1. Marketing IGAD Tourism Products and Region as an Integrated/Single Destination: Opportunities, Challenges and
Recommended Strategies
Djibouti I Ethiopia I Somalia I South Sudan I Sudan I Kenya I Eritrea I Uganda

2. OUTLINE Introduction Literature Review
The IGAD Regional Marketing Study
Purpose
Objectives
Methodology
Qualitative
Data Collection
Data Analysis
Findings
Discussions and Recommendations

3. INTRODUCTION Background of the Study UNECA SRO-EA Grant
STMP Recommendation on joint marketing of IGAD Tourism Products

4. LITERATURE REVIEW Destination Defined
A destination can be viewed as a geographic place, region, or space with a set of activities, attractions, facilities, amenities, packages, and ancillary services that are accessible or available to tourists and visitors (Fyall, Garrod, and Tosun 2006)

5. LITERATURE REVIEW Cont…
Tourism Product and Destination Marketing
The Tourism Product
Medlik and Middleton (1973) conceptualize tourism products as a bundle of activities, services, and benefits that constitute the entire tourism experience.
Five components: destination attractions, destination facilities, accessibility, images, and price.
Destination Marketing :
T he process of communicating with potential visitors to influence their destination preference, intention to travel and ultimately their final destination and product choices (Australia’s Sustainable Tourism Cooperative Research Centre (STCRC)).
Encompasses the activities involved in sustainably developing a region with tourism appeal and in its promotion through a marketing strategy (Pinto and Kastenholz, 2011).

6. APPROACHES TO TOURISM DESTINATION MARKETING
Traditional Approach
Typical business model: single-destination model, where each country and/or destination competes for its market share, utilizing various marketing and promotion strategies to attract visitors (
Emphasis on competitive advantage as opposed to destination advantage
Collaborative Approaches
Recognize interdependence in the realization of desired outcomes
Fyall, Carrod, and Wang, (2012) have recommended the need for approaches/strategies that aim to balance between destination advantage and competitive advantage in the market place.
Types of collaboration
Organic collaboration
Mediated intra-destination collaboration
Mediated intra and inter-destination collaboration

7. MULTI- DESTINATION TOURISM APPROACH
Advantages - Orozco and Charles (
Each country to ensure maximum output from its tourism investments and related activities.
The tourism package affords travelers the opportunity to experience different destinations/localities, with each experience fulfilling a different desire of the visitor

8. SINGLE VERSUS MULTIPLE DESTINATION TOURISM APPROACH
SINGLE DESTINATION
MULTI DESTINATION
TOURIST/
TRAVELLER
One Country visited
Two or more Countries visited
Specific destination or experience desired
Experience a varied and diverse  itinerary by adding value to a single long-haul trip
Less time and resources needed
More time and resources needed
Target Market Demographics – Specific to each destination based on visitor attributes, needs, and preferences
Target Market Demographics – Varied but influenced by perceived value addition.
COUNTRY/ DESTINATION
Country solely responsible for all marketing and promotion efforts
Cost sharing through joint marketing and promotion efforts
Promotes competition among countries and drives isolationism and protectionism
Fosters closer ties and enhances cooperation and collaboration among countries
Traditional mono-product is often the main appeal and sustained
Potential to develop new Tourism products and market niches
Traditional status quo is maintained of All-inclusive enclaves dominated by international tour operators and Global Distribution Networks
Opportunity to expand the benefits of Tourism to other regions, actors and communities locally

9. SINGLE VERSUS MULTIPLE DESTINATION TOURISM APPROACH cont …
SINGLE DESTINATION
MULTI DESTINATION
IGAD-Destination (Eastern Africa)
One Country visited
Two or more Countries visited
Single destination is the main attraction
Multi-destination packaging a key element
Traditional avenues of market access and promotion to potential visitors maintained
Provides access to a wider market and an opportunity to increase visitor numbers capitalizing on a wide regional promotional effort
Country benefits solely and directly from its own efforts
Opportunity to expand participation in tourism and spread tourism’s  benefits regionally
Focus on promoting and developing Country/Destination image
Strengthens regional image and appeal by showcasing the diversity of the region
The Country or individual Destination is promoted
The Region promoted as the  Destination

10. IGAD STUDY PURPOSE AND OBJECIVE
Purpose: The primary purpose of the study was to conduct research that would highlight the opportunities and challenges that should be addressed in order to jointly and successfully market IGAD tourism products and the region as an integrated/single destination.
Objectives:
i) To identify the existing tourism attractions, products and resources in IGAD Region;
ii) To identify the opportunities that exist for developing, branding and jointly marketing IGAD tourism product and region as an integrated/single tourism destination;
iii) To highlight potential challenges to jointly marketing IGAD as an integrated/single regional tourism destination; and
iv) To recommend viable strategies to promote collaborative marketing of IGAD Tourism Products and the region as an integrated tourism destination

11. METHODOLOGY Qualitative Data Collection Primary Sources
Consultative interviews conducted with selected destination tourism products marketers, tour operators and travel agents, travel and tourism association representatives, tourism officials via telephone calls, s and personal interviews
Secondary Sources
Extensive Review of Literature from Published sources which include: IGAD sustainable tourism master plan, Tourism industry reports, Government and private sector publications, International and regional destination branding and marketing case studies, Published peer reviewed academic research on regional destination marketing and branding.

