The Adaptation of Danish DMOs in Times of Global Warming

Abstract

This study aims to explore and investigate the DMOs of the Danish West Coast and their adaptability and monitorisation of the occurring tourism tendency of foreign tourists gaining interest in Scandinavia as a potential holiday destination due to global temperature changes. Furthermore, the study also aims at trying to highlight how the DMOs perceived this tendency and its future impact on the tourism product of the Danish West Coast. Lastly, the study further aims to investigate the present and future extent of the Danish DMOs' perceptions and usage of data from tourists and companies as a tourism development tool and the ethical considerations and reasoning behind this. By assuming a social constructivist approach, this study relies heavily on the use of qualitative data as its primary, which has been obtained and acquired through the usage of semi-structured interviews with representatives from the DMOs of the Danish West Coasts and the French and Italian market director of VisitDenmark. This study´s findings showcase that the DMOs of the Danish West Coast acknowledge and monitor the tourism tendency of increased foreign tourist interest in the colder climate of Denmark. However, the study also highlights that the DMOs of the Danish West Coast remain reluctant to make use of global warming or climate change as marketing tools or campaigns to accommodate this increasing interest from foreign tourists. Instead, the study shows that the western-located Danish DMOs aim to facilitate better tourism and sustainable tourism by attracting the ´right´ type of guest, who have a high level of spending and are likely to spend holidays in the off-season. By analyzing the respective perspectives of the DMOs of the Danish West Coast regarding the extent of the present and future usage of data in tourism as a development tool, it is shown, that the DMOs currently are limited in their usage of data, which was due to inexperience and lack of strong available data. Despite this, data as a tourism development tool is still perceived to become an essential part of future tourism development. The ethical considerations of the DMOs of the Danish West Coast regarding the usage of data are presented in the study to revolve around ensuring the anonymity of individuals. The findings of this thesis contribute to the theoretical fields regarding DMOs´ adaptability and monitoring of increasing tourism tendencies, which can have a significant impact on already established tourism products and destinations. Furthermore, the thesis also contributes to the rather unexplored field of global warming's impact on the future tourism movement in Europe.

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A master thesis from Aalborg University

The Adaptation of Danish DMOs in Times of Global Warming - A West Coast Case

[Tilpasningen af danske DMO'er i tider med global opvarmning - En Vestkyst Sag]