice”.
Steven Pike also adverts to the importance of training and education for DMOs by means of Ritchie &
Crouch’s theory of ‘comparative and competitive advantage of a destination’: The theory distinguishes
between “endowed resources” representing sources of comparative advantage, consisting of natural
resources, cultural resources, human resources and goodwill resources, and resources contributing to the
competitive advantage of a destination (developed resources, financial resources, legal resources,
organization resources, relationship resources and implementation resources) (Pike, 2004). The theory
implies that without the efficient use of comparative resources, such as human resources and the skills
and availability of the region’s labor force, no competitive advantage could be achieved (Pike, 2004).
Therefore, it can be stated that education and training as a component of efficient human resources
management is essential for a destination to be managed successfully and, indirectly, gain recognition in
the market. This holds true for all stakeholders of the tourism and hospitality industry.
Investment in education and training seems to be all the more important for DMOs considering the
various challenges faced due to ever changing trends and developments in different markets.
The Mintel report “Destination Marketing – International – April 2005” quotes speakers of the WTO
conference by listing the following changes and trends noticeable in the tourism industry:
o “Long-term growth in consumer desire for emotion-based, personalized experiences o Increasing competition, ... o Rapid expansion of low-cost air routes o Increasing demand for ‘do-it-yourself’ packaging on the Internet”
24
From these developments it can be derived that DMOs need to be able to quickly adapt to more prompt
changes in the tourism market and be able to serve a more demanding customer. With more countries
investing in the development of their tourism industry, competition has become rather high. Moreover,
according to the WTO, “there is evidence of an emerging new tourist who: … is more mobile and critical,
less loyal and more price-sensitive.” (Mintel, 2005). Therefore, DMOs need to be more creative and
resourceful to stand out and attract the traveler’s attention.
The Mintel report “Destination Marketing – International – April 2005” states that “internationalization, co-
operation, innovation and digitalization” are essential for DMOs when facing the challenges described
above. However, these procedures cannot be realized without the necessary skills and knowledge.
Especially innovation and digitalization require training and education, ensuring and understanding of the
matter and the ability to gain advantage on the competition.
Education and training can take on different forms: It can take place by means of in-house or on-the-job
training, external workshops or seminars or by visiting trade events and conventions and can be related
to a specific field or cover a broad subject area.
As aforementioned, training and education is an essential investment for every organization. That the
financial means available provide the opportunity for such investment is not always given. The following
abstract provides information on the funding patterns of DMOs.
25
Funding
According to the WTO, the public sector provides the biggest amount of funding for destination marketing
organizations (World Tourism Organization, 2007): Having conducted a study on funding models of
DMOs the WTO found out that “at national level, the (funding) model continues to be governmental,
whereas at regional and city levels there is more private sector involvement, typically in the form of public-
private partnerships. “(Mintel, 2005)
The Mintel report “Destination Marketing – International – April 2005” points out that two different funding
models can be distinguished, each reflecting either only public or private involvement:
Figure 2: Full state intervention 2
Figure 3: Full private sector intervention
The same with the general structure of a DMO, a public funding model brings larger resources with it,
whereas the fully privately-led model seems to be rather advantageous when it comes to reacting and
adapting to changes in the industry.
2 Please note that both figures have been created based on information from Mintel, “Destination Marketing – International – April 2005”
26
Despite those two models being the most typical funding schemes for DMOs, the Mintel report states that
countries with a rather developed tourism industry make use of both funding sources from the public and
the private sector, and, therefore, neither of both sectors is dominant regarding any of the functions
executed. (Mintel, 2005)
Funding for DMOs in the United States of America is mainly obtained through “bed taxes or hotel
transient occupant taxes” (Rogers, 2005). However, this does not hold true for the United Kingdom. The
main funding sources, irrespective of being a public or private sector body, are as follows:
o Local authority or municipality o Central government o European Union (if applicable) o Regional government or agency o Membership fees o Commercial activities o Private sector sponsorship o Other (Rogers, 2005)
Steven Pike states in his book “Destination Marketing Organizations” (2004) that most DMOs obtain the
biggest percentage of their budget from the government and are, therefore, rather dependent on
governmental institutions. Pike states: “Given the long term uncertainty of political commitment towards
tourism”, “the over reliance of government funding has been a concern to many DMOs” (Pike, 2004). He
advises DMOs to seek alternative sources of funding instead (Pike, 2004).
27
Concluding observations
From the theory provided above it can be concluded that there are many different aspects influencing the
character of each individual DMO. Destination Marketing Organizations can be structured and managed
in very different ways, from low state involvement to DMOs belonging to government institutions.
Resulting from that, funding schemes and available budgets can differ tremendously. Therefore, priorities
are set differently, human resources are managed differently and education and training is valued
differently in each DMO.
Therefore, it can be stated that there is no standard typology for DMOs yet.
28
Methodology of the survey The method chosen for this research is that of a self-administered questionnaire approach (Saunders,
Lewis, & Thornhill, 2007). This field research uses primary sources by means of a questionnaire that is
distributed electronically over the internet.
Sample characteristics
The sample of DMOs used for conducting this research amounts to 337 potential respondents, of which
all have been identified during the mapping. Using the internet and email as the distribution channel for
this research, it is ensured that the survey is distributed efficiently and on time. Besides, this approach
enables the research to be conducted among a rather large sample, geographically scattered.
Term of the survey and approach
The term of the survey is 3 weeks. In order to achieve the highest response rate possible, a ‘reminder
strategy’ will be applied. This implies that, depending on the number of responses received at that stage,
1-2 weeks after the survey has been distributed, the DMOs in the sample will be reminded by means of a
reminder email. If need be, the deadline will be extended. A second reminder email will be distributed and
follow-up calls will be made, stimulating more responses. A detailed overview of the actual survey
timeline can be found on page 30.
Internal structure
The survey is structured according to the topics being examined: It is divided into three parts, namely
structure, funding and educational needs. Each part consists of several sub-questions, clarifying different
aspects relating to the respective subject. The exact subjects investigated can be found in the data
requirement tables in the appendices.
The questionnaire is in English and mainly consists of closed questions, whereas a minority of open
questions is used to clarify the respective aspects referred to in each question. The questions investigate
three different types of variables: opinion, behavior and attribute (Saunders, Lewis, & Thornhill, Types of
variable, 2007). This approach will facilitate the opportunity to create a thorough and comprehensive
picture of DMOs in Europe. However, most questions are formulated to collect data of an attribute or
behavior character, investigating facts relating to the structure and funding of DMOs; the way processes
are handled (behavior) and what characteristics the organization possesses (attribute) (Saunders, Lewis,
& Thornhill, Types of variable, 2007). In some cases, especially relevant to the set of questions relating to
educational needs, the questions are designed to seek answers indicating the personal opinion of the
respondent.
29
Analytical tools
The survey will be analyzed by means of SPSS. Frequency tables will be used in order to analyze the
most common schemes and cross tabulations will be used to investigate possible relationships between
different variables. A SPSS codebook explaining all relevant tests, the value tables used for the
interpretation of the results and the meaning of the different codes used for the graphs can be found in
the appendices on page XXXIV.
Scales of measurement
The majority of the variables will be measured at nominal level, since mainly “categories with no intrinsic
ranking” will be used (SPSS). This implies that most of the questions will neither interrogate aspects
requesting evaluations, nor any numeric answers.
However, there will be very few variables being measured at scale level: These variables related to
aspects such as annual budget in Euros, number of full-time employees and part-time employees and the
number of members.
Besides, the ordinal measurement level applies to one variable in this research, since it examines the
attitude of the respondents towards the barriers for a DMO providing training and education for its
employees.
Scope and demonstration of the result
The main purpose of this research is to explore the European tourism market and identify characteristics
of DMOs in Europe. The result of the survey will be rather descriptive. However, since this research
includes an examination of possible relationships between variables, too, the result of the questionnaire
might provide a more comprehensive rather than purely descriptive insight into DMOs in Europe.
The results of the survey will be used to describe the predominant answers of the participants of the
survey. Thereupon, potential relationships between variables will be analyzed. Based on the respective
contents a general profile of DMOs in Europe will be created.
30
Data requirements
In order to design a complete and representative questionnaire data requirement tables have been
composed, providing a clear overview of the research objective, the type of research, the investigative
questions and required variables. Each table relates to a different subject and a separate part of the
questionnaire. The tables can be found in the appendices on page XIII.
Survey timeline
Originally the term of the survey was to be 3 weeks, including a round of follow-up emails and follow-up
phone calls. Due to the very low response rate in the first week after the distribution of the survey, a first
reminder email was sent out after ten 10 days. Not having received a sufficient number of responses on
the day of the deadline, it was decided to extend the deadline for one week. An email was sent out
informing the contacts in the sample of this extension. During the last week of the term of the survey
follow-up calls were made to DMOs in those countries that showed a very low response rate. This
selection was made due to the limited time available until the final deadline. A list of the countries
contacted by means of follow-up calls can be found below.
EU members: Non-EU members: Bulgaria Albania Estonia Andorra Germany Belarus Hungary Bosnia and Herzegovina Ireland Georgia Malta Iceland Netherlands Moldava Northern Ireland Monaco Poland San Marino United Kingdom Macedonia
Apart from the follow-up calls, a second reminder email was distributed among the sample 2 days prior to
the final deadline. The initial email distributed together with the survey and the reminder emails can be
found in the appendices on page XXVIII.
An overview of the survey timeline and the different actions can be found in the following table.
31
Table 2: Survey timeline First
distribution Deadline First
reminder email
Deadl ine extension email
New deadline
Second reminder email
Follow -up call
EU members
4 March 2008
20 March 2008
14 March 2008
20 March 2008
28 March 2008
26 March 2008
25 – 28 March 2008
Non-EU members
5 March 2008
20 March 2008
17 March 2008
20 March 2008
28 March 2008
26 March 2008
25 – 28 March 2008
Candidate countries
6 March 2008
20 March 2008
17 March 2008
20 March 2008
28 March 2008
26 March 2008
25 – 28 March 2008
A couple of those DMOs contacted by means of a follow-up call indicated that they would complete the
survey during the first week of April. Despite the fact that responses received during the first week of April
violate the deadline, they will be included in the analysis in order to increase the representativeness of
this research.
Conclusion
Generally speaking it can be stated that the willingness of DMOs to cooperate and participate in the
survey was rather low. Please see below for an overview of the reactions to the survey:
Table 3: Overview of survey response Count In % Sample size 337 100% Participants 3 61 18.1% Refusals 23 6.8% No reaction 253 75.07%
A detailed analysis of the survey results can be found in chapter 4 – ‘Analysis’.
3 A list of respondents can be found in the appendices on page XXXII.
32
10,91%
10,91%
3,64%
7,27%
7,27%
50,91%
20,00%
MissingOther
Private for-profit organization
Private non-profit organization
Public-private partnership for-profit
Public-private partnership non-profit
Government agency
Structure of DMO
CHAPTER 4 - ANALYSIS
Analysis of research results
Please note that the number of respondents to each of the questions can be found in the appendices
under ‘SPSS output’.
Part 1 – Structure
1. Structure
The first question investigated the most common structures among Destination Marketing Organizations
in Europe:
As it can be derived from the pie chart shown below, the majority of DMOs within this sample are set up
as a partnership between public and private bodies, operating as non-profit organization. The second
most common structure of DMOs is that of a government agency, followed by DMOs operating as public-
private for-profit organizations and private non-profit organizations. Other structures mentioned by the
respondents to this question were that of a regional agency, a city council, a public, regional agency and
a city office. However, despite these dissenting designations, the additional structures mentioned by the
respondents can be categorized as public sector bodies. Therefore, it can be concluded that the public
sector plays an essential role among DMOs in Europe. However, a partnership between the public and
private sector is still the most widespread structure.
Figure 4: Structure of a DMO
33
1,67%
15,00%
41,67%
41,67%
LargeMediumSmallMicro
Size
The results described above correspond to the categorization of DMO provided in chapter 3: The ‘shift
towards public-private partnerships’ among DMOs (Pike, 2004) can be confirmed in relation to DMOs in
Europe, too. Besides, the trend of non-profit organizations being the common legal structure of DMOs in
the United Kingdom (Rogers, 2005) can be recognized among DMOs in Europe in general, too.
2. Size
The second question requested the respondent to provide information regarding the size of their DMO, by
giving the number of full-time and part-time staff employed by the DMO.
On average, a DMO in this sample has 29.93 full-time employees and 5.34 part-time employees. The
biggest DMO that participated in this survey had 324 full-time employees; the smallest organization had 1
full-time employee. On the basis of the European Commission’s categorization of micro enterprises, small
enterprises, medium-sized enterprises (MSEs) (European Commission, 2008)4, it can be stated that most
of the DMOs within the sample of this survey fall into the category of micro and small enterprises, with
less than 10 and 50 employees (both 41%). It should be noted that those DMOs falling into the category
of medium-sized and large enterprises are mainly DMOs on a national level, whereas the majority of
respondents reflects DMOs on a regional and capital city level. The chart below clarifies the distribution of
the different DMOs.
Figure 5: Size of DMOs
4 The categorization table can be found in the appendices on page LXI.
34
Per
cent
25,0%
20,0%
15,0%
10,0%
5,0%
0,0%
9,66%
7,98%7,56%
13,03%
5,04%
10,50%
23,11%
6,72%
2,10%
14,29%
departments within DMO
Special Interest T
ourism
department
Sales departm
ent
Quality M
anagement
department
Product developm
ent departm
ent
Policy departm
ent
Other departm
ents
Marketing departm
ent
Hum
an Resources
Managem
ent department
Crisis M
anagement
department
Accounting departm
ent
3. Departments
The third question investigated the internal organization and management of DMOs in Europe. Every
respondent could choose several departments from a number of options provided: The most common
departments within a DMO are a Marketing department, Accounting department and a product
development department. The departments special interest tourism, human resources, sales, policy,
quality management and crisis management are each only present in less than 10% of all organizations
in this sample. Therefore, it can be stated that those respective departments are less common among
DMOs. Another department frequently mentioned by the respondents to this question is the press and PR
department. Moreover, respondents listed logistics, facility management, visitor services,
communications, education, reservations, group travel, study trips, property, construction, tourist
information office and reservations as additional departments present in their DMO.
It is remarkable that reasonably new aspects and functions relating to tourism, such as crisis
management, special interest tourism and quality management attained rather low percentages in this
respect: Traditionally, marketing, accounting and product development can be considered to be the most
essential and most common departments within a DMO.
Figure 6: Common departments within a DMO
35
Res
pons
ibili
ty fo
r de
sign
of b
rand
ing
stra
tegy
Quality_mng_dpt
Product_dpt
Other_dpt
Marketing_dpt
External_consultants
CEO
Board_Directors
Percent40,0%30,0%20,0%10,0%0,0%
1,75%
10,53%
7,02%
36,84%
4,39%
21,05%
18,42%
4. Branding strategy
With branding and promotion of the destination being the traditional core functions of a DMO, question 4
aimed at finding out which entity within a DMO is responsible for the creation of branding and marketing
strategies. The following definition clarifies what the branding strategy usually implies:
“A plan for the systematic development of a brand to enable it to meet its agreed objectives. The strategy
should be rooted in the brand's vision and driven by the principles of differentiation and sustained
consumer appeal. The brand strategy should influence the total operation of a business to ensure
consistent brand behaviors and brand experiences” (Yellow Pencil Brand Sharpening, n.d.)
In most cases, it is the marketing department’s responsibility to design branding strategies (36.84%).
However, in many DMOs, the CEO has to assume this responsibility (21.05%) and in 18.42% of all DMOs
that participated in this survey, the Board of Directors are to create promotional strategies.
External consultants and the quality management department have minimal impact on the creation of
branding strategies. Other players involved in that matter are internal entities, such as the marketing
board, the brand management group, the strategy and communications department, internal
communication and campaign advisers, and in a broader sense, the council.
Therefore, it can be concluded that DMOs still assume the responsibility of creating branding and
marketing strategies for their destinations, while external authorities seem to have a low impact in this
regard.
Figure 7: Responsibility for design of branding str ategy
36
Board governanceNoYes
Per
cent
80,0%
60,0%
40,0%
20,0%
0,0%
25,00%
75,00%
3,39%
15,25%
13,56%
3,39%
1,69%
4,24%
1,69%3,39%
21,19%
24,58%
7,63%
Regional_tourism_semiRegional_tourism_publicRegional_tourism_privateRegional_otherNational_tourism_semiNational_tourism_publicNational_tourism_privateNational_otherLocal_tourism_semiLocal_tourism_publicLocal_tourism_privateLocal_other
Composition of Board of Directors
5. DMO governance
As elaborated in the categorization of DMOs, most of the times DMOs are governed by a Board of
Directors. The graph below shows that this is certainly also the case in European countries.
Figure 8: Board governance
6. Board composition
As described in the categorization of DMOs, a DMO’s success is to great extent dependent on the
knowledge available about other industries impacting tourism directly and indirectly, as well as the access
to information from both the private and public sector. Therefore, a diverse composition of Board
members is advisable for all DMOs governed by a Board of Directors. The chart below clarifies the
composition of Boards of Directors of the interviewees:
Figure 9: Board composition
37
36,63%
19,80%
4,95%
10,89%
27,72%Strategic_decisions
Performance_measurement
Other_taskExecuting_strategiesBudget_control
Tasks of Board of Directors
Most Board members are representatives from the local tourism industry, including stakeholders from
both the public (21.19%) and private sector (24.58%). The regional tourism industry appears to be
represented by both the public and private sector, as well, whereas the national tourism industry is hardly
represented in DMOs’ Boards of Directors.
Other sectors represented in the Board of Directors are local politicians, university professors, chambers
of commerce, hospitality industry representatives and regional development agencies. Moreover,
representatives form the meeting and congress industry and airport officials are also mentioned. It
becomes obvious that within this list local and regional authorities are predominant, too.
From the results outlined above, it can be derived that the DMOs of European countries have Boards of
Directors composed of representatives not only from the tourism industry on the local and regional level,
but also other industries. There is no dominance of either the public or the private sector. Therefore, it can
be assumed that European DMOs’ Boards have the suitable circumstances for achieving
interdependence between both sectors in order to facilitate the achievement of the DMOs’ goals.
