How to Promote Cultural Tourism: The People-to-People Approach
At its core, travel is about connection—people connecting with people. When promoting cultural tourism, regional and cultural providers have a significant advantage over larger destinations because the have more access and ability to emphasize their uniquely local, person-to-person experiences.
This human-centered approach to promotion stands in stark contrast to the “something for everyone” messaging many DMOs have adopted. Let’s explore how to implement these four core principles to create a winning cultural tourism strategy.
Marketing with Purpose
Cultural tourism marketing differs fundamentally from traditional marketing approaches. While conventional marketing focuses first on identifying and solving a problem, purpose-driven cultural tourism marketing begins with being clear about what makes your destination unique, then builds trust with potential visitors, nurtures relationships with local culture bearers and hospitality partners, and finally creates systems for consistent delivery and measurement.
CLARITY: Define What Makes Your Destination Unique
For regional and cultural organizations, promoting hospitality should transcend the “heads-in-beds” strategy of advertising just on hotel rooms. Effective cultural tourism promotion starts with clearly defining and showcasing what makes your destination distinctive.
Identify Your “Only-Here” Cultural Assets
While SEO has its place in travel promotion, it shouldn’t overshadow what truly matters: the uniqueness of your destination. Sometimes “unique” and algorithm don’t go hand in hand.
The success of platforms like “Only in Your State,” which surpassed two million subscribers in 2020, proves visitors engage with promotional content that highlights the unusual and unexpected. While algorithms have their place, they don’t always tell the full story in travel marketing.
Clarity-building promotion tactics:
Inventory Your Culture Bearers: Create a comprehensive list of artists, storytellers, chefs, guides, and community leaders who embody your area’s unique character.
Document Unique Experiences: Identify experiences that visitors can only have in your location—whether it’s learning from a fifth-generation craftsperson or participating in a traditional celebration.
Articulate Your Cultural Difference: Develop a clear, compelling statement about why your cultural experiences differ from those available elsewhere.
Communicate Your Unique Value Clearly
Many DMOs have fallen into the trap of prioritizing SEO over visitor experience in their promotional content. No traveler is inspired by a generic homepage stuffed with keywords that could represent any destination.
Clear communication strategies:
Develop Experience-Focused Content: Create videos, stories, and imagery that showcase the specific human interactions visitors can expect.
Feature Culture Bearer Stories: Produce testimonials, blog interviews, and social media spotlights where locals explain their craft and connection to the area.
Create Thematic Messaging: Organize your promotional content around clear cultural themes that resonate with your target audience.
TRUST: Build Confidence in Your Cultural Experiences
Recent Skift research confirms that modern travelers, especially younger generations, respond to promotion that emphasizes experiences over physical goods, with 70% of U.S. respondents expressing this preference. But they need to trust that what you’re promoting is authentic and reliable.
Create Trustworthy Promotional Content
Trust begins with honest, accurate representations of what visitors can experience.
Trust-building promotion strategies:
Designate a Content Accuracy Specialist: Ensure all promotional materials authentically represent local experiences.
Use Real Photography and Video: Avoid stock imagery in favor of authentic documentation of actual local experiences.
Feature Genuine Visitor Testimonials: Collect and share specific stories from visitors about their meaningful local interactions.
Be Transparent About Limitations: Clearly communicate seasonal availability, necessary reservations, or physical requirements for experiences.
Ensure Consistent Delivery
Trust is maintained when the promoted experience matches reality.
Consistency strategies:
Train Culture Bearers in Visitor Engagement: Provide support to help locals deliver consistent, high-quality interactions.
Create Expectation-Setting Content: Clearly communicate what visitors can expect from each experience.
Establish Quality Standards: Work with local providers to ensure experiences consistently meet or exceed visitor expectations.
Create Brand Guidelines: Develop clear brand identity rules, ensuring consistency across all promotional materials.
RELATIONSHIPS: Connect Visitors with Locals & Locals with Partners
Relationship-building is precisely where local and regional chambers and alliances excel: they focus on fostering relationships between visitors and locals that create memorable, distinctive experiences.
Showcase Person-to-Person Connections
Successful cultural tourism promotion begins with spotlighting the relationships visitors can form with your community’s culture bearers.
Relationship-building promotion tactics:
Leverage Local Influencers: Partner with local content creators who can authentically promote your destination.
Promote Interactive Experiences: Develop dedicated landing pages for bookable, interactive opportunities that connect visitors directly with locals.
Highlight Guest-Host Interactions: Feature stories and content that showcase personal connections between visitors and locals.
Empower Local Businesses as Cultural Ambassadors
Small businesses are crucial relationship facilitators who can create authentic connections with visitors.
Collaborative relationship strategies:
Create Co-op Marketing Programs: Develop shared promotional materials that small businesses can use to highlight their role in the cultural ecosystem.
Develop Themed Trails with Cultural Narratives: Create downloadable guides that connect visitors to various culture bearers through themed routes.
Train Business Owners in Storytelling: Offer workshops on how to share local history, traditions, and stories with visitors.
SYSTEMS: Create Infrastructure for Promotion and Measurement
To sustain your cultural tourism promotion efforts, you need efficient systems for both marketing and measuring results.
Develop Systematic Promotion Channels
Implement digital and traditional systems to consistently promote your cultural tourism offerings.
Systematic promotion strategies:
Email Marketing Sequences: Develop storytelling-based email sequences introducing visitors to local culture bearers.
Content Calendar: Plan an annual promotional schedule featuring different aspects of your cultural tourism offerings.
Automated Booking Systems: Implement user-friendly reservation systems – global distribution systems (GDS) – to make it easy to book authentic experiences 24/7.
Local Business Coordination: Develop coordinated promotional efforts across multiple small businesses and culture bearers.
Measure What Matters
Track metrics that actually indicate successful promotion of cultural tourism.
Key performance indicators:
Sentiment Analysis: Monitor social media mentions and reviews referencing local connections and experiences.
Engagement with Culture Bearer Content: Compare performance of people-focused content versus generic destination content.
Length of Stay: Measure if cultural experiences lead to extended visits.
Repeat Travel Business: Track if visitors who engage with cultural tourism are more likely to return.
Economic Impact on Small Businesses: Assess whether promotional efforts drive traffic to local businesses.
Local Sentiment: If local stakeholders feel ignored or undervalued, your cultural tourism program is not sustainable. Be sure to measure local sentiment to ensure everything is working smoothly.
Your 30-Day Cultural Tourism Marketing Plan
Ready to put these ideas into action? Here’s a simple 30-day plan to jumpstart your people-centered cultural tourism promotion:
Week 1: CLARITY
Identify five culture bearers who could become the face of your destination
Document three unique experiences that visitors can only find in your location
Draft a clear statement of what makes your cultural offerings unique
Start an email list to share your distinctive local stories with potential visitors, as well as partners.
Week 2: TRUST
Develop one profile/interview with a local culture bearer that authentically represents their work
Create a sample two-day itinerary or a multi-site culinary or arts trail focused on reliable, bookable local experiences
Identify quality standards for each promoted cultural experience
Ensure all promotional content uses real images and accurate descriptions
Week 3: RELATIONSHIPS
Identify 3-5 local businesses to feature as cultural connection points
Connect with 2 local content creators who can help tell your destination’s story
Plan one collaborative event that showcases multiple culture bearers
Create a simple one-page handout local businesses can share with visitors
Week 4: SYSTEMS
Set up simple tracking for engagement with your people-centered content
Create a 3-month content calendar featuring different local personalities
Implement one improvement to your booking or information system
Schedule your first four email newsletters highlighting local stories and experiences
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