A tourist board is an important type of travel and tourism organisation that makes up a key part of the structure of the travel and tourism industry. But what is a tourist board, what does this organisation do and why are tourist boards so important? This article explains all.
What is a tourist board?
A tourist board is a tourist organisation that is founded with a view to promoting and creating the identity, and to enhance the reputation of tourism in a particular location. They are official organisations that encourage tourists to visit a particular city, country or region. Tourist boards are often also known as destination marketing organisations or destination management organisations (DMOs).
Video: What is a tourist board?
What type of organisation is a tourist board?
A tourist board is usually a not-for-profit organisation that is government owned or government funded. This means that the focus is on providing a service to the public and to the tourism industry, rather than making a direct profit. Indirectly, however, tourist boards help to generate income for a destination, because promoting tourism brings in visitor spending. Many tourist boards are funded through taxation, although some are public-private partnerships that also receive money from member businesses, commercial partners or tourist taxes.
What does a tourist board do?
A tourist board is generally a point of information for consumers or tourists. The primary aim is to promote tourism in a particular area. They may do this through a range of marketing initiatives including targeted campaigns and advertisements. Tourist boards may run adverts on TV and place advertisements on bus shelters or on the tube, for example. Tourist boards also increasingly partner with social media influencers, such as bloggers and Instagram influencers who will promote the destination to their followers. Digital and social media marketing now makes up a large part of most tourist boards’ activity.
Tourist boards will also provide information about a specific area, including transportation options, popular tourist attractions, and types of accommodation available in the area. Tourist boards also provide information about the history and the culture of a specific area.
Behind the scenes, tourist boards also do a lot of work to help manage and facilitate the tourism provision in a particular area. Some of their duties may include:
- Conducting market research
- Analysis and appraisal of tourism business in the area
- Liaising with other Governmental organisations
- Managing the provision of tourist information
- Cooperation with tourist boards in other destinations
- Developing the tourism provision in the area
- Supporting sustainable tourism and managing the impacts of tourism on residents
Different levels of tourists boards
There are different levels of tourist boards that focus on different levels of tourism, as explained below.
National tourist boards
National tourist boards oversee tourism at a national level, in other words, they are responsible for tourism throughout the country, or the nation. National tourist boards typically set the agenda for tourism and support the sector to improve what it has to offer. National tourist boards provide funding and help to promote a positive image of the country. They will also work closely with other areas of Government at a national level.
Examples of national tourist boards include VisitBritain, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (known for its ‘Amazing Thailand’ campaign) and India’s Ministry of Tourism, which promotes the country through its ‘Incredible India’ brand.
Regional tourist boards
Regional tourist boards are organisations that are in charge of promoting and managing tourism at a regional level. Regional tourist boards will often work closely with national tourist boards. Their main role is to lead the regional tourism strategies in the area. Regional tourist boards will collaborate with local authorities, tourism businesses and other organisations to undertake a range of marketing, product investment and business support activities within the travel and tourism industry.
The structure of tourist boards differs between countries. In England, for example, regional tourist boards were largely abolished in 2011, and following a government-commissioned review of destination management organisations (the de Bois Review, 2022), VisitEngland has since accredited a network of Local Visitor Economy Partnerships (LVEPs) to lead tourism at a local and sub-regional level.
Local tourist boards
A local tourist board is a tourist board that focuses on a specific local area. Many local tourist boards will support local tourism groups and associations that help to bring together the private and public sector. Local tourist boards will address issues at grass roots and will demonstrate a higher level of understanding of tourism in a particular area than a national or regional tourist board will. They will work closely with the local authority and local Government.
Local tourist boards will often have responsibility for tourist information centres. These are centres that provide a range of information to tourists on attractions, accommodation, hospitality options etc within the local area. There will often be trained staff who work at the tourist information centres who are able to advise and help tourists. There may also be a small gift shop onsite.
Tourist boards: FAQs
Below are answers to some of the most common questions about tourist boards.
What is a tourist board?
A tourist board is an official organisation that promotes a destination, such as a country, region or city, to visitors and supports the development of tourism there.
What does a tourist board do?
Tourist boards market destinations, provide information for visitors, conduct research, support local tourism businesses, work with government and help to manage the impacts of tourism.
Is a tourist board a public or private organisation?
Most tourist boards are public sector or not-for-profit organisations funded by government, although some are public-private partnerships that also receive funding from businesses and commercial partners.
What are the different levels of tourist boards?
Tourist boards operate at national level (such as VisitBritain), regional level and local level, with local organisations often running tourist information centres.
What is the difference between a tourist board and a DMO?
The terms are often used interchangeably. DMO stands for destination marketing (or management) organisation, and it describes the organisation responsible for promoting and managing tourism in a destination.
What is a tourist board? Further reading
If you found this article on tourist boards useful, these articles may also be of interest:
- Types of travel agents
- What does the World Travel and Tourism Council do?
- The different types of travel
- Types of travel and tourism organisations