7. Task of Board of Directors
As analyzed before, in some DMOs it is one of the responsibilities of the Board of Directors to create the
branding and marketing strategies for their destination. The following chart shows what other tasks and
responsibilities Boards of Directors accept:
Figure 10: Main task of Board of Directors Consistent with the result of the fourth question, it is the most common task of Boards of Directors to
make strategic decisions. Moreover, budget control and performance measurement are the core functions
of Management Boards among the interviewed DMOs. Therefore, it can be stated that the Boards’ impact
on DMO operations is pivotal and greatly influences the organization’s business schemes.
38
Perc
ent
80,0%
60,0%
40,0%
20,0%
0,0%4,08%2,04%
8,16%
77,55%
8,16%
Committees within Board of Directors
Strategic_marketing_committeeResource_devel._committee
Other_committeeNo_committee
Executive_committee
Management of the Board election process
Stakeholders_voteStaff_members_vote
No_electionFew_stakeholders_vote
DMO_members_voteCompany_partners_vote
Board_vote
Perc
ent
30,0%
20,0%
10,0%
0,0%
27,27%
20,45%20,45%
2,27%
29,55%
8. Committees within Board of Directors
Typically, in order to reach an optimum level of efficiency and to clarify the tasks of each Board member,
the Board consists of several committees (Harrill, 2005). However, this trend cannot be noticed among
the DMOs in this sample: Only 11 DMO representatives indicated they have a committee within their
Board.
Figure 11: Committees within Board of Directors
9. Management of the Board election process
This aspect of the survey aimed at investigating the influence of the different stakeholders on the Board
election process: In most cases the Board members themselves are entitled to vote for candidates for a
new Board of Directors. However, in not much less of the cases, all stakeholders have the right to vote a
new Board of Directors. In 20.45% of the cases only the DMO members get to vote a new Board and in
just as many cases, there is no election process as such at all: Some DMOs let politics rule over the
composition of a new Board of Directors. In one other case trustees of a DMO get to vote. Generally
speaking it can be stated that the voice of all stakeholders involved seems equally important to a DMO as
the voice of the Board of Directors.
Figure 12: Management of the Board election process
39
40,00%
60,00%
NoYes
Existence of membership
patterns
29,51%
70,49%
NoYes
Existence of partnerships
10. Partnerships
DMAI views partnerships with stakeholders from
both the public and private sector as a guarantee
for an appropriate standard of a DMO. Also, as
mentioned earlier, the WTO claims partnerships to
have a great impact on the operations of a DMO.
Consistent with these statements, the results of this
survey question show that 70.49% of all DMOs that
participated in this survey do have partnerships.
Figure 13: Existence of partnerships
11. Members
The trend of offering commercial memberships to
not only players in the tourism industry but also
other industry representatives is growing. This
trend is also recognizable among DMOs in Europe:
More than half of all interviewees indicated that
their DMO offers membership. Therefore, it can be
concluded that also DMOs in Europe have noticed
the benefits of offering membership schemes, as
for instance a secure source of funding and the
opportunity for intensive networking.
Figure 14: Existence of memberships
12. Number of members
The next question investigated the size of the membership programs offered by DMOs in Europe. The
maximum number mentioned by the participants was 20000, which caused a rather high average number
of members per DMO: 770 members. The majority of interviewees indicated that their DMO had more
than 100 members. However; the answers provided did not show any trend in this matter.
40
Secto
rs re
pres
ente
d by m
embe
rs of
DMOs
Sport_org
Restaurant_associations
Port_authority
Parks_recreation
Other_sector
Media
Lodging_association
Government_agencies
Economic_devel_agency
Convention_centers
Community_leader_org
Business_chamber
Art_cultural_org
Airport_authority
Percent12,5%10,0%7,5%5,0%2,5%0,0%
3,82%
12,74%
3,82%
7,64%
0,64%
1,27%
12,10%
10,19%
2,55%
10,83%
7,01%
12,10%
8,28%
7,01%
13. Sectors represented by stakeholders
As aforementioned, relations with stakeholders of different industries, by means of memberships or
partnerships, facilitate connections to different industry sectors and can, possibly, be a valuable source of
information and stimulator for business efficiency.
Members
As it is clearly shown in the chart below, the most common sectors represented by the members of a
DMO are the tourism and hospitality supply sector and business organizations: Restaurant associations
rank highest, followed by lodging associations and chambers of commerce being the most common
sectors applying for memberships with DMOs. Membership with DMOs is also popular among convention
centers, government agencies, arts and cultural organizations and parks and recreation authorities. This
shows that members of a DMO evenly represent the public and the private sector, as well as sectors
directly connected to the tourism industry, as well as sector-extern organizations.
Partners
When it comes to the sectors represented by partners of a DMO, the distribution is more even. Most
partnerships of DMOs are with business organizations and chambers of commerce, airport authorities,
government agencies and economic development agencies. Moreover, arts and cultural organizations,
lodging associations and convention centers form a remarkable part of the partnerships maintained with
DMOs. In contradiction to the sectors represented by DMO members, partners of DMOs seem to
represent the public sectors to a greater extend, whereas private organizations achieved lower results in
this aspect.
From the results described above it can be derived that the average European DMO has relationships
with stakeholders from both the public and the private sector. Therefore, it can be stated that industry
connections have been utilized favorably.
Figure 15: Sectors represented by members of DMOs
41
Figure 16: Sectors represented by partners of DMOs
Secto
rs rep
resen
ted by
partn
ersSport_org_p
Restaurant_p
Port_authority_p
Parks_recreation_p
Other_secto_p
Media_p
Lodging_association_p
Government_agencies_partner
Economic_devel_agency_partner
Convention
Community_leader_p
Business_org_partner
Arts_cultural_org_p
Airport_authority_p
Percent12,0%10,0%8,0%6,0%4,0%2,0%0,0%
6,25%
7,21%
3,37%
6,73%
0,48%
7,21%
7,69%
9,62%
9,13%
7,69%
5,29%
11,06%
8,65%
9,62%
14. Decision-making process
Making strategic decisions was the main task of the Boards of Directors of the majority of DMOs
represented in this research. This was confirmed by the outcome of the question regarding the
management of the decision-making process. Generally speaking, it seems to be the case in the majority
of all DMOs that the Board of Directors has the greatest influence and the power to decide. Letting all
staff make decisions was the second most common method of managing the decision-making process in
DMOs, whereas in not much less of the cases all immediate stakeholders are entitled to make business
decisions. Members and partners themselves seem to have little influence on a DMO’s strategic
decisions. Other instances mentioned in this context were National Tourism Boards, Marketing Boards
and the public sector in general.5
Figure 17: Management of decision-making process
Perce
nt
40,0%
30,0%
20,0%
10,0%
0,0%
18,42%
…
15,79%
26,32%
5,26%
…
34,21%
Management of decision-making process
OtherDecisions made by
independent institutions
Decisions made by all immediate
stakeholders
Decisions made by staff
only
Decisions made by
members only
Decisions made by
partners only
Decisions made by Board of
Directors only
5 Please note that respondents could only choose one option. However, a significant number of participants chose several answers. Therefore, two different SPSS analyses have been done, both confirming each others result. The result of the second analysis with multiple answers can be found in the appendices.
42
Fun
ctio
ns o
f DM
O
Visitor_services
Visitor_Mng
Resource_Mng
Research
Quality_Mng
Product_development_f
Planning_development_f
Other_functions
Mediator_visitor_local_business
Mediator_local_business_public
Destination_Branding
Crisis_Mng
Consulting_function
Conference_Mng
Commercial_promotion
Booking_channnel
Percent12,0%10,0%8,0%6,0%4,0%2,0%0,0%
8,40%
3,56%
1,27%
9,41%
4,83%
8,65%
10,94%
0,25%
5,60%
5,60%
11,96%
1,78%
6,11%
7,89%
10,18%
3,56%
15. Roles and responsibilities
Marketing and destination branding are the traditional functions of a DMO. However, as described in the chapter on DMO categorization, there is a remarkable shift taking place within this business sector, which implies that a DMO’s roles and responsibilities nowadays encompass marketing, as well as planning and development (Gehrisch, 2005). The result of this question clearly shows that the majority of DMOs still consider destination branding as their main role and function. Confirming the trend mentioned before, a great percentage also views planning and development as one of their main responsibilities. A further traditional function of a DMO, other commercial marketing activities and promotion also rank high on the list of the roles of a DMO. Research, product development, visitor services and conference management also seem to be an integrated role of the contemporary DMO, which could be an indicator for the fact that a DMO no longer only deals with the destination as a whole, but also pays attention to the single tourism products, different markets and the visitor experience at the destination. The consulting function, acting as a mediator between different stakeholders of the tourism industry and incorporating a booking channel is still not a common function among DMOs in Europe. Quality management, visitor management, resources management and crisis management got the least number of responses, which shows that these aspects do not seem to be associated with the core roles and responsibilities of the contemporary DMO. Figure 18: Roles and responsibilities of a DMO
43
Func
tions
of D
MO
s fu
ture
orie
ntat
ion
Visitor_services_future
Visitor_future
Resource_future
Research_future
Quality_future
Product_future
Planning_future
Other_function_future
Mediator_visitor_local_future
Mediator_local_public_future
Destination_future
Crisis_future
Consulting_future
Conference_future
Commercial_future
Booking_future
Percent12,5%10,0%7,5%5,0%2,5%0,0%
5,77%
5,45%
0,32%
9,29%
7,37%
9,94%
12,18%
0,64%
4,49%
4,81%
12,82%
1,60%
6,41%
5,13%
8,97%
4,81%
16. Roles and responsibilities in the future
When comparing the results of the two questions, it becomes obvious that in the future, destination
branding should still increase in importance as a function of a DMO. According to the respondents of this
question, planning and development should also move further into the focus of a DMO. This is consistent
with the shift referred to by Gehrisch (Gehrisch, 2005). The respondents’ attitude towards research and
product development as roles and responsibilities of a DMO has remained rather stable, whereas the
function of visitor services has been chosen far less often by the interviewees. However, the assumption
that visitor services will be less important in the future should be condemned as untrustworthy: According
to the WTO, the “emerging new tourist seeks more individual offers, better information about the product
and the destination, and better service”. Besides, the tourist becomes more “more mobile and critical, less
loyal, more price-sensitive” (Mintel report, 2005). All these aspects can be regarded as an indication for
the need for continuous visitor services and more quality management in order to satisfy ‘the emerging
tourist’. Since quality management encompasses many different approaches, the aspect of visitor
services may be integrated in the different quality management strategies.
Another function that has gained rather low percentages compared to the previous question is that of
conference management. However, since a certain part of the respondents in this sample were CVBs, it
can be assumed that those, whose core function is conference and meeting management, have not
indicated this response option, but have chosen for those functions that they would like to see expanded.
The DMO as a mediator between different stakeholders of the industry, as a consultant for tourism
stakeholders in the private sector and as a booking channel will not be paid more or less attention that
currently.
Figure 19: Roles and responsibilities of a DMO in t he future
44
Part 2 – Funding
17. Funding sources
According to the WTO, the public sector is the biggest funding sources for DMOs (World Tourism
Organization, 2007). However, most countries with a rather developed tourism industry gain financial
support and subsidies from both the public and the private sector (Mintel report, 2005).
The chart below clarifies the most common sources of funding for DMOs in Europe:
Figure 20: Funding sources
15,00%
9,38%
18,12%
16,88%
6,88%
7,50%
14,38%
11,88%
Regional_govPrivate_sponsorMunicipalityMember_feesHotel_taxesEUCommercialCentral_gov
Funding sources of DMO
The biggest percentage of funding for DMOs in Europe is provided by the public sector on the local level:
The municipality provides most subsidies for DMOs and the regional government is the third largest
funding source. The central government provides 11.9% of all subsidies for DMOs. In this regard, Titta
Rosvall-Puplett, Managing Director of the European office, mentioned that the fact that 27.02% of the
DMOs in the sample consider their Board’s main task to be budget control may relate to the fact that the
biggest source of funding for DMOs is the public sector: In order to obtain grants and funding from the
public sector, a lot of time is spent on budgets and the related administration (Rosvall-Puplett, 2008).
However, a great proportion of funding for DMOs is provided by the DMOs’ own operations and efforts:
Member fees are the second biggest source of funding, and commercial activities undertaken by the
DMO contribute to the financing to a great extent, too.
45
4,76%
11,90%
11,90%
40,48%
30,95% >50,000,000<50,000,000<10,000,000<5,000,000<1,000,000
Budget_size
Private sector sponsoring appears to be one of the less commonly used sources of funding for DMOs in
the sample. Hotel bed taxes and grants and subsidies from the European Union are the least common
sources of funding for DMOs in Europe. However, the statement of the WTO as cited above can be
confirmed: The public sector constitutes the biggest source of funding for DMOs in this sample.
18. Annual budget
In order to clarify the result of this question, the answers have been grouped and categorized randomly
as shown in the pie chart below:
Figure 21: Annual budget
In most cases the annual budget
available of the DMOs in this
sample is below €5,000,000
(40.48%). In 30.95% of the
cases the DMOs have an annual
budget of only €1,000,000 at
their disposal. In only ten cases
does the budget available
exceed €5,000,000, and only in
2 cases it exceeds €50,000,000.
19. Budget allocation
This question investigated what functions a DMO allocates most of its budget to; the question requested
the respondents to indicate a percentage for each function, if applicable. The graph below shows the sum
of all percentages for each function as indicated by the respondents to give an indication of the functions
that most money is being spent on.
A DMO allocates the largest proportion of its annual budget to commercial marketing activities and
promotion. The second largest share is being allocated to destination branding. While rather large
proportions are also allocated to conference management, product development, tourism planning and
development and visitor services, all other functions reached rather low percentage rates:
46
Figure 22: Budget allocation – cumulative percentag es Based on the low percentage of budget allocated to training, it can be assumed that education is not one
of the priorities of DMOs in Europe.
Other aspects and functions mentioned in this context were administration, business expenses, and
salaries, hosting function, conference marketing, logistics, touristic investments and PR.
20. Budget allocation in the future
In order to identify some potential trends in the industry, the interviewees were requested to indicate what
function more money should be allocated to in the future.
Figure 23: Budget allocation in the future
Budg
et a
lloca
tion
in th
e fu
ture
Visitor_services_budget_future
Visitor_budget_future
Training_future
Resource_budget_future
Research_budget_future
Quality_budget_future
Product_budget_future
Planning_budget_future
Other_budget_future
Mediator_v_local_future
Mediator_local_public_budget_future
Destination_budget_future
Crisis_budget_future
Consulting_budget_future
Conference_budget_future
Commercial_budget_future
Booking_budget_future
Percent20,0%15,0%10,0%5,0%0,0%
4,40%
3,14%
7,55%
1,89%
10,69%
5,66%
8,18%
11,32%
1,26%
1,26%
16,35%
1,89%
3,77%
3,77%
14,47%
4,40%
47
Consistent with the results of the previous question, the main focus is directed towards promotional
activities and destination branding. Moreover, respondents were of the opinion that a greater proportion of
the budget should be allocated to the functions of planning and development, as well as research. In
relative contradiction to the previous result, respondents indicated that they would like more money to be
spent on training and education. In this regard, Titta Rosvall-Puplett, Managing Director of the European
Office, added that one can also derive from the results that DMOs are likely to plan on investing more for
training in the future, (ref. 19 Budget allocation): training can be ranked as 8th priority in current budgeting
and (ref. 20 budget allocation) as 5th for future budgeting (Rosvall-Puplett, 2008).
Crisis Management, the DMO as a mediator, conference management, the consulting function visitor and
resource management were repeatedly not the most common response options chosen.
48
43,04%
15,19%
41,77%
Off_the_jobNo_trainingIn_House
Provision of training and education
Part 3 – Educational needs Figure 24: Vocational training
21. Vocational training
As identified by means of the
previous results it can be stated
that education and training are not
among the most common roles and
functions the contemporary DMO
deals with. However, the result of
this question clearly shows that the
majority of DMOs in this sample
does either provide in-house
vocational training or offers
opportunities for off-the-job,
external, training. Only 15.19% of
the respondents indicated that their
DMO does not provide
opportunities for education and training. Nevertheless, since this survey did not investigate how often
such training is offered, the efficiency can not be evaluated at this point. Moreover, one should bear in
mind that DMOs do not tend to allocate much of their budget towards this aspect either, which may also
influence the impression of DMOs’ attitude towards training.
22. Educational needs – topics for training and wor kshops
Providing training and education opportunities for further development of its staff can be pivotal for an
organization’s success. Camner claims that personal and professional development contributes to the
development of new competencies, skills, talents and knowledge; “The fullest development of the human
capital of an organization will provide the optimal return on investment” (Camner, 2005).
In order to get a deeper insight into the educational needs of DMOs in Europe and their various
stakeholders, respondents were asked to choose those topics most appealing to them as potential
subjects for vocational training.
Please note that the categories displayed in the following graphs represent the labels defined in SPSS
and reflect the different variables included in the multiple response set. The meaning of each
abbreviation can be found in the SPSS codebook in the appendices on page XXXIV.
49
Educ
atio
nal n
eeds
- DM
O st
aff
Visitor_services_edu
Visitor_edu
Trends_edu
Special_edu
Resource_edu
Research_edu
Quality_edu
Product_edu
Planning_edu
Other_edu
Mediator_v_lb_edu
Mediator_lb_p_edu
Destination_edu
Crisis_edu
Consulting_edu
Conference_edu
Commercial_edu
Booking_edu
Percent12,0%10,0%8,0%6,0%4,0%2,0%0,0%
5,42%
3,75%
8,33%
4,58%
3,33%
9,58%
7,50%
7,08%
8,33%
1,67%
3,33%
5,00%
10,42%
1,67%
4,17%
5,42%
6,67%
3,75%
Figure 25: Educational needs – DMO staff DMO staff
The subject most appealing to DMO staff is destination branding, a function also achieving the highest
number of responses in line with the roles and responsibilities of a DMO. In contradiction to the result of
previous question, the demand for training and education referring to research is evident: The second
largest percentage in this context belongs to the research function. Besides, DMO employees expressed
their interest for training regarding trends and developments in the tourism industry, planning and
development and quality management. Unlike planning and development, which has been widely
recognized as one of the core functions of a DMO, quality management has not been mentioned
frequently throughout this research. However, DMO staff appears to feel the need for further education
regarding this matter.
