Question: Course Textbook

Cook, R. A., Hsu, C. H., & Marqua, J. J. (2014). Tourism: The business of hospitality and travel (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Web Assignment

Part I

This is a two-part assignment.

Choose one of the state destination marketing organizations (DMOs) below. These states have the easiest access to such things as marketing plans and tourism research and statistics.

- Montana: Montana Office of Tourism Intranet
- Oregon: Travel Industry
- Nevada: Industry Partners
- Kentucky: Industry Partners
- Michigan: Michigan Tourism Strategic Plan
- Wisconsin: Industry Partners
- South Carolina: Industry Resources
- Iowa: Industry Partners
- West Virginia: Industry Info

Each state website has a link included that is geared toward the traveler. These links may be at the very top or very bottom of the page indicated. For the first part of the assignment, analyze the attractions of the state. You will need to review the chapter in the textbook on attractions. Using the content, draw conclusions about the focus of the DMO's efforts. For example, every state has a travel guide and other items to facilitate travel to the particular state geared toward the individual traveler. The trade, meeting planners, tour operators, and incentives also have targeted brochures.

1. Identify the "brand" for the state.

2. Next, highlight how the destination is focusing on this brand. For instance, for North Carolina, it is Deeper Connections.

3. Finally, investigate the individual traveler, industry, and trade to find how the state addresses this brand. How does the DMO market to the individual and trade?

Your response should be a minimum of two pages in length, double-spaced. All sources used, including the textbook, must be referenced; paraphrased and quoted material must have accompanying citations, and be cited per APA guidelines.

Information about accessing the Blackboard Grading Rubric for this assignment is provided below.

Part II

In Part I of this assignment, you investigated and analyzed the attractions and focus of a specific destination. In Part II, you will investigate the DMO and the efforts of the organization.

Look at who the organization is targeting, and analyze what aspects of the destination are geared toward the target market(s). Most sites will have visitation research data; however, you will have to use your information from Part I and the information in the document to draw conclusions. In other words, there are not explicit responses in any of these documents. You will demonstrate your abilities based upon looking at the market and then, from their viewpoint, look at what the destination state has to offer. Most of the sources will be located on websites.

You may also want to use marketing such as ads and social media to investigate. The resources are limitless in our current world. You may want to check online travel agencies (OTAs) such as Expedia, Orbitz, etc. and also tour operators who provide tours in the state you have chosen. The tour operators will provide what they think is important for a broader audience.

In your submission, include the content you submitted for Part I in Unit VI and add Part II to this document. You should have a complete submission with the following contents:

- Introduction
- Body with Part I

Part II

- Conclusion

Your response should be a minimum of four pages in length, double-spaced. All sources used, including the textbook, must be referenced; paraphrased and quoted material must have accompanying citations, and be cited per APA guidelines.