Designing a tourism marketing assessment for small communities

Small communities in spite of possessing outstanding tourism resources have not been able to market them aggressively. Developing a tourism marketing assessment gives the local destination management organization (DMO), e.g., convention and visitors bureau, chamber of commerce, etc, a model for understanding the nature of tourism prospects, understanding their needs, and how best to communicate with them. It helps determine how to allocate scarce resources in order to achieve specific economic development objectives (i.e., tax revenue generation and job creation). This research paper outlines the process of designing a community tourism marketing assessment plan aimed at improving their marketing competitiveness.