Consistent with all other results, the subjects least appealing to DMO staff members were resource
management and crisis management.
Other subjects mentioned in this context were customer care, languages and information technologies.
50
Edu
catio
nal n
eeds
- m
embe
rs
Visitor_services_edu_mem
Visitor_edu_mem
Trends_edu_mem
Special_interest_edu_mem
Resource_edu_mem
Research_edu_mem
Quality_edu_mem
Product_edu_mem
Planning_edu_mem
Other_edu_mem
Mediator_v_lb_edu_mem
Mediator_lb_p_edu_mem
Destination_edu_mem
Crisis_edu_mem
Consulting_edu_mem
Conference_edu_mem
Commercial_edu_mem
Booking_edu_mem
Percent10,0%8,0%6,0%4,0%2,0%0,0%
5,56%
3,70%
8,33%
6,48%
1,85%
2,78%
7,41%
9,26%
6,48%
0,93%
5,56%
2,78%
8,33%
2,78%
2,78%
8,33%
9,26%
7,41%
Figure 26: Educational needs – DMO members DMO members
The greatest educational need of DMO members related to commercial marketing activities and
promotion. Training and education on product development ranked second in the list of topics most
appealing to DMO members, followed by trends and developments in the tourism industry, conference
management, the booking channel function and quality management. All of these functions typically relate
to the supply side of the tourism industry and could be relevant for, e.g. tour operators or similar
stakeholders of the tourism industry. A possible connection between these aspects will be investigated
later on.
Resource management was opted for least in this context and can, therefore, be considered as
unattractive to DMO members.
51
Figure 27: Educational needs – DMO partners
Edu
catio
nal n
eeds
- pa
rtner
s
Visitor_edu_part
V_service_edu_part
Trends_edu_part
Special_edu_part
Resource_edu_part
Research_edu_part
Quality_edu_part
Product_edu_part
Planning_edu_part
Other_edu_part
Medi_v_lb_part
Medi_lb_p_part
Destination_edu_part
Crisis_edu_part
Consulting_edu_part
Conference_edu_part
Commercial_edu_part
Booking_edu_part
Percent12,0%10,0%8,0%6,0%4,0%2,0%0,0%
4,88%
6,10%
7,32%
6,10%
1,22%
6,10%
8,54%
9,76%
9,76%
1,22%
1,22%
2,44%
10,98%
2,44%
1,22%
6,10%
7,32%
7,32%
DMO partners
The majority of the respondents to this question made the assumption that destination branding may be
the subject most appealing to DMO partners in regard to training and education. Besides, product
development and planning and development ranked high in this matter. Education on quality
management and commercial marketing activities and promotion also gained a rather high proportion of
all responses.
Resource management and the DMO as a consultant for the private sector gained the least number of
votes.
It is evident that DMO employees estimate their partners’ interests in line with education to be similar to
their own.
52
17,14%
0,00%
8,57%
2,86%
11,43%
51,43%
8,57%0,00%
TimeOther_reasonOther_prioritiesNo_knowledgeLack_StaffFinancesDurationDistance
Reasons for not providing training
23. Barriers to vocational training
As aforementioned in the chapter on educational needs, “not conducting training can be a costly matter”
(Gómez-Mejía, Blakin, & Cardy, 2006). The lack of financial means may not always be the only barrier for
DMOs to provide vocational training. The chart below clarifies what other factors can hinder the provision
of education and training:
Figure 28: Bariers to vocational training
As anticipated, more than half of all interviewees indicated that lack of finances were the most important
barrier to providing vocational training. However, time and, potentially coherent, a lack of staff was
mentioned rather often in this context, too. The duration of vocational trainings also cause DMOs to
refrain from offering opportunities for training and development for its staff members. However, some of
the respondents also indicated that training and education simply are not among their highest priorities.
While only a small number of all participants pointed out that they had no knowledge about any training
opportunities, distance was regarded to be the least influential barrier.
Summing up the results relating to educational needs it can be stated that despite the fact that the
majority of DMOs seem to offer vocational training, not much of the budget is allocated towards that
function. However, as alluded to by Titta Rosvall-Puplett in relation to budget allocation currently and in
the future, it is likely that DMOs will spend a greater proportion of their budget on education on training
(Rosvall-Puplett, 2008). Moreover, the questions relating to educational needs partly attained rather low
response rates as opposed to many of the other questions in this survey. In line with the general need for
training and education within an organization to increase its efficiency and ensure successful
management and to ‘ensure the fullest development of the human capital of an organization’ (Camner,
2005), it can be stated that European DMOs should be confronted with opportunities for training and
development, in order to stimulate their efforts in this matter.
53
Conference attendanceYes_promoteYes_networkYes_industryNo_conference
Pe
rce
nt
50,0%
40,0%
30,0%
20,0%
10,0%
0,0%
44,72%
30,08%
23,58%
1,63%
24. Trade event and conference attendance Figure 2 9: Conference attendance
Training and education can take on different
forms: In some way attending industry events
and conferences can also be considered as
opportunities for gaining knowledge and
information on the industry.
Only 1.63% of all respondents never attend a
conference or a trade event, whereas the rest of
all interviewees indicated they would attend a
conference or trade fair for different reasons:The
majority of all participants attend a trade fair to
promote the destination, while the second
biggest share of all respondents attends such
events to network. After all, 25.58% attend a conference to enhance their industry knowledge.
This might be an indication for the fact that trade events and conferences are among the most effective
and popular tools for gaining industry knowledge and the provision of some kind of opportunity for
development.The frequency table below shows a selection of the biggest trade events in Europe and their
attendant rate among the DMOs in this sample:
Table 4: Most popular trade events
Responses Percent of Cases
N Percent N Examples of trade events in Europe(a)
ITB, DE 36 11,4% 64,3%
IMEX, DE 33 10,5% 58,9% TTW, CH 9 2,9% 16,1% WTM, UK 39 12,4% 69,6% Vakantiebeurs, NL 32 10,2% 57,1% Ferien_Messe_Wien, A 14 4,4% 25,0% Brussel_Travel_Expo, B 14 4,4% 25,0% Nordic_Travel, FIN 15 4,8% 26,8% Le_Monde, F 14 4,4% 25,0% Philoxenia, GE 2 ,6% 3,6% BIT, I 29 9,2% 51,8% BaltTour, LV 7 2,2% 12,5% REISELIV, N 13 4,1% 23,2% ITM, RUS 13 4,1% 23,2% MIBEXPO, RUS 6 1,9% 10,7% FITUR, E 25 7,9% 44,6% EMITT, TR 4 1,3% 7,1% BTTF, UK 5 1,6% 8,9% MICE_Ukraine, UA 5 1,6% 8,9% Total 315 100,0% 562,5%
a Dichotomy group tabulated at value 1. Other trade events frequently mentioned by the interviewees were EIBTM, Spain, CBR, Germany,
VIVATTUR, Lithuania and MITT, Russia.
54
Potential relationships The previous part has described and analyzed the results of the survey. In order to elaborate more
specifically the attributes of a DMO in Europe and to be able to create a general profile, this component of
the chapter seeks logical relations between different aspects.
Seven statements have been chosen and will be tested in terms of a potential relationship between the
two variables.
Statement 1
The structure of a DMO determines whether a DMO is governed by a Board of Directors
As it has been ascertained by means of this survey, the most common structure among DMOs in Europe
is that of a public-private partnership, non-profit organization. The second most common structure was
found out to be that of a government agency. The table below shows whether there is a relationship
between those two most common structures of a DMO and its governance.
Table 5: Relationship: Board governance and most c ommon structures
Most common structures
Total Government
agency
Public-private partnership, non-profit
Board governance Yes Count 4 26 30 % within Most common structures 36,4% 92,9% 76,9%
% of Total 10,3% 66,7% 76,9% No Count 7 2 9
% within Most common structures
63,6% 7,1% 23,1%
% of Total 17,9% 5,1% 23,1% Total Count 11 28 39
% within Most common structures 100,0% 100,0% 100,0%
% of Total 28,2% 71,8% 100,0%
This table clearly shows that the majority of all DMOs structured as public-private partnerships, operating
as a non-profit organization are governed by a Board of Directors. In contradiction to that, the majority of
DMOs being a government agency is not governed by a Board of Directors.
Table 6 shows that statistical significance in this case is evident. Therefore, this result can be regarded as
being a reflection of the general DMO sector. Besides, the measure of association indicates that the
relationship between both variables is strong6:
6 The case processing summary can be found in the appendices.
55
Table 6:Statistical relationship test
Value Approx. Sig.
Nominal by Nominal
Phi -,603 ,000 Cramer's V ,603 ,000
N of Valid Cases 39 a Not assuming the null hypothesis.
b Using the asymptotic standard error assuming the null hypothesis.
Therefore, the statement can be statistically confirmed: Generally speaking, most DMOs are structured as
public-private non-profit organizations and are governed by a Board of Directors. The second most
common form of a DMO is that of a government agency, without board governance.
Statement 2
The structure of the DMO is determinant of the size of a DMO
The majority of all DMOs in this sample can be categorized as micro or small sized enterprises. Whether
the structure of a DMO is influencing the size of a DMO is shown below7:
Table 7: Statistical relationship test
Value Approx. Sig. Nominal by Nominal
Phi ,404 ,550 Cramer's V ,286 ,550
N of Valid Cases 54
a Not assuming the null hypothesis. b Using the asymptotic standard error assuming the null hypothesis.
The results clearly show that there is no statistical relationship between these two variables: The
statement can be regarded as false. Therefore, it can be pointed out that the structure of a DMO does not
influence the number of staff employed by a DMO. The case processing summary and the cross table
can be found in the appendices under ‘SPSS output’.
7 Since the most common structures of DMOs mainly imply public bodies, all response options have been included in this analysis, to guarantee a comprehensive insight in this potential relationship.
56
Statement 3
A DMO allocates most of its budget to what is considered as their core functions
Due to the fact that the aspect of budget allocation has been analyzed by means of Excel, the statistical relationship
of these two variables and its significance cannot be investigated by means of the measures used in SPSS.
However, from the results of the Excel analysis it can be derived that most DMOs allocate the biggest proportion of
their budget to the functions of promotion, including commercial marketing activities, and destination branding, which
is consistent with the functions that most DMOs consider their main roles and responsibilities. In that case
it can be stated that there is coherence between those two aspects.
In contradiction to that DMOs seem to allocate less of their budget to the functions of planning and
development, research and product development, all of which functions that achieved high numbers of
responses in line with the core responsibilities of a DMO.
As aforementioned, the statistical validity of this statement cannot be confirmed and, therefore, the
findings should be accepted under reserve. Besides, many different factors, such as the difference in
actions relating to each function and the respective expenses, may influence the budget allocation
significantly. However, it can be stated that there is a likelihood of these two aspects being interrelated.
Statement 4
The staff members of those DMOs that do not provide vocational training show more interest in
different workshop topics
Table 8: Relationship: Number of educational needs indicated and experience with training
Count
No training provided by DMO
Total Applicable Not
applicable Number of educational needs indicated
1 1 2 3 2 0 5 5 3 0 3 3 4 0 7 7 5 0 6 6 6 0 4 4 7 0 1 1 9 0 4 4 11 0 3 3 13 0 2 2 15 0 1 1 16 0 1 1
Total 1 39 40
57
Table 8 shows that only one of the respondents that indicated to work for a DMO that does not offer any
vocational training appointed a workshop topic of interest. Therefore, the statement cannot be confirmed.
The symmetric measures table supporting this outcome can be found in the appendices.
From the statement investigation above it can be derived that especially DMO staff familiar with
vocational training provided by their employee show an interest in various potential topics for vocational
training and workshops. Therefore, the statement above can be disproved.
When looking at the outcome of the question examining the most common barriers to providing vocational
training, it became clear that a certain proportion of DMOs in this sample do have other priorities than
training. Besides, some respondents indicated that they do not have any knowledge or information on
vocational training and the respective opportunities in this matter. When relating the result described
before, to the result of the question regarding barriers to training and education, it can be stated that a
great proportion of DMOs seems to have not yet dealt with the aspect of training at all. Therefore, it may
be advisable to approach DMOs with information on vocational training and the opportunities and benefits
entailed.
58
Statement 5
What a DMO considers as its core functions is reflected in their educational needs.
This statement implies that the main roles and responsibilities, as conducted in their daily operations,
directly relate to the topics that were indicated to be most important to the respondents. This statement
assumes that vocational training is provided to support the development of the skills and knowledge
relating to the main functions of a DMO, rather than a mean to give insight into new areas of expertise.
The outcome of the test will indicate whether DMO staff indeed prefers training on their areas of
expertise, or new subject areas.
In order to test this statement in terms of its representativeness and validity, cross tables based on
multiple response sets including the most common answers have been created:
59
Table 9: Relationship: Popular training topics and most common functions
Most common functions of a DMO
Total Planning_development_f
Product_development_f
Destination_Branding Research
Commercial_promotion
Most common topics of interest(a)
Planning_edu Count 18 12 16 17 12 20 % within $Common_functions 64,3% 60,0% 51,6% 70,8% 46,2%
Trends_edu Count 15 9 16 12 14 20 % within $Common_functions 53,6% 45,0% 51,6% 50,0% 53,8%
Destination_edu Count 18 15 23 17 17 25 % within $Common_functions 64,3% 75,0%
74,2% 70,8% 65,4%
Quality_edu Count 13 12 14 10 15 18 % within $Common_functions 46,4% 60,0% 45,2% 41,7% 57,7%
Research_edu Count 18 14 20 19 14 23 % within $Common_functions 64,3% 70,0% 64,5%
79,2% 53,8%
Product_edu Count 14 13 14 13 12 17 % within $Common_functions 50,0%
65,0% 45,2% 54,2% 46,2%
Conference_edu Count 9 7 10 9 7 12 % within $Common_functions 32,1% 35,0% 32,3% 37,5% 26,9%
Commercial_edu Count 10 7 14 8 11 16 % within $Common_functions 35,7% 35,0% 45,2% 33,3% 42,3%
Mediator_lb_p_edu Count 9 7 8 7 8 12 % within $Common_functions 32,1% 35,0% 25,8% 29,2% 30,8%
Visitor_services_edu Count 9 8 9 9 8 12 % within $Common_functions 32,1% 40,0% 29,0% 37,5% 30,8%
Total Count 28 20 31 24 26 38 Percentages and totals are based on respondents. a Dichotomy group tabulated at value 1.
60
The most common function of a DMO is destination branding. When interpreting the crosstab it becomes
obvious that 74.2% of all DMOs viewing destination branding as their main responsibility, also expressed
interest in vocational training on this subject. The second most common responsibility is promotion,
including commercial marketing activities. 42.3% of all interviewees indicated that they would like
vocational training on this matter.
The function of tourism planning and development, the third most common function, as a subject for
vocational training was popular among 64.3% of all interviewees in this category. Furthermore, product
development as a training topic appealed to 65% of all DMOs considering this function as one of their
main responsibilities. Finally, ‘research’ even achieved the highest percentage among this test with
79.2%.
In order to ensure the comprehensiveness of this examination, several other subjects have been included
in the test. Nevertheless, from the cross table above it can be derived that there is no preference for
training on new areas of expertise relating to the respective core functions among any of the DMOs in this
sample. Not even the popular topic of ‘trends and developments in the tourism industry’ was a
predominant choice.
Therefore, it can be pointed out that the statement above is true and indicates that among those DMOs in
this sample, the most interesting topics for vocational training directly relate to the core functions of a
DMO. For that reason, when informing DMOs on vocational training, training topics relating to the
traditional functions of a DMO should be introduced.8
Statement 6
The educational needs indicated by members depend on the sectors that DMO members operate
in
The examination of this statement will show whether there is a connection between the sectors DMO
members operate in and their educational needs. Since DMO members can be representatives of the
public and private sector, this examination may also be regarded as an indicator for the educational
needs of the public and private sector in the tourism industry in general.
Multiple response sets subject to the 5 most popular topics indicated by DMO members and the most 5
common sectors represented by members of a DMO are used for the verification of this statement.
The relevance of this statement to the analysis of DMOs in Europe comprises the facilitation of DMOs to
provide their members with better service according to their educational needs and interest in the
industry.
8 Please note that no statistical measures analysis was possible, since both variables were multiple response sets.
61
Table 10: Relationship: Popular training topics an d sectors represented by DMO members
Common sectors represented by members(a)
Total Business_cha
mber Government_
agencies Lodging_asso
ciation Restaurant_as
sociations Convention_c
enters Most popular topics members(a)
Product_edu_mem Count 6 5 8 8 7 9 % within $Common_sectors_mem 54,5% 50,0%
61,5% 66,7% 70,0%
Destination_edu_mem Count 6 4 7 7 6 7 % within $Common_sectors_mem 54,5% 40,0% 53,8% 58,3% 60,0%
Trends_edu_mem Count 7 6 8 7 6 9 % within $Common_sectors_mem
63,6% 60,0% 61,5% 58,3% 60,0%
Commercial_edu_mem Count 7 6 7 7 5 8 % within $Common_sectors_mem
63,6% 60,0% 53,8% 58,3% 50,0%
Conference_edu_mem Count 7 5 6 6 7 8 % within $Common_sectors_mem
63,6% 50,0% 46,2% 50,0%
70,0%
Total Count 11 10 13 12 10 15
Percentages and totals are based on respondents. a Dichotomy group tabulated at value 1. When interpreting the cross table above it becomes clear that among those members representing business organizations and chambers of commerce, the following
topics of vocational training were most appealing: Trends and developments in the tourism industry, commercial marketing activities and promotion and conference
management.
