Analysis of Sicily’s Tourism Industry and Destination Marketing
Sgroi, Manuela (2014)
Lataukset:
Sgroi, Manuela
Laurea-ammattikorkeakoulu
2014
All rights reserved
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2014111315595
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2014111315595
Tiivistelmä
The central subject of this thesis is the analysis of the tourism industry in Sicily and of its marketing strategy. It primarily aims to give an overall vision on the sector in the region, its brand, identity and, through the analysis of its marketing strategy, understand how it is promoted abroad. Marketing represents a vital aspect in every industry, and even more in tourism and tourism destination management, seen the quantity and variety of competitors in the market.
The theory of this dissertation includes basic marketing concepts and, entering the more specific territory of tourism marketing, destination marketing, destination branding and the role of the Destination Management Organizations. Destinations are challenging entities to manage and promote due to their complex structure and number of stakeholders involved; furthermore, they should not only be considered as a way to attract visitors but also as a force capable of enhancing the development of the area. These themes will be later discussed in the analysis of the Sicilian industry in the empirical section of the text.
The research part consisted of an analysis of secondary data from the Osservatorio Turistico della Regione Siciliana (Tourist Observatory), and a qualitative investigation in the form of a semi- structured interview with a marketing expert of the Regional Tourism Board of Sicily, in the offices of Palermo on 14th of May 2014. Mrs. Iannì was contacted via email in advance, and a meeting was set to discuss the matters.
The results of the combined quantitative and qualitative research revealed that Sicily has great potential as a tourism destination and much has already been achieved with the use of its resources, natural beauty and rich cultural heritage in order to attract tourists; according to forecasts, the number of visitors will continue growing in the future. Nevertheless, several gaps and weaknesses can be found especially in the marketing field and it will require a more organized and stable policy from the Regional Tourism Board in order to overcome them. Several initiatives have already been planned or implemented.
The theory of this dissertation includes basic marketing concepts and, entering the more specific territory of tourism marketing, destination marketing, destination branding and the role of the Destination Management Organizations. Destinations are challenging entities to manage and promote due to their complex structure and number of stakeholders involved; furthermore, they should not only be considered as a way to attract visitors but also as a force capable of enhancing the development of the area. These themes will be later discussed in the analysis of the Sicilian industry in the empirical section of the text.
The research part consisted of an analysis of secondary data from the Osservatorio Turistico della Regione Siciliana (Tourist Observatory), and a qualitative investigation in the form of a semi- structured interview with a marketing expert of the Regional Tourism Board of Sicily, in the offices of Palermo on 14th of May 2014. Mrs. Iannì was contacted via email in advance, and a meeting was set to discuss the matters.
The results of the combined quantitative and qualitative research revealed that Sicily has great potential as a tourism destination and much has already been achieved with the use of its resources, natural beauty and rich cultural heritage in order to attract tourists; according to forecasts, the number of visitors will continue growing in the future. Nevertheless, several gaps and weaknesses can be found especially in the marketing field and it will require a more organized and stable policy from the Regional Tourism Board in order to overcome them. Several initiatives have already been planned or implemented.