Consumers’ images of a destination are built by a variety of
influences, only some of which can be directly or indirectly attributed to
destination marketing companies. In preparing to ‘launch’
Southern Queensland (Gold Coast, Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast) in the US
market, Tourism Queensland undertook consumer studies to identify the images
most likely to stimulate travel to the destination. Utilising this information,
Tourism Queensland has been able to influence a wide group of
stakeholders—including distribution channel members and media
outlets—to use these images. This process has contributed to the
development of the strongest possible image of the destination in this
competitive market-place.