Among those members representing government agencies the topics ‘trends and developments in the tourism industry’ and ‘commercial marketing activities and
promotion’ were the most popular. Lodging associations appear to have an interest in ‘product development’ and ‘trends and developments in the tourism industry’,
while restaurant associations also indicated a predominant interest in ‘product development’. Convention centers seem to have an increased interest in ‘product
development’ and ‘trends and developments in the tourism industry’.
62
Taking into consideration that business organizations/chambers of commerce and government agencies
represent the public sector and lodging associations, restaurant associations and conventions centers
represent the private sector of the industry, the following can be stated:
Public sector representatives express an increased interest for the topics relating to commercialization
and marketing of the overall tourism products, whereas private sector representatives are more interested
in the actual tourism product related to their sector.
The topic ‘trends and developments in the tourism industry’ appealed to the private and public sector
equally.
Statement 7
The educational needs indicated by partners depend on the sectors that DMO partners operate in
In order to strengthen the representativeness and significance of the statement above, the same
investigation will be made based on the answers provided representative of DMOs partners.
The variables with the 5 biggest proportions have been included in multiple response sets of the most
common sectors represented by DMO partners and the most popular topics among DMO partners. The
cross table can be found on the following page.
The cross table 11 clearly shows that DMO partners being government agencies have a preference for
the area of destination branding.
Economic development agencies expressed the greatest interest in destination branding and planning
and development of the tourism industry.
Airport authorities appear to have the following preferences for the following areas of expertise: booking
channel, destination branding, product development and quality management.
Convention centers in this context were estimated to have the greatest interest in product development,
while lodging associations considered the topics ‘product development’ and ‘destination branding’ as
most interesting.
Business organizations and chambers of commerce indicated to be predominantly interested in
‘destination branding’.
Summing up it can be stated, that the public sector representatives, consisting of economic development
agencies, chambers of commerce and government agencies have a preference for destination branding
and planning and development. All of these topics relate to functions contributing to the greater
63
commercialization and more strategic instances of the tourism industry. In this regard, Titta Rosvall-
Puplett added that this may relate to the fact that DMO partners have more of a stake in the DMO and
more interest in increasing common goals and objectives than DMO members; DMO members mainly
expect something from their membership with a DMO, rather than helping the DMO in achieving its
objectives (Rosvall-Puplett, 2008).
The private sector representatives have a predominant interest in product development, directly relating
to tourism supply. Other aspects favored were destination branding, quality management and the DMO
as a booking channel.
Remarkable in this case is that only small proportions of the partners were expected to show and interest
in trends and developments of the tourism industry.
64
Table 11: Relationship: Popular training topics and sectors represented by DMO partners
Common sectors represented by partners(a)
Total
Government_agencies_part
ner
Economic_devel_agency_par
tner Airport_authori
ty_p Convention Lodging_asso
ciation_p Business_org
_partner Most popular topics among partners(a)
Booking_edu_part Count 4 2 4 4 4 3 5
% within $Common_sectors_partners
40,0% 28,6% 50,0%
36,4% 40,0% 30,0%
Destination_edu_part Count 6 4 4 5 6 6 8 % within $Common_sectors_partners
60,0% 57,1% 50,0% 45,5%
60,0% 60,0%
Trends_edu_part Count 5 3 3 3 4 4 5 % within $Common_sectors_partners
50,0% 42,9% 37,5% 27,3% 40,0% 40,0%
Commercial_edu_part Count 4 2 3 3 4 3 5 % within $Common_sectors_partners
40,0% 28,6% 37,5% 27,3% 40,0% 30,0%
Product_edu_part Count 4 3 4 6 6 5 7 % within $Common_sectors_partners
40,0% 42,9% 50,0% 54,5% 60,0%
50,0%
Planning_edu_part Count 5 4 3 4 5 5 6 % within $Common_sectors_partners
50,0% 57,1%
37,5% 36,4% 50,0% 50,0%
Quality_edu_mem Count 4 3 4 5 4 3 6 % within $Common_sectors_partners
40,0% 42,9% 50,0%
45,5% 40,0% 30,0%
Total Count 10 7 8 11 10 10 14 Percentages and totals are based on respondents. a Dichotomy group tabulated at value 1.
65
Since the results of statement 6 and 7 complement each other it can be assumed, that the sector a
stakeholder is operating in may have an influence on the topics considered as interesting for
educational training.
The results of this investigation may be used as a tool to advise DMOs in Europe regarding the needs
and wants of their stakeholders.
66
Research limitations
Theoretical limitations
Representativeness of respondents
As aforementioned, due to different tourism industry structures, especially in Central European
countries, respondents from the respective countries will be underrepresented as opposed to those
respondents from countries with a rather developed tourism industry. This aspect will be taken into
consideration when analyzing the result of the questionnaire. An overview of the countries and their
response rates can be found in the appendices on page LXIV.
Internal validity
The internal validity of a questionnaire is crucial in order to obtain representative results. Internal validity
refers to the relevance of the questions included in the questionnaire. Having defined what should be
achieved by means of this survey; all questions designed can be directly related to one of the three
subjects and can, therefore, be considered relevant to this research. (Saunders, Lewis, & Thornhill,
Assessing validity, 2007)
Practical limitations
Email distribution
The contact details of the DMOs in the sample were obtained through the mapping conducted prior to
the survey distribution. Since the mapping was undertaken using the internet as the only tool, the
information provided by DMO websites was regarded as a valid and accurate source of information.
Unfortunately, having distributed the survey for the first time it was noticed that some of the email
addresses appeared to be incorrect or no longer in use. Therefore, the number of DMOs in the sample
was less than originally anticipated.
Moreover, some DMOs use automated email response systems. This implied that having distributed the
survey, automated responses were received, providing basic information on the destination, but no
reaction to the survey. Therefore, it can be assumed that the actual survey never reached the
respective DMOs.
Another limitation in this regard relates to the fact that using email is a rather impersonal distribution
channel, which does not allow room for communicating problems relating to the understating of the
survey.
67
Absence of email contacts/persons in charge
Throughout the several distribution rounds it was noticed that many prior email contacts, from marketing
departments or people in charge of handling such enquiries, were absent for the term of the survey.
Follow-up calls
The main problem discovered during the round of follow-up calls related to the inaccurateness of phone
numbers provided on DMO websites. It was noticed that many phone numbers were no longer in use.
Besides, not all DMO websites had telephone numbers provided on their website.
Besides, when calling DMO offices, the general phone number provided on the website was called.
When talking to reception or administration, people often refused to put the call through to the person in
charge or stated the DMO would not participate in surveys at all.
Language barrier
A striking difficulty faced when making follow-up calls was the language barrier. This was especially the
case in those countries not being members of the European Union (Albania, Andorra, Bosnia and
Herzegovina, Georgia and Moldova), and Eastern European countries (Poland), and also Greece and
Hungary. Contacts from these countries had difficulties understanding the goal behind my research
and the research questions itself. Therefore, the response rates from the respective countries are
reasonably low.
Misinterpretation of the survey questions
This aspect relates to the limitation describe above: If questions were not understood correctly, the
question was most likely misinterpreted which may have influenced the response option chosen by the
participant. However, since the majority of the potential respondents in the sample appeared to have
good English skills, this limitation only has a limited impact on the representativeness of the research
results.
Internal situation of DMOs
Some DMOs responded to the emails by stating that their internal capacity would not allow the
participation in my survey. Apart from the understaffed DMOs, there were also several ones explaining
their intensive cooperation with students internally, by means of internships or student projects, so that,
consequently, they would not be able to allocate time towards enquiries from other students, too.
68
Generalization
Due to the limited time available for this research, no differentiation between the individual DMOs could
be made:
Operating level
The research investigates DMOs on the national, regional and capital city level. However, the analysis
itself does not account for these aspects.
Location and state of local tourism industry
The sample of this research includes DMOs of all European countries. However, the research does not
consider the state of the tourism industry in each country or region. The stage of the destination
lifecycle that a destination is currently experiencing may have influenced the respondents’ answers.
Subjectivity of responses
This limitation related to those questions investigating the attitudes of DMO members and partners
(educational needs). Since the survey was distributed to DMOs only, and not to their members or
partners, the response options were chosen by DMO staff instead of DMO members or partners.
Therefore, the answers should be regarded as subjective and only as an indication of the investigated
aspect.
Low response rates
A certain proportion of the questions in the survey only applied to a few respondents: When participants
indicated they did not have any members or partners or were not governed by a Board of Directors,
several questions did not apply to them. Therefore, the response rate to the respective questions was
limited. However, the result can still be regarded as representative for the DMOs in the sample, since
some of the aforementioned aspects were simply not relevant to some respondents in the sample.
Non-response analysis
The concluding observations of chapter 3 show that 6.8% of all DMOs in the sample refused to
participate in my survey. The most common reasons provided were: lack of time, lack of staff and
privacy policies.
An overview of all respondents can be found in the appendices on page XXXII.
69
CHAPTER 5 – CONCLUSION It can be concluded that most of the answers correspond to and confirm the categorization of DMOs
provided in chapter 3. However, slight differences were noticeable, as well:
DMOs in Europe are typically governed by Boards of Directors. However, despite the fact that the roles
and responsibilities of the Board are clearly defined, the majority of the Boards are not subdivided into
different committees.
A further difference identified relates to the funding sources utilized by DMOs in Europe. While DMOs in
America are typically funded by means of ‘bed taxes or hotel transient occupant taxes’ (Rogers, 2005),
European DMOs obtain most of their funding through municipalities or the regional government.
Despite the fact that the funding sources reflects Pike’s statement that “Given the long term uncertainty
of political commitment towards tourism”, “the over reliance of government funding has been a concern
to DMOs” (Pike, 2004), DMOs in Europe seem to have precluded this potential threat: Two third of
DMOs in Europe are self-financed by means of membership fees.
The essential conclusions of this thesis have been summed up into a general profile of a DMO in
Europe.
70
DMO profile Structure
The average DMO in Europe is a public-private non-profit organization . It employs less than 10
(41%) or less than 50 staff (41%) and can, therefore, be categorized as micro or small enterprises.
The most common departments in a DMO are marketing, accounting and product development .
Designing marketing and branding strategies for the destination is the responsibility of the marketing
department or Chief Executive Officer.
Board Governance
A DMO structured as a public-private non-profit organization is usually governed by a Board of
Directors , which is mainly composed of representatives from the public and private sector of the local
tourism industry . The main task of the Board of Directors is to make strategic decisions .
The average Board of Directors is not subdivided in committees, but operates as an entity.
When electing new Board members, Board members and all other stakeholders are entitled to vote.
Stakeholders
The average DMO has partnerships with predominantly the public sector (Chambers of commerce
and government agencies).
The majority of DMOs offers membership schemes, with an average of 100 members per DMO. Most
DMO members represent the private sector , namely restaurant and lodging associations, or the public
sector, chambers of commerce or government agencies.
Corporate organization
Within the average DMO most decisions are made by the Board of Directors .
Roles and responsibilities
The European DMO considers ‘destination branding’ and ‘tourism planning and development’ as
its main functions, while ‘commercial marketing activities and promotion’, ‘research’ and ‘product
development’ are frequent functions, too.
71
The functions the European DMO wants to focus on in the future remain to be ‘destination branding’
and ‘tourism planning and development’. However, an additional function seeming to gain importance in
the future is ‘quality management’ .
Funding
The most common source of funding for a DMO in Europe is the public sector on a local level:
Municipalities and regional government provide the biggest amount of funding. However, a great
proportion of DMOs is also self-financed by means of membership fees .
Budget
The average DMO in Europe has an annual budget of <€5,000,000 and allocates most of it towards the
functions of promotion and destination branding, both being considered as the core functions of a
DMO. DMOs do not consider allocating the biggest proportion of the budget to other functions in the
future.
Educational needs
The greater proportion of DMOs provides off-the job vocational training . The training topics most
appealing to DMO staff were ‘destination branding’ and ‘research’ . DMO staff appears to have an
increased interest in those subjects relating to the core functions of their DMO.
DMO members were estimated to have a preference for training on ‘product development’ and
‘commercial marketing activities and promotion’ .
The educational needs of DMO partners were assessed to relate to ‘destination branding’, ‘tourism
planning and development’ and ‘product development’ .
There may be a connection between the sector that stakeholders of the tourism industry operate in and
their educational needs: Public sector representatives showed an increased interest in training subjects
relating to commercialization and marketing, while private sector representatives expressed interest in
subjects directly relating to tourism supply and the tourism product. ‘Trends and developments in the
tourism industry’ was a subject favored by all stakeholders examined.
Those DMOs not providing training mentioned finances and time as the major barriers to vocational
training.
72
Trade events and conferences
The average DMO in Europe attends a conference or trade event in order to promote the destination.
Only 1.6% of the DMOs never attend a conference.
The most commonly attended trade events in Europe are WTM in the United Kingdom, ITB in Germany
and IMEX in Germany.
73
Suggestions for further research
The last chapters have reflected the results of the research. However, due to the limited time available
for this research, there are many more opportunities for continuative research:
Expand scope and sample size
As aforementioned, this research includes European DMOs on a national, regional and capital city
level. In order to increase the representativeness and specificity of the outcome, a continuative
research could be conducted, including all DMOs in Europe.
Differentiate operating levels
Using the results of the mapping as a basis, a further research could be conducted examining the
DMOs on each level separately. This may result in a more detailed and specified typology of the
national, regional and capital city DMO, facilitating the opportunity to provide even better service.
Differentiate according to stage in destination lif e cycle
By means of a continuative research that considers the different states of development at a tourist
destination, differences or similarity between DMOs in Europe could be identified accordingly. The
result may facilitate the ability to serve DMOs more efficiently and according to their needs.
Differentiate according to location
In order to get a more thorough insight into the DMOs in Europe, one could investigate differences
between DMOs per country: The sample should include all DMOs of each country in Europe and
analyze the results of each country separately. By doing so, differences between DMO patterns in
Europe may become clearer which may contribute to a better understanding of DMOs in each country
and, finally, to the provision of better service.
Extend research focus on educational needs
Due to the fact that education and training are essential for the success of an organization this aspect
may be interesting to conduct research on in more detail. The results of this research have shown that
the majority of DMOs in Europe is familiar with vocational training. However, since the results only
provide an insight into this subject, one could conduct continuative research regarding the frequency of
those trainings and the topics familiar to DMOs. The result of such research may help in designing
strategies to approach DMOs in that matter and attract DMOs’ interest in education and training.
74
Differentiate between leisure tourism and business tourism DMOs
Considering that DMOs focusing on business tourism and the MICE industry may have different needs
and a different corporate organization than DMOs concentrating on leisure tourism, an in-depth analysis
of the differences between those DMOs in terms of their structure, funding and educational needs may
be interesting. Together with DMAI a hypothesis may be set and tested by means of this research.
75
EPILOGUE Writing this thesis for DMAI has been beneficial to both my professional and personal development.
I have gained a lot of knowledge on the different tourism industry structures in the various countries in
Europe in general. When conducting the mapping, I realized how varied tourism industries can be and
how the various stakeholders impact tourism development differently in many countries. Despite the
fact that this aspect created rather challenging circumstances when it came to identifying the
appropriate institutions and DMOs, it provided me with additional information and knowledge that I had
not expected to gain beforehand.
When it came to analyzing the DMOs in the sample, I was surprised to see that despite the diversity
referred to above, there were common structures and patterns recognizable. Even though I had been
aware of the role of a DMO and their operations and position within the tourism industry, this research
has helped me to better understand a DMOs quintessence.
Moreover, I was able to apply the theory learnt throughout my studies of International Tourism
Management and Consultancy and the specialization International Marketing to practice. Besides, I
could intensify my skills regarding the statistical analysis program SPSS.
My career aspirations closely relate to the operations of DMOs and I am striving for a career in tourism
destination management. Therefore, I certainly benefited from conducting this study, as by gaining
more knowledge about his field of expertise, my interests were confirmed and I am eager to gain more
knowledge in this matter.
All information and experience obtained by means of this thesis will serve as a valuable basis for my
master study in tourism destination management and my further educational career.
DMAI, and especially my supervisor Titta Rosvall-Puplett, has shown great interest, faith and trust in my
skills and knowledge, which gave me a lot of confidence and motivation in composing this study.
In writing this thesis I faced an enriching challenge, which has been a truly valuable experience for me.
76
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EU: http://europa.eu/abc/european_countries/eu_members/index_en.htm
European Union. (n.d., n.d. n.d.). EUROPA. Retrieved January 10, 2008, from Other European
countries: http://europa.eu/abc/european_countries/others/index_en.htm
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Gehrisch, M. (2005). The contemporrary bureau. In R. Harrill, Fundamentals of Destination
Management and Marketing (p. xxvi). Michigan, the United States of America: Educational Institute of
the American hotel & lodging association.
Gehrisch, M. (2005). What is a CVB. In R. Harrill, Fundamentals of Destination Management and
Marketing. Michigan, the United States of America: Educational institute of the American hotel & lodging
association.
Geist, B. (2005). In R. Harrill, Fundamentals of Destination Management and Marketing. Michigan, the
United States of America: Educational institute of the American hotel & lodging association.
Gómez-Mejía, L. R., Blakin, D. B., & Cardy, R. L. (2006). In L. R. Gómez-Mejía, D. B. Blakin, & R. L.
Cardy, Managing Human Resources. Prentice Hall.
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Destination Management and Marketing. Michigan, the United States of America: Educational institute
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Rosvall-Puplett, T. (13. May 2008). Managing Director. (S. Kamann, Interviewer)
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Saunders, P. Lewis, & A. Thornhill, Research methods for business students. Essex, England: Prentice
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Thornhill, Research methods for business students. Essex, England: Prentice Hall.