12. METHODOLOGY cont… Data Analysis
Document Textual Analysis
This involved reading and summarizing data on the relevant attractions, opportunities and challenges for each country.
Comparative Analysis/ Thematic Analysis
Comparison of common and different issues across the region.
Synthesizing and summarizing the findings across the region to develop common themes in order to draw conclusions.

13. FINDINGS Tourism Attractions, Products and Resources in IGAD Region
The Eastern African countries in the IGAD Economic block are jointly endowed with a rich diversity of history, landscapes, people and wildlife making it a ‘hotbed’ of vibrant culture, heritage, nature tourism and a great destination for outdoor creational activities, events and festivals.

14. FINDINGS cont …
Opportunities that exist for developing, branding and jointly marketing IGAD tourism product and region as an integrated/single tourism destination.
The Region is endowed with abundant natural resources for productive activities and eco-tourism.
A vibrant private sector that plays a critical role in stimulating the regional integration process and in propelling a private sector-led growth.
The trans-boundary attractions
Synergy between Djibouti and Ethiopia will give the sector a regional dimension that will boost and channel the region's strong potential for tourism.
Increasing demand for long-haul destinations with value addition in the tourism experience.
Emerging markets for international, regional and domestic tourism

15. CHALLENGES TO SUCCESSFULLY DEVELOPING AND MARKETING IGAD AS AN INTEGRATED SINGLE DESTINATION
Poor complementarities and similar comparative advantage.
The tourism industry is concentrated on offering, ‘traditional tourism products’ to their clients, assuming that these were the choices these particular clients would prefer.
There are several overlapping trading blocks in the region such as SADC, EAC, COMESA, IGAD that may contribute to competing loyalties and conflicts of interest among countries required to have multiple membership. This often results in duplication of resources and conflicting goals and policies.
Over-dependence on tour operators has unfavorable implications in opening up other areas for tourism
Poor infrastructure (transport, telecommunications, technology)
Low competitiveness of IGAD Region’s tourism due to:
High cross-border tariffs
Unconducive policy and regulatory framework
Uncertainties in the business environment which do little to encourage investment (the case of Djibouti),
Poor marketing strategies and over reliance on traditional source markets and traditional marketing models
Ill equipped or inadequately trained human resource
Unexploited cultural resources that could expand the range of tourism products. Poor regional infrastructure network
Perennial conflict
Insecurity and political instability
Divergent attitude towards regional integration hampers progress thus regional concerns and priorities are not reflected in national strategic frameworks.

16. RECOMMENDATIONS FOR JOINTLY MARKETING IGAD TOURISM PRODUCTS AND THE REGIONAL DESTINATION
The region’s policy makers and transport service providers should develop a multi-destination tourism strategy that IGAD member countries can exploit for profitable diversification and re-branding of the Regional Tourism Industry in the international market.
Cox and Wray (2011): the key initiatives to success emphasize the need for destination stakeholders to foster a collaborative, cooperative and strategic approach and ensure consistent design and delivery of a regional destination brand and image which is supported by tactical advertising and promotional strategies, effective visitor information services, and events to support the destination brand and image to target appropriate visitor markets.
Establish a Regional Tourism Product Diversification and Marketing Program (RTPDMP) in support of efforts to re-invent, improve or expand existing tourism products and operations in order to meet future and emerging market demands through funding for business planning, product development and packaging as well as marketing.
Develop and create a strong regional tourism product in a collaborative and inclusive manner.
Collaboration in regional branding involves the inclusiveness of the process and the creation of a shared image in the process. This includes intra and extra regional collaboration, partnerships, and networking involving stakeholders from both the public and private sectors as well as community organizations.
It is important for governments, tourism products developers and DMOs/DTOs in the region to identify the actual and/or potential facilitating and inhibiting factors when forming collaboration and partnerships.

17. RECOMMENDATIONS FOR JOINTLY MARKETING IGAD TOURISM PRODUCTS AND THE REGIONAL DESTINATION
Setting up a jointly owned regional tourism portal for marketing and other purposes
Promote active engagement and commitment by regional tourism product suppliers to develop and market strong quality brands within and outside the region.
There is the need for effective institutional frameworks and structures with support mechanisms and incentives to promote organic, mediated intra- destination, mediated intra-inter destination collaborations in tourism product development and marketing at all levels.
The governments, tourism product developers and marketers ought to adopt a Multi-Destination Tourism (MTD) model as a strategy to improve their efficiency, increase their global competitive as well as destination or regional advantage in the visitor markets.

18. Merci beaucoup……Thank You…….Murakoze Chana ……. Ahsante Sana …….