Demarketing: the art of discouraging visitors

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With the explosion in global tourism, many destinations are facing an unexpected problem: too many visitors!

Some become victims of their own success, unable to handle so many people with their infrastructure. And that's where demarketing comes in, a clever strategy for limiting the influx of tourists and reducing the negative impact on local communities and the environment. If you ask the locals in Barcelona, which is often overrun by tourists, they'll tell you they'd love to see this method applied!

What's demarketing?

Demarketing, a concept coined by Philip Kotler and Sidney Levy in 1971, is based on a simple idea: too many visitors can be just as problematic as too few. Rather than attracting ever more people, some destinations choose to slow down the pace, or even dissuade certain categories of tourists. The aim? To preserve the environment, but also the peace and quiet of the locals. Not bad, eh?

 

Real-life examples of telemarketing

A number of destinations have already embraced demarketing strategies, taking inspiration from traditional marketing, but with a more responsible twist. Here are a few examples to illustrate how it works:

  • Promotion: The Netherlands, for example, has cut back on tourism promotion for saturated Amsterdam to attract visitors to lesser-known regions. The result: a more balanced flow of tourists.
  • Location (Place): In Jackson Hole, Wyoming, tourists are asked to use generic coordinates to protect certain fragile natural sites. In Puerto Princesa in the Philippines, sensitive areas have simply disappeared from tourist maps to avoid the crowds.
  • Product: At Bruce Peninsula National Park in Ontario, quotas and time slots are imposed to limit the number of visitors and protect the ecosystem. In Marseille, a similar approach is in place to regulate the flow of visitors to the calanques during the summer.
  • Prices: Finally, Venice has opted for a simple but effective solution: taxation. Day visitors are charged 5 euros during peak periods, with the aim of spreading visits more evenly throughout the year and discouraging day trips during busy periods.

Reflection

Demarketing therefore offers a rather clever solution to managing the global tourist influx. By adopting these strategies, destinations can better preserve their natural and cultural resources, while offering a better visitor experience.

In a world where mass tourism is beginning to take its toll on ecosystems and local communities, it's time to rethink the way we travel. What ideas would you have to better manage the growth of tourism? How can we balance welcoming tourists with preserving destinations?

 

References

  • Dubois, Anne-Julie. "Demarketing to the destination's rescue." Veille Tourisme, [link to original article].
  • UNWTO. "Tourism Towards 2030, 2011.
  • Kotler, Philip. "Welcome to the Age of Demarketing," The Marketing Journal, 2017.

Published by Dac Hanh