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Destination Management and Marketing. Michigan, the United States of America: Educational Institute
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Marketing. Michigan, the United States of America: Educational institute of the American hotel & lodging
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2008, from http://www.yellowpencil.co.nz/brand%20sharpening/brand%20glossary
79
Photographic sources :
Cover page:
1. ‘Eiffel tower Paris France’
http://www.visitingdc.com/images/eiffel-tower-paris-france.jpg
2. ‘Big Ben’
http://www.inetours.com/England/London/images/BgBn/Big_Ben_8583.jpg
3. ‘Akropolis’
http://www.bunte-starshots.de/albums/userpics/15167/Akropolis.jpg
4. ‘From Sweden to Denmark’
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/181/463249772_43e3a94381_o.jpg
5. ‘Greek Islands, Turquoise Myrtos Beach’
http://image59.webshots.com/659/1/8/50/2342108500011516490FxgsdM_fs.jpg
6. ‘Tatras – Poland’
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ppanas/280677263/
7. ‘Dusk falls on the fishermen’
http://www.flickr.com/photos/acam/186300032/
8. Cyprus
http://www.tanzreise-zypern.de/images/meer150.jpg
9. Malta
http://www.malta-photos.com/data/thumbnails/40/0154.jpg
10. ‘Lone tree’
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/131/319873864_d2e4f76a8a.jpg?v=0
11. ‘Liptovská Mara’
http://www.flickr.com/photos/majkakmecova/2348648500/
12. ‘Brandenburger Tor’
http://cppi.free.fr/willkommen/dossiers/WM/Stadien/brandenburger_tor_n2.jpg
80
13. ‘Brussels Atmoium’
http://www.beautifuldaze.org/photos/atom.jpg
14. ‘ Liboa panormama’
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jasiot/425089633/
15. ‘Budapest Széchenyi Chain Bridge’
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/154/400704502_1b63911096.jpg?v=0
16. ‘Hagia Sofia from the Golden Horn, Istanbul’
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1414/1466475814_92fd434b85.jpg?v=0
17. ‘ Amsterdam’
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bcnbits/1535046496/
18. ‘Porvoo’, own photo
19. ‘Matterhorn’
http://www.weltum.de/weltum/img/alpen_matterhorn.jpg
20. ‘Ireland’
http://img.stern.de/_content/56/77/567712/Irland1_500_500.jpg
21. ‘Tuscany’
http://traveldk.com/dkimages/0-tuscany_master.jpg
22. ‘Keila Joa’ (Estonia)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/hommik/2065750824/
I
APPENDICES
II
Organizational chart DMAI
III
Mapping results EU members Austria The Austrian National Tourist Office; ANTO Vienna, Österreich Werbung Burgenland Tourismus Kärnten Information Niederösterreich Information Oberösterreich Tourismus Information Salzburger Land Tourismus Steirsche Tourismus GmbH Tirol Info Vorarlberg Tourismus Wien Tourismus Brussels Brussels International - Tourism & Congress (BI-TC) Toerisme Vlaanderen Office de Promotion du Tourisme de Wallonie et de Bruxelles
Bulgaria Bulgarian State Agency for Tourism Cyprus Cyprus Tourism Organisation CTO Information Office Agia Napa CTO Information Office Germasogeias CTO Information Office Kato Pafos CTO Information Office Larnaka CTO Information Office Lefkosia CTO Information Office Lemesos CTO Information Office Pafos CTO Information Office Paralimni Protaras CTO Information Office Platres
Czech Republic Czech Tourism Authority Denmark Visit Denmark Wonderful Copenhagen Head Office Destination Roskilde, Roskilde Lejre Turistbureau VISITEASTDENMARK - Østdansk Turisme Bornholms Velkomstcenter Fonden Fyntour VisitNordjylland.dk
IV
Turistgruppen Vestjylland South-East Jutland Region Tourism Development Organization
Estonia Estonian Tourist Board Tallinn City Tourist Office & Convention Bureau
Finland Finnish Tourist Board Helsinki City Tourist & Convention Bureau
Espoo Convention & Marketing Turku Touring Tampere Convention Bureau Lapland Marketing Ltd Oulu City Tourist Office, Convention and Marketing Congress Vaasa Vaasa Tourist Office Rauma Regional Tourist Information Pori Tourist Office Kokkola City Tourist Office Åland Tourism Board
France French Tourist Authority CRT Aquitaine CRDT D'AUVERGNE CRT Bretagne CRT Bourgogne CRT Champagne-Ardenne CRT Alsace CRT Franche-Comté AGENCE DU TOURISME DE LA CORSE CRT Aude CRT Limousin Région des Pays de la Loire CRT Val-de-Loire CRT Lorraine CRT Midi-Pyrénéés CRT Nord-Pas de Calais CRT Normandie CRT Paris Ile-de-France CRT Picardie CRT Poitou-Charentes CRT de Provence Alpes Cote d'Azur CRT Rhone-Alpes CRT Riviera Cote d'Azur
V
Germany Bayern Tourismus Marketing GmbH Berlin Tourismus Marketing GmbH BTZ Bremer Touristik-Zentrale, Gesellschaft für Marketing und Service mbH Deutsche Zentrale für Tourismus HA Hessen Agentur GmbH Hamburg Tourismus GmbH Nordrhein-Westfalen Tourismus e.V. Rheinland-Pfalz Tourismus GmbH TMB Tourismus-Marketing Brandenburg GmbH Tourismus Marketing Gesellschaft Sachsen mbH Tourismus Marketing GmbH Baden-Württemberg Tourismus Zentrale Saarland GmbH Tourismus-Agentur Schleswig-Holstein GmbH TourismusMarketing Niedersachsen GmbH Tourismus-Marketing Sachsen-Anhalt GmbH Tourismusverband Mecklenburg-Vorpommern e.V. Tourist Information Thüringen
Greece Greek National Tourism Organisation RTO ARGOSTOLI RTO Arta RTO Chios RTO Gythio RTO Hania Heraklion - Offices of Tourism Directorate RTO IGOUMENITSA RTO IOANNINA RTO Kalamata RTO Kavala RTO Kerkyra RTO Komotini RTO Kos RTO Kozani RTO Lamia RTO Larissa RTO Lefkada RTO Mitilini RTO Mykonos RTO Paros RTO Patra RTO Rethimno RTO Rodos RTO Samos RTO Syros Thessaloniki - -Offices of Tourism Directorate RTO THIRA (SANTORINH) RTO Tripoli
VI
RTO Volos RTO Zakynthos
Hungary Hungarian National Tourist Office Central Danubien Regional Marketing Directorate Balaton Regional Tourist Project Office Southern Plain Regional Marketing Directorate The Lake Tisza Regional Tourist Project Office North Hungary Regional Marketing Directorate Budapest Tourism Office
Ireland Tourism Ireland, Northern Ireland Tourism Ireland Belfast CVB Derry CVB Fermanagh Lakeland Tourism Northern Ireland Tourism Board Causeway Coast & Glens Tourism Armagh Down Tourism Partnership Fáilte Ireland East & Midlands Dublin Tourism Fáilte Ireland North West Fáilte Ireland South West Failte Ireland Fáilte Ireland
Italy Italian State Tourism Board Regione Abruzzo - Servizio Sviluppo del Turismo Tourism Region Campania - Redazione Portale Turismo Regione Campania Emilia-Romagno Tourist Authority Agenzia Turismo Friuli Venezia Giulia Regione Ligura Turismo Regione Lombardia, DG Giovani, Sport, Promozione Attività Turistica Toscana Promozione Trentino S.p.A Rome Tourist Board
Latvia Latvia Tourism Riga Tourism Coordination and Information Centre
VII
Lithuania Lithuanian State Department of Tourism Luxembourg Office national du tourisme Malta Malta Tourism Authority Gozo Tourism Association
Netherlands, the Nederlands Bureau voor Toerisme & Congressen (Dutch CVB) BBT - Brabant Tourism Bureau Marketing Groningen Fryslan Marketing Marketing Drenthe Gelders Overijssels Buerau voor Toerisme Flevoland Utrecht Toerisme & Recreatie Toerisme Noord-Holland Zuid-Hollands Bureau voor Toerisme Bureau voor Toerisme Zeeland Samenwerkende VVV's in Limburg Amsterdam Toerisme en Congres Bureau
Poland Polish National Tourist Office and CVB Warsaw Convention Bureau Convention Bureau, Municipality of Krakow, Promotion and Tourism Department
Portugal Turismo de Portugal Porto and North Tourism Turismo do Alentejo ATA - Associação Turismo do Algarve ATA – Associação de Turismo dos Açores Direcção Regional do Turismo da Madeira Agência Regional de Promoção Turistica Centro de Portugal Turismo de Lisboa - Visitors & Convention Bureau
Romania Tourism Romania
VIII
Slovakia Slovak Tourist Board Bratislava Culture and Information Centre Banská Bystrica Culture and Information Centre RTO Mikulás Poprad Tourist Information Centre Information Centre CK Selinan in Žilina Information Centre of the Town Košice Trenčín Culture and Information Centre Turisticko informačná kancelária a cestovná agentúra
Slovenia Slovenian Tourist Board Slovenian Convention Bureau The Ljubljana Tourist Board and CVB
Spain Instituto de Turismo de España Turismo Andaluz S.A. Turismo de Extremadura Murcia Turística Instituto de Promocíon Turística de Castilla la Mancha Sociedad de Promocíon del Turismo de Castilla y León Turismó de Aragon Turisme de Catalunya La Rioja Turismo Departamento de Cultura y Turismo San Sebastián Tourism Office Dirección General de Turismo - Turismo de Cantabria Sociedad regional de Turismo del Principado de Asturias, Parque Tecnológico de Asturias Galicia Tourism Turgalicia Turismo de Baleares - Ibatur Promotur Turismo Canarias SA Valencia Tourism and Convention Bureau Turisme de Barcelona Consortium Consorcio Turístico de Madrid
Sweden VisitSweden Swedish Lapland Västerbotten Turism Jämtland Härjedalen Turism Hälsingland Turism Mid Sweden Tourism, Mitt Sverige Turism Sörmlands Turism Destination Örebro Gästrikland Turism
IX
Västmanlands Kommuner & Landsting (Regional tourism development agency) Uppsala Tourism Region Blekinge - Tourism West Sweden Tourist Board Gotland Tourist Association Region Halland - Tourism East Sweden Tourist Board Position Skane Visit Smaland Stockholm Visitors Board and Congress Stockholm
United Kingdom Visit Britain VisitEngland Visit London East Midlands Tourism East of England Tourism Northwest Regional Development Agency Advantage West Midlands - Tourism West Midlands Regional Tourism Team - One North East Tourism South East South West Tourism Yorkshire Tourist Board VisitScotland ConventionScotland VisitShetland VisitOrkney- Kirkwall Visitor Information Centre Stornoway Tourist Information Centre VisitScotland - Highlands VisitScotland - Aberdeen and Grampian VisitScotland - Angus and Dundee VisitScotland - Perthshire VisitottishHeartlands VisitFife Glasgow City Marketing Bureau VisitScotland Ayrshire and Arran The Scottish Borders Tourist Board VisitScotland Dumfries & Galloway Edinburgh Convention Bureau VisitScotland - Edinburgh & Lothians VisitWales - Welsh Assembly Government
X
Non-EU members Albania Tourism Albania - The Albanian Institute of Tourism & Environmental Developments Andorra Ministry of Tourism and Environment Tourist office of Ordino Tourist and information department of Sant Julià de Lòria Comú Tourist office of Andorra la Vella Oficina de Turisme Valls de Canillo Unió pro-turisme d'Escaldes-Engordany Armenia Tourism Armenia - Tourism Information Centre Azerbaijan Tourism in Azerbaijan Belarus Belarus Tourism Bosnia and Herzegovina Tourism Community of FB&H Georgia Departments of Tourism and Resorts Iceland Icelandic Tourist Board (Head office) Icelandic Tourist Board Iceland Convention and Incentive Bureau The Westfjords Tourist Bureau Northiceland East Iceland Tourist Board South Iceland West Iceland Tourism Visit Reykjavík Liechtenstein Liechtenstein Tourism Moldova Moldova Ministry of Culture and Tourism
XI
Monaco Direction du Tourisme et des Congrès de la Principauté de Monaco Montenegro The Ministry of Tourism Norway Innovation Norway - Norwegion Tourist Board Hedmark Tourist Board Hallingdal Reiseliv as. Telemarkreiser AL Visit Orlandet Fjord Norge AS Rogaland Reiseliv Hordaland Reiseliv Trøndelag Reiseliv AS Nordland Reiseliv AS Troms Reiseliv AS Finnmark Tourist Board Svalbard Reiseliv Visit Oslo Russia - San Marino State office of tourism San Marino Serbia National Tourism Organisation of Serbia Switzerland Schweiz Tourismus Basel Tourism Ostschweiz Tourismus Schweizer Mittelland Tourismus Luzern Tourismus AG, Region Zentralschweiz Freiburger Tourimusverband Genève Tourisme Graubünden Ferien Office du tourisme du Canton de Vaud Watch Valley Coordination Ticino Turismo Valais Tourisme Zürich Tourismus Bern Tourism
XII
Ukraine - Vatican City State - Candidate members Croatia Croation National Tourist Board The Croation Convention and Incentive Bureau (CCIB) Zagreb Tourist Board & Convention Bureau Tourist Board of the County of Krapina - Zagorje Tourist Board of the County of Varaždin Tourist Board of the County of Osijek - Baranja Tourist Board of the County of Vukovar - Srijem Tourist Board of the County of Istria, Istria Convention Bureau Tourist Board of the County of Primorje - Gorski Kotar Tourist Board of the County of Zadar Tourist Board of the County of Sibenik-Knin Tourist Board of the County of Split-Dalmatia Tourist Board of the County of Dubrovnik-Neretva Macedonia Macedonian National Tourism Portal Turkey Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Turkish Republic Istanbul Convention and Visitors Bureau
XIII
Data requirements tables
Overall goal: To get an insight into DMOs in Europe in terms of their structure, funding and educational needs. Data requirements table: Structure Research objective: To get an insight into DMOs in Europe in terms of their structure. Type of research: Mainly descriptive, even though differences between DMOs of EU-member countries and non-member countries might be examined, if answers differ considerably.
Investigative questions
Variable(s) required Detail in which data measured
Measure ment level
Check include
d in questionnaire
What is the overall structure of DMOs? (attribute)
Structure of DMO
Public (government agency, government department/ministry/chamber), public-private (private organization in partnership with public institution), private (as independent agency, e.g. Marketing Bureau), association
Nominal √√√√
How many employees work at the DMO?(attribute)
Number of employees at DMO
Full-time employees, part-time employees
Scale √√√√
Within your DMO, who is responsible for creating marketing and brand strategies for your destination? (behavior)
Brand strategy9
Marketing department, Board, Product development department, quality management department, CEO, external consultant, other, namely…
Nominal √√√√
What departments are there within your DMO (attribute)
Different departments within DMO
Marketing, Sales, Research, and Product development, Accounting, Policy, Quality management, human resources, other, namely …..
Nominal √√√√
Is your DMO governed by a Board? (attribute)
Governance of DMO
Yes, no Nominal √√√√
How is your Board composed? (attribute)
Composition of Board of DMO
Representatives from local tourism industry (private sector, public sector), representatives from national tourism industry (private sector, public sector), and representatives from other local industry sectors (retail sector, hospitality industry, agriculture, industrial sector, other, namely ….), representatives from other
Nominal √√√√
9 Brand strategy = “A plan for the systematic development of a brand to enable it to meet its agreed objectives. The
strategy should be rooted in the brand's vision and driven by the principles of differentiation and sustained consumer appeal. The brand strategy should influence the total operation of a business to ensure consistent brand behaviors and brand experiences” (Yellow Pencil Brand Sharpening, n.d.)
XIV
national industry sectors (retail sector, hospitality industry, agriculture, industrial sector, other, namely ….), community representatives
What is the main task of your Board? (attribute/behavior)
Roles and responsibilities of Board
Deciding on strategic measurements, budget control, performance management and evaluation
Nominal √√√√
Does your Board consist of several Committees10? (attributes)
Existence of Committees within Board
Executive committee, strategic marketing, resource development, other, namely…
Nominal √√√√
How are Board members elected? (behavior)
Selection process of Board members
Only Board Members can vote, only partners can vote, only members can vote, , staff members vote, public vote, all members, partners, staff and board members vote
Nominal √√√√
Does your DMO have any partnerships? (attributes)
Existence of partnerships with DMO?
Public sector, private sector Nominal √√√√
Does your DMO have any members? (attributes)
Number of members
Number Scale √√√√
Which sectors do your partners represent? (attributes)
Partnerships within different sectors
Government agency(ies), Business organization(s)/Chamber(s) of Commerce, Economic development agency(ies), Airport authority(ies), Port authority(ies), Lodging association(s), Parks and recreation authority(ies), Media, Community leadership organization(s), Convention center(s), Sports organization(s), Arts and cultural organization(s), Restaurant association(s) (Destination Marketing Association International, 2008)
Nominal √√√√
Does your DMO have members? (attributes)
Existence of membership patterns within DMO
Yes, no Nominal √√√√
Which sectors do your members operate in? (behavior)
Sectors members of DMO operate in
Educational institutes, Individuals/community members, Government agency(ies), Business organization(s)/Chamber(s) of Commerce, Economic development agency(ies), Airport authority(ies), Port authority(ies), Lodging association(s), Parks and recreation authority(ies), Media, Community leadership organization(s), Convention center(s), Sports organization(s), Arts and cultural organization(s),
Nominal √√√√
10 Committees = Board committees are any groups set up by the Board, instructed by the Board, or reporting to the Board…” (Carver & Carver, 1997)
XV
Restaurant association(s) (Destination Marketing Association International, 2008)
How is the decision-making process within your DMO managed? (behavior)
Decision-making process within DMO
All important decisions made by Board only, partners only, members only, staff only, all immediate stakeholders
Nominal √√√√
According to your company’s mission and vision, what are the core responsibilities and functions of your DMO? (behavior)
Core responsibilities and functions of DMO
Product development, Tourism planning, Research, Crisis management, Visitor management, Visitor services – information services, Booking channel, destination branding, Intermediate between visitors and local businesses, resource management, Intermediate between local businesses and public sector, Consulting function for private sector, conference and meeting management, Quality management, commercial activities, promotion, other, namely ….
