Changing role of the DMO Wonderful Copenhagen
Translated title
Case study: DMO role
Author
Valentaite, Gerda
Term
4. term
Education
Publication year
2017
Submitted on
2017-07-31
Pages
114
Abstract
This thesis explores how the destination organization Wonderful Copenhagen is redefining its role through the 2020 and beyond strategy Localhood, which frames visitors as temporary locals and prioritizes people-based growth. It seeks to understand the strategic shifts the organization is pursuing, the paradoxes of moving beyond traditional tourism, and the challenges that arise as responsibilities shift from promotion toward coordination, curation, and industry capacity-building. Guided by a constructivist perspective, the study adopts an exploratory qualitative case design that combines discourse analysis of the strategy document, semi-structured interviews with two DMO staff and an external strategist, netnographic observations, and secondary sources. Findings indicate a move toward enabling others through training and a shared branding framework, while the people-centered vision sits uneasily alongside plans for big data, geographic segmentation, and expansion of air routes and cruise traffic that may affect urban livability. Wonderful Copenhagen faces the task of prioritizing stakeholders and partnerships as Localhood’s values must be integrated across the wider industry. The organization signals a departure from its old role yet continues many traditional tasks, challenging proclamations of the end of tourism and suggesting that meaningful transformation is complex and dependent on the broader destination network. The study offers a nuanced view of DMO role change and provides a basis for further research, noting that these issues are not unique to Copenhagen.
Dette speciale undersøger den ændrede rolle for destinationsorganisationen Wonderful Copenhagen i forbindelse med lanceringen af 2020-strategien Localhood, som ser besøgende som midlertidige lokale og vægter menneskebaseret vækst. Formålet er at forstå de strategiske skift, som organisationen tager, de paradokser der følger med visionen om at gå ud over traditionel turisme, og de udfordringer der opstår, når DMO’ens ansvar bevæger sig fra primært promotion til mere koordinering, kuratering og kapacitetsopbygning i branchen. Med afsæt i en konstruktivistisk tilgang anvendes et eksplorativt kvalitativt casestudie, der kombinerer diskursanalyse af strategidokumentet, semistrukturerede interviews med to medarbejdere i organisationen og en ekstern strateg, netnografiske observationer og sekundære kilder. Fundene peger på et skifte mod at muliggøre andre aktører gennem træning og en delt brandingramme, samtidig med at den menneskecentrerede vision kolliderer med planer om big data, geografisk segmentering og udvidelse af fly- og krydstogtskapacitet, som kan påvirke byens levbarhed. Wonderful Copenhagen står over for at skulle prioritere interessenter og partnerskaber, mens værdierne i Localhood skal forankres bredt i industrien. Organisationen markerer et opgør med sin gamle rolle, men viderefører samtidig mange traditionelle opgaver, hvilket udfordrer forestillingen om et hurtigt brud med turismen og peger på, at meningsfuld transformation er kompleks og afhænger af hele destinationsnetværket. Studiet bidrager med en nuanceret forståelse af DMO’ers rolleforandring og giver et afsæt for videre forskning, idet problemstillingerne ikke synes unikke for København.
[This apstract has been generated with the help of AI directly from the project full text]