Nominal √√√√
According to you personally, what are the main functions of your DMO? (opinion)
Personal view on main functions of DMO, future orientation
Product development, Tourism planning, Research, Crisis management, Visitor management, Visitor services – information services, Booking channel, destination branding, Intermediate between visitors and local businesses, resource management, Intermediate between local businesses and public sector, Consulting function for private sector, conference and meeting management, Quality management, commercial activities, promotion, other, namely ….
Nominal √√√√
(Saunders, Lewis, & Thornhill, Designing the questionnaire, 2007)
XVI
Data requirement table: Funding Research objective: To get an insight into DMOs in Europe in terms of their funding. Type of research: Mainly descriptive, even though differences between DMOs of EU-member countries and non-member countries might be examined, if answers differ considerably.
Investigative questions
Variable(s) required Detail in which data measured Measurem
ent level
Check include
d in questionnaire
How does your DMO obtain funding and grants?(behavior)
Funding sources
Local authority or municipality, Central government, European Union, Regional government or agency, Membership fees, Commercial activities, Private sector sponsorship, Hotel bed taxes, other, namely….
Nominal √√√√
What is the annual budget of your DMO? (attribute)
Annual budget Figure Scale √√√√
What functions does your DMO spend most money on? (behavior)
Budget allocation
Product development, Tourism planning, Research, Crisis management, Visitor management, Visitor services – information services, Booking channel, destination branding, Intermediate between visitors and local businesses, resource management, Intermediate between local businesses and public sector, Consulting function for private sector, conference and meeting management, Quality management, Training and education, other, namely ….
Nominal √√√√
In your opinion, what function should more money be allocated to? (opinion)
Personal view on budget allocation, future orientation
Product development, Tourism planning, Research, Crisis management, Visitor management, Visitor services – information services, Booking channel, destination branding, Intermediate between visitors and local businesses, resource management, Intermediate between local businesses and public sector, Consulting function for private sector, conference and meeting management, Quality management, special interest tourism, Training and education, other, namely ….
Nominal √√√√
(Saunders, Lewis, & Thornhill, Designing the questionnaire, 2007)
XVII
Data requirement table: Educational needs Research objective: To get an insight into DMOs in Europe in terms of their educational needs. Type of research: Mainly descriptive, even though differences between DMOs of EU-member countries and non-member countries might be examined, if answers differ considerably.
Investigative questions
Variable(s) required
Detail in which data measured
Measurement level
Check include
d in questionnaire
Does your DMO offer further vocational training for skill enhancement? (behavior)
Vocational training
Yes (in-house training/on-the-job training, off-the-job training – in the country, outside the country)
Nominal √√√√
If applicable, vocational training and workshops of which topic are most interesting to your DMO, partners and members? (opinion)
Topic of trainings
Product development, Tourism planning, Research, Crisis management, Visitor management, Visitor services, Destination Branding, resource management, Consulting, conference and meeting management, Quality management, trends and developments in the tourism and leisure industry, human resources management, sales skills, special interest tourism, other, namely ….
Nominal √√√√
If applicable, what are the reasons for your DMO not having attended or provided any vocational training?(opinion)
Reasons for DMO not having attended or provided any vocational training
Lack of financial means, not enough staff, distance, irrelevant subject of trainings, disinterest, disbelief in significance of such trainings, insufficient knowledge of such trainings, duration of trainings, other priorities, other, namely…
Ordinal √√√√
Does your DMO send its employees to national or international trade events or conferences to enhance industry knowledge? (behavior)
Trade events and conferences as educational measurements
Yes, namely (list), No Nominal √√√√
(Saunders, Lewis, & Thornhill, Designing the questionnaire, 2007)
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Sample survey DMAI survey – Investigating DMOs in Europe Dear Sir or Madam, My name is Sabrina Kamann and I am a 4th-year student of NHTV, Breda University of Applied Sciences in the Netherlands and am currently writing my bachelor thesis. In this regard, I am working on a graduation project for Destination Marketing Association International (DMAI). The goal of my thesis is to find out about the structure, funding and educational needs of Destination Marketing Organizations in Europe. As a part of my research I have composed a questionnaire, investigating those aspects. The results of the survey will serve as the basis for my analysis and are crucial for the outcome of my thesis. The survey consists of 24 multiple-choice questions and will take approximately 10 minutes to complete. I would greatly appreciate your participation in this survey and would be pleased, if you returned the completed survey before the deadline on 28 March 2008 . Your information will be treated confidentially; all results will be presented anonymously. If you are interested in a summary of the results of the survey, please fill in your name and email address at the bottom of the survey document. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me [email protected] or [email protected] . Thank you very much for your time, I look forward to receiving your completed survey. Kind regards Sabrina Kamann 4th year student International Tourism Management and Consultancy NHTV, Breda University of Applied Sciences, the Netherlands Information on DMAI Destination Marketing Association International is the “the world’s largest and most reliable resource for official destination marketing organizations and is dedicated to improving the effectiveness of over 1,400 professionals from 650+ destination marketing organizations in more than 35 countries.” DMAI provides its members with educational resources, opportunities for networking and marketing benefits. Moreover, DMAI offers opportunities for professional development, organizational development and business development. For more information on DMAI, please visit www.destinationmarketing.org.
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Please fill in the survey objectively and representative of your organization’s culture. Your answers will be treated confidentially. Name of organization: Position within the organization: Country:
1. Structure This part of the survey investigates aspects relating to the structure of your organisation.
1. What is the overall structure of your DMO? (Please tick where appropriate)
Government agency Chamber of commerce Division of a chamber Public-private partnership non-profit Public-private partnership for-profit Private non-profit organization Private for-profit organization Private for-profit organization Other, namely
2. How many employees work at your organization? Full-time employees Part-time employees
3. What departments are there within your DMO? (several answers possible)
Marketing Sales Product development Accounting Policy Quality Management Human Resources Management Crisis Management Special Interest Tourism Other, namely
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4. Within your DMO who is responsible for creating marketing and branding strategies for
your destination? (Please tick where appropriate)
Marketing department Product development department Quality Management department Board of Directors Chief Executive Officer External Consultants Other, namely
DMO governance
5. Is your DMO governed by a Board of Directors? (Please tick where appropriate)
Yes No (go to question 10)
6. How is your Board composed? (Please tick where appropriate, several answers possible)
Representatives from local tourism industry – public sector Representatives from local tourism industry – private sector Representatives from local tourism industry – semi-government agency Representatives from regional tourism industry – public sector Representatives from regional tourism industry – private sector Representatives from regional tourism industry – semi-government agency Representatives from national tourism industry – public sector Representatives from national tourism industry – private sector Representatives from national tourism industry – semi-government agency Representatives from other local industry sectors, namely Representatives from other regional industry sectors, namely Representatives from other national industry sectors, namely
7. What is the main task of your Board of Directors? (Please tick where appropriate)
Making strategic decisions Executing strategies Performance measurement and evaluation Budget control Other, namely
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8. Does your Board of Directors consist of several Committees? (Several answers possible)
No, our Board does not consists of any committees Yes, Executive Committee Yes, Strategic Marketing Yes, Resource Development Other, namely
9. How is the Board election process managed? (Please tick where appropriate, several answers possible)
Only Board members can vote Only company partners can vote Only DMO members can vote Only staff members can vote All stakeholders can vote Only few stakeholders can vote, namely There is no election process, Board members are appointed differently, namely,
Partnerships and members Does your DMO have any partnerships? (Please tick where appropriate)
No (skip question 13) Yes
10. Does your DMO have any members? (Please tick where appropriate)
No (skip question 13) Yes
11. How many members does your DMO have? (Please fill in number)
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12. Which sectors do stakeholders of your DMO represent?(several answers possible)
Members Partners Government agency(ies) Business organization(s)/Chamber of commerce(s) Economic development agency(ies) Airport authority(ies) Port authority(ies) Lodging association(s) Parks and recreation authority(ies) Media Community leadership organization(s) Convention center(s) Sports organization(s) Arts and cultural organization(s) Restaurant association(s) Other, namely
13. How is the decision-making process managed within your DMO? (Please tick where appropriate)
Decisions made by Board of Directors only Decisions made by partners only Decisions made by members only Decisions made by staff only Decisions made by all immediate stakeholders Decisions made by independent institutions Other, namely
14. According to your DMO’s vision and mission what are the core responsibilities and functions of your DMO? (several answers possible)
Product development Tourism planning and development Research Crisis Management Visitor Management Visitor services – information services Booking channel Destination Branding Mediator between visitors and local businesses Mediator between local businesses and public sector Resource Management Consulting function for tourism stakeholders in private sector Conference and Meeting Management Quality Management Commercial Marketing activities and Promotion Other, namely
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15. According to you personally, what should your DMO focus on in the future? (several answers possible)
Product development Tourism planning and development Research Crisis Management Visitor Management Visitor services – information services Booking channel Destination Branding Mediator between visitors and local businesses Mediator between local businesses and public sector Resource Management Consulting function for tourism stakeholders in private sector Conference and Meeting Management Quality Management Commercial Marketing activities and Promotion Other, namely
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2. Funding
This part of the survey investigates aspects relating to the funding of your organisation. Funding sources
16. From which source does your DMO obtain funding and grants? (several answers possible)
Municipality or local authority Central government European Union Regional government or agency Membership fees Commercial activities Private sector sponsorship Hotel bed taxes Other, namely
17. What is the annual budget of your DMO? (Please fill in number)
18. What functions does your DMO allocate most of its budget to? (Please fill in percentages) Product development % Tourism planning and development % Research % Crisis Management % Visitor Management % Visitor services – information services % Booking channel % Destination Branding % Mediator between visitors and local businesses % Mediator between local businesses and public sector % Resource Management % Consulting function for tourism stakeholders in private sector % Conference and Meeting Management % Quality Management % Commercial Marketing activities and Promotion % Training and education % Other, namely %
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19. In your opinion, what function should more money be allocated to in the future?(several answers possible)
Product development Tourism planning and development Research Crisis Management Visitor Management Visitor services – information services Booking channel Destination Branding Mediator between visitors and local businesses Mediator between local businesses and public sector Resource Management Consulting function for tourism stakeholders in private sector Conference and Meeting Management Quality Management Commercial Marketing activities and Promotion Training and education Other, namely
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3. Educational needs This part of the survey investigates aspects relating to the educational needs of DMOs. Vocational training
20. Does your DMO offer further vocational training for skill enhancement for your staff? (Please tick where appropriate)
Yes, in-house/on-the-job training Yes, off-the-job training No (go to question 23)
21. Vocational training and workshops of which topics are the most interesting to …? (several
answers possible) Own staff Members Partners Product development Tourism planning and development Research Crisis Management Visitor Management Visitor services – information services Booking channel Destination Branding Mediator between visitors and local businesses Mediator between local businesses and public sector Resource Management Consulting function for tourism stakeholders in private sector Conference and Meeting Management Quality Management Special Interest Tourism Trends and developments in the tourism industry Commercial activities and promotion Other, namely
22. What are the reasons for your DMO not to attend or provide vocational training and workshops for its staff? (Please number each of the factors below in order of importance. Number the most important 1, the next 2 and so on. If a factor has no importance, please number it 0)
Finances
Lack of staff
Time
Location/distance
Duration of training courses/conventions/ …
Other priorities
Insufficient knowledge and information about trainings
Other, namely
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23. Does your DMO attend or send staff to national or international trade events or
conferences? (several answers possible)
No Yes, to enhance industry knowledge Yes, to present and promote destination Yes, to network
Examples:
Internationale Tourismus Börse (ITB) , Berlin, Germany IMEX, Frankfurt, Germany TTW, Montreux, Switzerland World Travel Market (WTM), London, England Vakantiebeurs, Utrecht, the Netherlands Ferien Messe Wien, Vienna, Switzerland Brussels Travel Expo, Brussel, Belgium Nordic Travel Fair Matka, Helsinki, Finland Le Monde À Paris, Paris, France Caucasus Tourism Fair, CTF, Tbilisi, Georgia Philoxenia, Thessaloniki, Greece International Tourism Exchange (BIT), Milan, Italy BaltTour, Riga, Lativia Norway International Meeting and Travel Fair (REISELIV), Lillestrøm, Norway Intourmarket (ITM), Moscow, Russia International Meeting Industry & Business Travel Exhibition and Conference (MIBEXPO),
Moscow, Russia FITUR, Madrid, Spain Eastern Mediterranean International Travel & Tourism Exhibition (EMITT), Istanbul, Turkey British Travel Trade Fair (BTTF), Birmingham, England MICE Ukraine, Kiev, Ukraine Other, namely
Thank you very much for your cooperation..... If you are interested in a summary of the results of this survey, please provide your contact details below. Name: Email address:
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Accompanying email Dear Sir or Madam, My name is Sabrina Kamann and I am a 4th-year student of NHTV, Breda University of Applied Sciences in the Netherlands and am currently writing my bachelor thesis. In this regard, I am working on a graduation project for Destination Marketing Association International (DMAI). The goal of my thesis is to find out about the structure, funding and educational needs of Destination Marketing Organizations in Europe. As a part of my research I have composed a questionnaire, investigating those aspects. The results of the survey will serve as the basis for my analysis and are crucial for the outcome of my thesis. Please find the respective survey in the attachment. The survey consists of 24 multiple-choice questions and will take approximately 10 minutes to complete. I would greatly appreciate your participation in this survey and would be pleased, if you returned the completed survey before the deadline on 20 March 2008. Your information will be treated confidentially; all results will be presented anonymously. If you are interested in a summary of the results of the survey, please fill in your name and email address at the bottom of the survey document. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me [email protected] or [email protected]. Thank you very much for your time, I look forward to receiving your completed survey. Kind regards Sabrina Kamann 4th year student International Tourism Management and Consultancy NHTV, Breda University of Applied Sciences, the Netherlands
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First reminder email Dear Sir or Madam, About 2 weeks ago I have sent you an email including a survey investigating DMOs in Europe. The survey is an essential part of the research for my bachelor thesis and, therefore, I would really appreciate your participation in this questionnaire. I would be very pleased if you returned the completed survey before the deadline on 20 March 2008 . If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me [email protected] or [email protected]. Thank you very much for your cooperation, Kind regards Sabrina Kamann 4th year student ITMC NHTV Breda University of Applied Sciences, the Netherlands
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Email: Deadline extension Dear Sir or Madam, About 4 weeks ago I have sent you an email including a survey investigating DMOs in Europe. I am conducting this research as a part of my bachelor thesis – “Investigating DMOs in Europe – an in-depth analysis”. Unfortunately, until now I have not received enough responses for my research to be representative. The results of this survey will serve as a basis for the core analysis of my bachelor thesis. Therefore, I would like to kindly ask you to help me out and participate in my survey, it would be highly appreciated. I would be very pleased if you returned the completed survey before the new deadline on 28 March 2008 . If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me [email protected] or [email protected]. Thank you very much for your cooperation, Kind regards Sabrina Kamann 4th year student ITMC NHTV Breda University of Applied Sciences, the Netherlands
XXXI
Second reminder email Dear Sir or Madam, About 4 weeks ago I have sent you an email including a survey investigating DMOs in Europe. The survey is an essential part of the research for my bachelor thesis and, therefore, I would really appreciate your participation in this questionnaire. Unfortunately at this point I have not received any responses from (country) yet and have far too few responses for my research to be representative. Therefore, I would be very pleased if you found the time to complete the survey and returned it before the deadline on 28 March 2008. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me [email protected] or [email protected]. Thank you very much for your cooperation, Kind regards Sabrina Kamann 4th year student ITMC NHTV Breda University of Applied Sciences, the Netherlands
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List of respondents
Andorra National Tourist Office Andorra Vienna Tourist Board Austria Tourism Salzburger Land Austria National Tourism Agency of the Republic of Belarus Belarus Office de Promotion du Tourisme de Wallonie et de Bruxelles Belgium Toerisme Vlaanderen Belgium Tourist Board of Osijek-Baranja County Croatia Zagreb Tourist Board & Convention Bureau Croatia Croatian Convention and Incentive Bureau, Croatian National Tourist Board Croatia Istria county Tourist board Croatia Cyprus Tourism Organisation Cyprus Roskilde Lejre Tourist Office Denmark Syddansk Turisme Denmark VisitNordjylland.dk Denmark Visit London England Tourism Lapland Finland Helsinki City Tourist & Convention Bureau Finland Tampere Convention Bureau Finland Åland Tourism Board Finland Comité Régional du Tourisme de Lorraine France Berlin Convention Office Germany BTZ Bremer Touristik-Zentrale Germany Bayern Tourismus Marketing GmbH Germany MB Tourismus-Marketing Brandenburg GmbH, Potsdam Germany Visit Reykjavik Iceland Westfjords marketing office Iceland Regione Abruzzo Italy Agenzia Turismo Friuli Venezia Giulia Italy APT Servizi Emilia Romagna Italy Riga Tourism Coordination and Information Centre Latvia Lithuanian Tourism Association Lithuania Visit Luxembourg Luxembourg Portuguese Embassy Economic Department Netherlands, the Marketing Drenthe Netherlands, the Amsterdam Convention Board Netherlands, the Tourism Austria Netherlands, the Visit Denmark Netherlands/Denmark Causeway Coast and Glens Tourism Partnership Northern Ireland Fermanagh Lakeland Tourism Northern Ireland Derry Visitor and Convention Bureau Northern Ireland Region Stavanger BA Norway Resiemål Ryfylke Norway Warsaw Convention Bureau Poland ADETURN - Tourism North of Portugal Portugal Turismo de Lisboa – Visitors and Convention Bureau Portugal Edinburgh Convention Bureau Ltd Scotland Tourist Organization of Belgrade Serbia City of Porpad, regional and tourist development department Slovakia
XXXIII
Slovenian Convention Bureau Slovenia FUNDACIO DESTÍ MENORCA Spain Turismo Valencia Convention Bureau Spain Uppsala Tourism Sweden Swedish Lapland Tourism Sweden Smålands Turism Sweden Jämtland Härjedalen Turism Sweden Bern Tourism Board Switzerland Zürich Tourism Switzerland Basel Tourism Switzerland Ticino Turismo Switzerland Istanbul Convention & Visitors Bureau Turkey Visit Wales, Welsh Assembley Government Wales
XXXIV
SPSS codebook Cramer’s V : Cramer's V measures the association between the two variables within the table on a scale where 0 represents no association and 1 represents perfect association. Because the value of Cramer’s V is always between 0 and 1, the relative strengths of significant associations between different pairs of variables can be compared. (Saunders, Lewis, & Thornhill, 2007) Crosstabs: Crosstabulations (contingency tables) and measures of association. (SPSS) Frequency tables: Tables of counts and percentages and univariate statistics, including the mean, median, and mode. (SPSS) Scales of measurement: Nominal - A variable can be treated as nominal when its values represent categories with no intrinsic ranking. (SPSS) Ordinal - A variable can be treated as ordinal when its values represent categories with some intrinsic ranking. (SPSS) Scale - A variable can be treated as scale when its values represent ordered categories with a meaningful metric, so that distance comparisons between values are appropriate. (SPSS)
XXXV
Explanations of abbreviations used for categories i n graphs The following lists provide the meaning of the codes used in the graphs created by means of SPSS: Question 6: Board composition Local_other Local, different industry Local_tourism_private Local tourism industry, private sector Local_tourism_public Local tourism industry, public sector Local_tourism_semi Local tourism industry, semi public sector National_other National, different industry National_tourism_private National tourism industry, private sector National_tourism_public National tourism industry, public sector National_tourism_semi National tourism industry, semi public sector Regional_other Regional, different industry Regional_tourism_private Regional tourism industry, private sector Regional_tourism_public Regional tourism industry, public sector Regional_tourism_semi Regional tourism industry, semi public sector Question 13: Sectors represented by stakeholders Members Sport_org Sports organizations Restaurant_associations Restaurant associations Port_authority Port authorities Parks_recreation Parks and recreation authorities Other_sector Other sector Media Media Lodging_association Lodging associations Government_agencies Government agencies Economic_devel_agency Economic development agencies Convention_centers Convention centers Community_leader_org Community leadership organizations Business_chamber Business organizations/chambers of commerce Art_cultural_org Arts and cultural organizations Aiport_authority Airport authority Partners Sport_org_p Sports organizations Restaurant_p Restaurant associations Port_authority_p Port authorities Parks_recreation_p Parks and recreation authorities Other_sector_p Other sector Media_p Media Lodging_association_p Lodging associations Government_agencies_partner Government agencies Economic_devel_agency_partner Economic development agencies Convention Convention centers Community_leader_org Community leadership organizations Business_org_partners Business organizations/chambers of commerce Art_cultural_org_p Arts and cultural organizations Aiport_authority_p Airport authority
XXXVI
Question 15: Roles and responsibilities Visitor_services Visitor services Visitor_mng Visitor management Resource_Mng Resource management Research Research Quality_Mng Quality management Product_development_f Product development Planning_development_f Tourism planning and development Other_functions Other functions, roles responsibilities Mediator_visitor_local_businesses DMO as mediator between visitor and local business Mediator_local_business_public DMO as mediator between local business, public sector Destination_branding Destination branding Crisis_Mng Crisis Management Consulting_function DMO as a consultant Conference_Mng Conference management Commercial_promotion Commercial marketing activities and promotion Booking_channel DMO as a booking channel Question 16: Roles and responsibilities in the future Visitor_services_future Visitor services Visitor_future Visitor management Resource_future Resource management Research_future Research Quality_future Quality management Product_future Product development Planning_future Tourism planning and development Other_functions_future Other functions, roles responsibilities Mediator_visitor_local_future DMO as mediator between visitor and local business Mediator_local_public_future DMO as mediator between local business, public sector Destination_future Destination branding Crisis_future Crisis Management Consulting_future DMO as a consultant Conference_future Conference management Commercial_future Commercial marketing activities and promotion Booking_future DMO as a booking channel Question 17: Funding Central_gov Central government Commercial Commercial marketing activities and promotion EU European Union Hotel_taxes Hotel bed taxes Member_fees Membership fees Municpality Municipality Private_sponsor Private sector sponsorship Regional_gov Regional government
XXXVII
Question 20: Budget allocation in the future Visitor_services_budget_future Visitor services Visitor_budget_future Visitor management Training_future Training and education Resource_budget_future Resource management Research_budget_future Research Quality_budget_future Quality management Product_budget_future Product development Planning_budget_future Tourism planning and development Other_budget_future Other functions Mediator_v_local_future Mediator between visitors and local business Mediator_local_public_budget_future Mediator between local businesses, public sector Destination_budget_future Destination branding Crisis_budget_future Crisis management Consulting_budget_future DMO as a consultant Conference_budget_future Conference management Commercial_budget_future Commercial marketing activities and promotion Booking_budget_future DMO as a booking channel Question 22: Educational needs Destination_edu Destination branding as an educational topic for training Research_edu Research as an educational topic for training Planning_edu Planning and development as an educational topic for training Trends_edu Trends and developments in the tourism industry as an
educational topic for training Quality_edu Quality Management as an educational topic for training Product_edu Product development as an educational topic for training Commercial_edu Commercial marketing activities and promotion as an
educational topic for training Conference_edu Conference management as an educational topic for training Visitor_services_edu Visitor services management as an educational topic for training Visitor_edu Visitor management as an educational topic for training Special_edu Special interest tourism as an educational topic for training Resource_edu Resource management as an educational topic for training Mediator_v_lb_edu Mediator between visitors and local businesses as an
educational topic for training Mediator_lb_p_edu Mediator between local businesses and public sector as an
educational topic for training Crisis_edu Crisis management as an educational topic for training Consulting_edu The DMO as a consultant as an educational topic for training Booking_edu The DMO as a booking channel as an educational topic for
training Other_edu Other subjects as an educational topic for training
XXXVIII
SPSS outputs Question 1: What is he overall structure of your DMO? Statistics Structure of DMO N Valid 55
Missing 6 Mode 4
Structure of DMO
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative
Percent Valid Government agency 11 18,0 20,0 20,0
Public-private partnership non-profit 28 45,9 50,9 70,9
Public-private partnership for-profit 4 6,6 7,3 78,2
Private non-profit organization 4 6,6 7,3 85,5
Private for-profit organization 2 3,3 3,6 89,1
Other 6 9,8 10,9 100,0 Total 55 90,2 100,0
Missing System 6 9,8 Total 61 100,0
Other: Regional agency, City Council, public, regional organization, city office.
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Question 2: How many employees?
Statistics
Number of full-time
employees
Number of part-time
employees N Valid 59 59
Missing 2 2 Mean 29,93 5,34 Median 11,00 1,00 Mode 2(a) 0 Minimum 1 0 Maximum 324 50
a Multiple modes exist. The smallest value is shown
Number of full-time employees
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative
Percent Valid 1 2 3,3 3,4 3,4
2 5 8,2 8,5 11,9 3 3 4,9 5,1 16,9 4 3 4,9 5,1 22,0 5 5 8,2 8,5 30,5 7 2 3,3 3,4 33,9 8 4 6,6 6,8 40,7 9 1 1,6 1,7 42,4 10 4 6,6 6,8 49,2 11 1 1,6 1,7 50,8 12 1 1,6 1,7 52,5 15 1 1,6 1,7 54,2 20 3 4,9 5,1 59,3 22 1 1,6 1,7 61,0 24 2 3,3 3,4 64,4 25 2 3,3 3,4 67,8 29 1 1,6 1,7 69,5 30 4 6,6 6,8 76,3 32 1 1,6 1,7 78,0 33 1 1,6 1,7 79,7 40 1 1,6 1,7 81,4 45 1 1,6 1,7 83,1 47 1 1,6 1,7 84,7 50 2 3,3 3,4 88,1 67 1 1,6 1,7 89,8 80 2 3,3 3,4 93,2 106 1 1,6 1,7 94,9 142 1 1,6 1,7 96,6 150 1 1,6 1,7 98,3 324 1 1,6 1,7 100,0 Total 59 96,7 100,0
Missing System 2 3,3 Total 61 100,0
XL
Number of part-time employees
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative
Percent Valid 0 26 42,6 44,1 44,1
1 8 13,1 13,6 57,6 2 4 6,6 6,8 64,4 3 2 3,3 3,4 67,8 4 3 4,9 5,1 72,9 5 4 6,6 6,8 79,7 6 2 3,3 3,4 83,1 7 1 1,6 1,7 84,7 8 1 1,6 1,7 86,4 10 2 3,3 3,4 89,8 15 1 1,6 1,7 91,5 16 1 1,6 1,7 93,2 37 1 1,6 1,7 94,9 46 1 1,6 1,7 96,6 50 2 3,3 3,4 100,0 Total 59 96,7 100,0
Missing System 2 3,3 Total 61 100,0
Statistics Size N Valid 60
Missing 1 Size
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative
Percent Valid Micro 25 41,0 41,7 41,7
Small 25 41,0 41,7 83,3 Medium 9 14,8 15,0 98,3 Large 1 1,6 1,7 100,0 Total 60 98,4 100,0
Missing System 1 1,6 Total 61 100,0
XLI
Question 3: Departments within DMO
Case Summary
Cases
Valid Missing Total N Percent N Percent N Percent
$Departments(a)
60 98,4% 1 1,6% 61 100,0%
a Dichotomy group tabulated at value 1. $Departments Frequencies
Responses Percent of
Cases N Percent Departments within DMO(a)
Marketing department 55 23,1% 91,7% Sales department 19 8,0% 31,7% Product development department 31 13,0% 51,7%
Accounting department 34 14,3% 56,7% Policy department 12 5,0% 20,0% Quality Management department 18 7,6% 30,0%
Human Resources Management department 16 6,7% 26,7%
Crisis Management department 5 2,1% 8,3%
Special Interest Tourism department 23 9,7% 38,3%
Other departments 25 10,5% 41,7% Total 238 100,0% 396,7%
a Dichotomy group tabulated at value 1.
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Question 4: Branding strategy
Case Summary
Cases
Valid Missing Total N Percent N Percent N Percent
$Branding(a)
60 98,4% 1 1,6% 61 100,0%
a Dichotomy group tabulated at value 1. $Branding Frequencies
Responses Percent of
Cases N Percent Responsibility for branding strategy(a)
Marketing_dpt 42 36,8% 70,0% Product_dpt 12 10,5% 20,0% Quality_mng_dpt 2 1,8% 3,3% Board_Directors 21 18,4% 35,0% CEO 24 21,1% 40,0% External_consultants 5 4,4% 8,3% Other_dpt 8 7,0% 13,3%
Total 114 100,0% 190,0% a Dichotomy group tabulated at value 1. Question 5: Board Governance
Statistics Board governance N Valid 60
Missing 1
Board governance
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative
Percent Valid Yes 45 73,8 75,0 75,0
No 15 24,6 25,0 100,0 Total 60 98,4 100,0
Missing System 1 1,6 Total 61 100,0
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Question 6: Composition of Board Case Summary
Cases
Valid Missing Total N Percent N Percent N Percent
$Composition(a) 47 77,0% 14 23,0% 61 100,0%
a Dichotomy group tabulated at value 1. $Composition Frequencies
Responses Percent of
Cases N Percent Board composition(a)
Local_tourism_public 25 21,2% 53,2% Local_tourism_private 29 24,6% 61,7% Local_tourism_semi 4 3,4% 8,5% Regional_tourism_public 18 15,3% 38,3% Regional_tourism_private 16 13,6% 34,0% Regional_tourism_semi 4 3,4% 8,5% National_tourism_public 5 4,2% 10,6% National_tourism_private 2 1,7% 4,3% National_tourism_semi 2 1,7% 4,3% Local_other 9 7,6% 19,1% Regional_other 4 3,4% 8,5%
Total 118 100,0% 251,1% a Dichotomy group tabulated at value 1.
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Question 7: Main task of Board of DIrectors
Case Summary
Cases
Valid Missing Total N Percent N Percent N Percent
$Task(a)
46 75,4% 15 24,6% 61 100,0%
a Dichotomy group tabulated at value 1. $Task Frequencies
Responses Percent of
Cases N Percent Tasks of Board of Directors(a)
Strategic_decisions 37 38,5% 80,4% Executing_strategies 11 11,5% 23,9% Performance_measurement 20 20,8% 43,5%
Budget_control 28 29,2% 60,9% Total 96 100,0% 208,7%
a Dichotomy group tabulated at value 1. Statistics
Strategic_deci
sions Executing_str
ategies Performance_measurement
Budget_control Other_task
N Valid 61 61 61 61 61 Missing 0 0 0 0 0
Strategic_decisions
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative
Percent Valid Yes 37 60,7 60,7 60,7
No 10 16,4 16,4 77,0 Not applicable 14 23,0 23,0 100,0 Total 61 100,0 100,0
Executing_strategies
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative
Percent Valid Yes 11 18,0 18,0 18,0
No 36 59,0 59,0 77,0 Not applicable 14 23,0 23,0 100,0 Total 61 100,0 100,0
XLV
Performance_measurement
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative
Percent Valid Yes 20 32,8 32,8 32,8
No 27 44,3 44,3 77,0 Not applicable 14 23,0 23,0 100,0 Total 61 100,0 100,0
Budget_control
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative
Percent Valid Yes 28 45,9 45,9 45,9
No 19 31,1 31,1 77,0 Not applicable 14 23,0 23,0 100,0 Total 61 100,0 100,0
Other_task
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative
Percent Valid Yes 5 8,2 8,2 8,2
No 42 68,9 68,9 77,0 Not applicable 14 23,0 23,0 100,0 Total 61 100,0 100,0
Question 8: Committees within DMO Case Summary
Cases
Valid Missing Total N Percent N Percent N Percent
$Committee(a) 46 75,4% 15 24,6% 61 100,0%
a Dichotomy group tabulated at value 1. $Committee Frequencies
Responses Percent of
Cases N Percent Committees withon Board of Directors(a)
No_committee 38 77,6% 82,6% Executive_committee 4 8,2% 8,7% Strategic_marketing_committee 2 4,1% 4,3%
Resource_devel._committee 1 2,0% 2,2%
Other_committee 4 8,2% 8,7% Total 49 100,0% 106,5%
a Dichotomy group tabulated at value 1.
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Question 9: Election process
Case Summary
Cases
Valid Missing Total N Percent N Percent N Percent
$Election(a)
44 72,1% 17 27,9% 61 100,0%
a Dichotomy group tabulated at value 1. $Election Frequencies
Responses Percent of
Cases N Percent Management of the Board election process(a)
Board_vote 13 29,5% 29,5% Company_partners_vote 1 2,3% 2,3% DMO_members_vote 9 20,5% 20,5% Stakeholders_vote 12 27,3% 27,3% No_election 9 20,5% 20,5%
Total 44 100,0% 100,0% a Dichotomy group tabulated at value 1. Question 10: Partnerships
Statistics Existence of partnerships N Valid 61
Missing 0 Existence of partnerships
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative
Percent Valid Yes 43 70,5 70,5 70,5
No 18 29,5 29,5 100,0 Total 61 100,0 100,0
XLVII
Question 11: Memberships
Statistics Existence of membership patterns N Valid 60
Missing 1 Existence of membership patterns
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative
Percent Valid Yes 36 59,0 60,0 60,0
No 24 39,3 40,0 100,0 Total 60 98,4 100,0
Missing System 1 1,6 Total 61 100,0
XLVIII
Question 12: How many members does your DMO have? Statistics Number of members N Valid 37
Missing 24 Mean 769,73 Median 100,00 Mode 2(a) Minimum 1 Maximum 20000
a Multiple modes exist. The smallest value is shown Number of members
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative
Percent Valid 1 1 1,6 2,7 2,7
2 2 3,3 5,4 8,1 6 1 1,6 2,7 10,8 9 1 1,6 2,7 13,5 11 1 1,6 2,7 16,2 12 1 1,6 2,7 18,9 15 1 1,6 2,7 21,6 20 1 1,6 2,7 24,3 23 1 1,6 2,7 27,0 28 1 1,6 2,7 29,7 30 1 1,6 2,7 32,4 31 1 1,6 2,7 35,1 55 1 1,6 2,7 37,8 60 1 1,6 2,7 40,5 77 1 1,6 2,7 43,2 93 1 1,6 2,7 45,9 95 1 1,6 2,7 48,6 100 1 1,6 2,7 51,4 130 1 1,6 2,7 54,1 140 1 1,6 2,7 56,8 150 1 1,6 2,7 59,5 195 1 1,6 2,7 62,2 199 1 1,6 2,7 64,9 200 1 1,6 2,7 67,6 205 1 1,6 2,7 70,3 250 1 1,6 2,7 73,0 341 1 1,6 2,7 75,7 350 1 1,6 2,7 78,4 400 1 1,6 2,7 81,1 420 1 1,6 2,7 83,8 500 2 3,3 5,4 89,2 600 1 1,6 2,7 91,9 1000 1 1,6 2,7 94,6 2230 1 1,6 2,7 97,3 20000 1 1,6 2,7 100,0 Total 37 60,7 100,0
Missing System 24 39,3 Total 61 100,0
XLIX
Question 13: Sectors represented by stakeholders Case Summary
Cases
Valid Missing Total N Percent N Percent N Percent
$Sector_members(a)
33 54,1% 28 45,9% 61 100,0%
a Dichotomy group tabulated at value 1. $Sector_members Frequencies
Responses Percent of
Cases N Percent Sectors represented by members of DMO(a)
Government_agencies 16 10,2% 48,5% Business_chamber 19 12,1% 57,6% Economic_devel_agency 4 2,5% 12,1% Airport_authority 11 7,0% 33,3% Port_authority 6 3,8% 18,2% Lodging_association 19 12,1% 57,6% Parks_recreation 12 7,6% 36,4% Media 2 1,3% 6,1% Community_leader_org 11 7,0% 33,3% Convention_centers 17 10,8% 51,5% Sport_org 6 3,8% 18,2% Art_cultural_org 13 8,3% 39,4% Restaurant_associations 20 12,7% 60,6% Other_sector 1 ,6% 3,0%
Total 157 100,0% 475,8% a Dichotomy group tabulated at value 1.
L
Question 14: Decision-making process
Statistics Management of decision-making process N Valid 38
Missing 23 Mode 1
Management of decision-making process
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative
Percent Valid Decisions made by
Board of Directors only 13 21,3 34,2 34,2
Decisions made by members only 2 3,3 5,3 39,5
Decisions made by staff only 10 16,4 26,3 65,8
Decisions made by all immediate stakeholders 6 9,8 15,8 81,6
Other 7 11,5 18,4 100,0 Total 38 62,3 100,0
Missing System 23 37,7 Total 61 100,0
Multiple answers: Case Summary
Cases
Valid Missing Total N Percent N Percent N Percent
$Multiple_answers(a) 17 27,9% 44 72,1% 61 100,0%
a Dichotomy group tabulated at value 1. $Multiple_answers Frequencies
Responses Percent of
Cases N Percent Multiple answers decision-making process(a)
BoD 12 30,8% 70,6% All_Members 7 17,9% 41,2% Staff 9 23,1% 52,9% All_stakeholders 3 7,7% 17,6% Independent_institutions 3 7,7% 17,6% Other 5 12,8% 29,4%
Total 39 100,0% 229,4% a Dichotomy group tabulated at value 1.
LI
Per
cent
40,0%
30,0%
20,0%
10,0%
0,0%
23,08%
…
12,82%
7,69%
30,77%
7,69%
17,95%
Multiple answers decision-making process
StaffPartners
Other
Independent_institutions
BoDAll_stakeholders
All_Mem
bers
__
LII
Question 15: Core functions of DMO
Case Summary
Cases
Valid Missing Total N Percent N Percent N Percent
$Function(a)
60 98,4% 1 1,6% 61 100,0%
a Dichotomy group tabulated at value 1. $Function Frequencies
Responses Percent of
Cases N Percent Core functions of DMO(a)
Product_development_f 34 8,7% 56,7% Planning_development_f 43 10,9% 71,7% Research 37 9,4% 61,7% Crisis_Mng 7 1,8% 11,7% Visitor_Mng 14 3,6% 23,3% Visitor_services 33 8,4% 55,0% Booking_channnel 14 3,6% 23,3% Destination_Branding 47 12,0% 78,3% Mediator_visitor_local_business 22 5,6% 36,7%
Mediator_local_business_public 22 5,6% 36,7%
Resource_Mng 5 1,3% 8,3% Consulting_function 24 6,1% 40,0% Conference_Mng 31 7,9% 51,7% Quality_Mng 19 4,8% 31,7% Commercial_promotion 40 10,2% 66,7% Other_functions 1 ,3% 1,7%
Total 393 100,0% 655,0% a Dichotomy group tabulated at value 1.
LIII
Question 16: Core functions of DMOs, future orientation
Case Summary
Cases
Valid Missing Total N Percent N Percent N Percent
$Function_future(a)
56 91,8% 5 8,2% 61 100,0%
a Dichotomy group tabulated at value 1. $Function_future Frequencies
Responses Percent of
Cases N Percent Function of DMO future orientation(a)
Product_future 31 9,9% 55,4% Planning_future 38 12,2% 67,9% Research_future 29 9,3% 51,8% Crisis_future 5 1,6% 8,9% Visitor_future 17 5,4% 30,4% Visitor_services_future 18 5,8% 32,1% Booking_future 15 4,8% 26,8% Destination_future 40 12,8% 71,4% Mediator_visitor_local_future 14 4,5% 25,0%
Mediator_local_public_future 15 4,8% 26,8%
Resource_future 1 ,3% 1,8% Consulting_future 20 6,4% 35,7% Conference_future 16 5,1% 28,6% Quality_future 23 7,4% 41,1% Commercial_future 28 9,0% 50,0% Other_function_future 2 ,6% 3,6%
Total 312 100,0% 557,1% a Dichotomy group tabulated at value 1.
LIV
Question 17: Funding sources
Case Summary
Cases
Valid Missing Total N Percent N Percent N Percent
$Funding(a)
60 98,4% 1 1,6% 61 100,0%
a Dichotomy group tabulated at value 1. $Funding Frequencies
Responses Percent of
Cases N Percent Sources of funding(a)
Municipality 29 18,1% 48,3% Central_gov 19 11,9% 31,7% EU 12 7,5% 20,0% Regional_gov 24 15,0% 40,0% Member_fees 27 16,9% 45,0% Commercial 23 14,4% 38,3% Private_sponsor 15 9,4% 25,0% Hotel_taxes 11 6,9% 18,3%
Total 160 100,0% 266,7% a Dichotomy group tabulated at value 1.
LV
Question 18: What is the annual budget of a DMO? Statistics Annual budget of DMO N Valid 42
Missing 19 Mean 7654153,6
255 Median 2400000,0
000 Mode 3000000,0
0 Minimum 60000,00 Maximum 68344057,
66 Annual budget of DMO
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative
Percent Valid 60000,00 1 1,6 2,4 2,4
135605,75 1 1,6 2,4 4,8 200000,00 1 1,6 2,4 7,1 225000,00 1 1,6 2,4 9,5 400000,00 1 1,6 2,4 11,9 485000,00 1 1,6 2,4 14,3 500000,00 1 1,6 2,4 16,7 530132,92 1 1,6 2,4 19,0 746109,67 1 1,6 2,4 21,4 850246,87 1 1,6 2,4 23,8 900000,00 1 1,6 2,4 26,2 923762,12 1 1,6 2,4 28,6 1000000,00 1 1,6 2,4 31,0 1200000,00 1 1,6 2,4 33,3 1300000,00 1 1,6 2,4 35,7 1451164,25 1 1,6 2,4 38,1 1500000,00 2 3,3 4,8 42,9 1600000,00 1 1,6 2,4 45,2 2150000,00 1 1,6 2,4 47,6 2400000,00 2 3,3 4,8 52,4 2500000,00 1 1,6 2,4 54,8 2529882,33 1 1,6 2,4 57,1 3000000,00 3 4,9 7,1 64,3 4000000,00 1 1,6 2,4 66,7 5000000,00 1 1,6 2,4 69,0 5185965,84 1 1,6 2,4 71,4 6000000,00 2 3,3 4,8 76,2 8000000,00 1 1,6 2,4 78,6 10000000,00 1 1,6 2,4 81,0 12000000,00 1 1,6 2,4 83,3 14300000,00 1 1,6 2,4 85,7 14700000,00 1 1,6 2,4 88,1 14919006,33 1 1,6 2,4 90,5 21000000,00 1 1,6 2,4 92,9 30938518,53 1 1,6 2,4 95,2 64600000,00 1 1,6 2,4 97,6 68344057,66 1 1,6 2,4 100,0 Total 42 68,9 100,0
Missing System 19 31,1 Total 61 100,0
LVI
Question 20: Budget allocation future Case Summary
Cases
Valid Missing Total N Percent N Percent N Percent
$Budget_future(a) 45 73,8% 16 26,2% 61 100,0%
a Dichotomy group tabulated at value 1. $Budget_future Frequencies
Responses Percent of
Cases N Percent Budget allocation future(a)
Product_budget_future 13 8,2% 28,9% Planning_budget_future 18 11,3% 40,0% Research_budget_future 17 10,7% 37,8% Crisis_budget_future 3 1,9% 6,7% Visitor_budget_future 5 3,1% 11,1% Visitor_services_budget_future 7 4,4% 15,6%
Booking_budget_future 7 4,4% 15,6% Destination_budget_future 26 16,4% 57,8%
Mediator_v_local_future 2 1,3% 4,4% Mediator_local_public_budget_future 2 1,3% 4,4%
Resource_budget_future 3 1,9% 6,7% Consulting_budget_future 6 3,8% 13,3% Conference_budget_future 6 3,8% 13,3%
Quality_budget_future 9 5,7% 20,0% Commercial_budget_future 23 14,5% 51,1%
Training_future 12 7,5% 26,7% Total 159 100,0% 353,3%
a Dichotomy group tabulated at value 1.
LVII
Question 21: Vocational training
Case Summary
Cases
Valid Missing Total N Percent N Percent N Percent
$Training(a)
59 96,7% 2 3,3% 61 100,0%
a Dichotomy group tabulated at value 1. $Training Frequencies
Responses Percent of
Cases N Percent Provision of education and training op.(a)
In_House 33 41,8% 55,9% Off_the_job 34 43,0% 57,6% No_training 12 15,2% 20,3%
Total 79 100,0% 133,9% a Dichotomy group tabulated at value 1.
Question 22: Popular training topics
Case Summary
Cases
Valid Missing Total N Percent N Percent N Percent
$Topics_staff(a) 42 68,9% 19 31,1% 61 100,0% $Topics_members(a) 22 36,1% 39 63,9% 61 100,0%
$Topics_partners(a) 17 27,9% 44 72,1% 61 100,0%
a Dichotomy group tabulated at value 1.
LVIII
$Topics_staff Frequencies
Responses Percent of
Cases N Percent Training topic of interest to DMO staff(a)
Product_edu 17 7,1% 40,5% Planning_edu 20 8,3% 47,6% Research_edu 23 9,6% 54,8% Crisis_edu 4 1,7% 9,5% Visitor_edu 9 3,8% 21,4% Visitor_services_edu 13 5,4% 31,0% Booking_edu 9 3,8% 21,4% Destination_edu 25 10,4% 59,5% Mediator_v_lb_edu 8 3,3% 19,0% Mediator_lb_p_edu 12 5,0% 28,6% Resource_edu 8 3,3% 19,0% Consulting_edu 10 4,2% 23,8% Conference_edu 13 5,4% 31,0% Quality_edu 18 7,5% 42,9% Special_edu 11 4,6% 26,2% Trends_edu 20 8,3% 47,6% Commercial_edu 16 6,7% 38,1% Other_edu 4 1,7% 9,5%
Total 240 100,0% 571,4% a Dichotomy group tabulated at value 1. $Topics_members Frequencies
Responses Percent of
Cases N Percent Training topics of interest to members(a)
Product_edu_mem 10 9,3% 45,5% Planning_edu_mem 7 6,5% 31,8% Research_edu_mem 3 2,8% 13,6% Crisis_edu_mem 3 2,8% 13,6% Visitor_edu_mem 4 3,7% 18,2% Visitor_services_edu_mem 6 5,6% 27,3%
Booking_edu_mem 8 7,4% 36,4% Destination_edu_mem 9 8,3% 40,9% Mediator_v_lb_edu_mem 6 5,6% 27,3% Mediator_lb_p_edu_mem
3 2,8% 13,6%
Resource_edu_mem 2 1,9% 9,1% Consulting_edu_mem 3 2,8% 13,6% Conference_edu_mem 9 8,3% 40,9% Quality_edu_mem 8 7,4% 36,4% Special_interest_edu_mem 7 6,5% 31,8%
Trends_edu_mem 9 8,3% 40,9% Commercial_edu_mem 10 9,3% 45,5% Other_edu_mem 1 ,9% 4,5%
Total 108 100,0% 490,9% a Dichotomy group tabulated at value 1.
LIX
$Topics_partners Frequencies
Responses Percent of
Cases N Percent Training topics of interest to partners(a)
Product_edu_part 8 9,8% 47,1% Planning_edu_part 8 9,8% 47,1% Research_edu_part 5 6,1% 29,4% Crisis_edu_part 2 2,4% 11,8% Visitor_edu_part 4 4,9% 23,5% V_service_edu_part 5 6,1% 29,4% Booking_edu_part 6 7,3% 35,3% Destination_edu_part 9 11,0% 52,9% Medi_v_lb_part 1 1,2% 5,9% Medi_lb_p_part 2 2,4% 11,8% Resource_edu_part 1 1,2% 5,9% Consulting_edu_part 1 1,2% 5,9% Conference_edu_part 5 6,1% 29,4% Quality_edu_part 7 8,5% 41,2% Special_edu_part 5 6,1% 29,4% Trends_edu_part 6 7,3% 35,3% Commercial_edu_part 6 7,3% 35,3% Other_edu_part 1 1,2% 5,9%
Total 82 100,0% 482,4% a Dichotomy group tabulated at value 1.
Question 23: Reasons for not providing training
Case Summary
Cases
Valid Missing Total N Percent N Percent N Percent
$Reasons(a) 28 45,9% 33 54,1% 61 100,0%
a Dichotomy group tabulated at value 1. $Reasons Frequencies
Responses Percent of
Cases N Percent Reasons for not providing training(a)
Finances 18 51,4% 64,3% Lack_Staff 4 11,4% 14,3% Time 6 17,1% 21,4% Duration 3 8,6% 10,7% Other_priorities 3 8,6% 10,7% No_knowledge 1 2,9% 3,6%
Total 35 100,0% 125,0% a Dichotomy group tabulated at value 1.
LX
Question 24: Attendance trade events and examples of trade events
Case Summary
Cases
Valid Missing Total N Percent N Percent N Percent
$Conferences(a)
59 96,7% 2 3,3% 61 100,0%
$Trade_events(a) 56 91,8% 5 8,2% 61 100,0%
a Dichotomy group tabulated at value 1. $Conferences Frequencies
Responses Percent of
Cases N Percent Attendence of trade events and reason(a)
No_conference 2 1,6% 3,4% Yes_industry 29 23,6% 49,2% Yes_promote 55 44,7% 93,2% Yes_network 37 30,1% 62,7%
Total 123 100,0% 208,5% a Dichotomy group tabulated at value 1. Case Summary
Cases
Valid Missing Total N Percent N Percent N Percent
$Trade(a)
56 91,8% 5 8,2% 61 100,0%
a Dichotomy group tabulated at value 1.
LXI
Enterprise categorization
Enterprise category
Headcount Turnover or Balance sheet total
medium-sized < 250 ≤ € 50 million ≤ € 43 million
small < 50 ≤ € 10 million ≤ € 10 million
micro < 10 ≤ € 2 million ≤ € 2 million
(European Commission, 2008)
LXII
SPSS output for statements
Statement 1 Case Processing Summary
Cases
Valid Missing Total N Percent N Percent N Percent
Board governance * Most common structures 39 63,9% 22 36,1% 61 100,0%
Statement 2
Case Processing Summary
Cases
Valid Missing Total N Percent N Percent N Percent
Size * Structure of DMO 54 88,5% 7 11,5% 61 100,0%
LXIII
Size * Structure of DMO Crosstabulation
Structure of DMO
Total Government
agency
Public-private partnership non-profit
Public-private partnership
for-profit
Private non-profit
organization
Private for-profit
organization Other Size Micro Count 2 12 3 1 2 2 22
% within Structure of DMO 18,2% 42,9% 75,0% 25,0% 100,0% 40,0% 40,7%
% of Total 3,7% 22,2% 5,6% 1,9% 3,7% 3,7% 40,7% Small Count 6 13 1 2 0 2 24
% within Structure of DMO 54,5% 46,4% 25,0% 50,0% ,0% 40,0% 44,4%
% of Total 11,1% 24,1% 1,9% 3,7% ,0% 3,7% 44,4% Medium Count 3 3 0 1 0 1 8
% within Structure of DMO 27,3% 10,7% ,0% 25,0% ,0% 20,0% 14,8%
% of Total 5,6% 5,6% ,0% 1,9% ,0% 1,9% 14,8% Total Count 11 28 4 4 2 5 54
% within Structure of DMO 100,0% 100,0% 100,0% 100,0% 100,0% 100,0% 100,0%
% of Total 20,4% 51,9% 7,4% 7,4% 3,7% 9,3% 100,0%
Statement 4
Symmetric Measures
Value Approx. Sig. Nominal by Nominal
Phi ,562 ,317 Cramer's V ,562 ,317
N of Valid Cases 40 a Not assuming the null hypothesis. b Using the asymptotic standard error assuming the null hypothesis.
LXIV
Non-response analysis The tables below provide an overview of the number of contacts, participants and refusals per country to clarify the composition of the actual group of respondents.
EU members Contacts Participants Refusals Austria 14 3 1 Belgium 3 2 0 Bulgaria 1 0 0 Cyprus 10 1 0 Czech Republic 1 0 0 Denmark 9 4 0 Estonia 2 0 0 Finland 13 4 2 France 23 4 0 Germany 17 0 1 Greece 31 0 0 Hungary 7 0 1 Ireland 14 3 1 Italy 10 1 2 Latvia 2 1 0 Lithuania 1 1 0 Luxembourg 1 1 0 Malta 2 0 0 Netherlands 13 3 2 Poland 3 1 0 Portugal 8 2 0 Romania 1 0 0
Slovakia 9 1 2 Slovenia 3 1 0 Spain 19 2 3 Sweden 19 4 0 United Kingdom 29 6 2 Total 265 45 17 in % of sample 78,63%
LXV
Non-EU members Contacts Participants Refusals Albania 1 0 0 Andorra 6 1 0 Armenia 1 0 0 Azerbaijan 1 0 0 Belarus 1 1 0 Bosnia and Herzegovina 1 0 0 Georgia 1 0 0 Iceland 9 2 0 Liechtenstein 1 0 1 Moldova 1 0 0 Monaco 1 0 0 Montenegro 1 0 1 Norway 14 2 2 Russia 1 0 0 San Marino 1 0 0 Serbia 1 1 0 Switzerland 14 4 1 Ukraine 0 0 0 Vatican City State 0 0 0 Total 56 11 5 in % of sample 16,61%
Candidate countries Contacts Participants Refusals Croatia 13 4 1 Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 1 0 0 Turkey 2 1 0 Total 16 5 1 in % of sample 4,74% Overal total 337 61 23
Please note that not every email address in the sample was correct. Therefore, the number of actual receivers was smaller. However, all calculations are based on the original sample size.
![Adjacent Channel Interference Analyses in TETRA Direct ...wseas.us/e-library/transactions/communications/2008/28-329.pdfTETRA Direct Mode Operation (TETRA DMO) [2, 3]. The TETRA DMO](https://img.pdfslide.net/doc/110x75/5e74e7be0586ab01ba5abe22/adjacent-channel-interference-analyses-in-tetra-direct-wseasuse-librarytransactionscommunications200828-329pdf.jpg)
