Summer Destinations Look for Solutions to Tourists’ Seasonal Stereotypes
Photo Credit: The sun sets over the water in Punta Del Este, Uruguay. Flickr / Jimmy Baikovicius
Skift Take
Marketing beaches in the winter is a difficult task, suggesting destinations looking to break out of seasonal stereotypes need on-the-ground product development to give visitors a real reason to reconsider a place besides off-season prices and a smart ad campaign.
Anyone that's ever visited a traditionally summer destination from Punta del Este, Uruguay, to Ibiza, Spain, knows that the beaches and businesses are empty until just a week or two before their busy seasons begin.
Visit during high season and hotel rates soar, restaurants are packed, and beach access costs several dollars per beach chair.
As global tourism grows to a record 1.087 billion in 2013, destinations across the globe are working every angle to get as many tourists and their pocketbooks into their hotels and restaurants as possible, making seasonality a serious challenge for similar summer hotspots.
The United Nations World Tourism Organization recently embarked on a project to test its theories about what it takes turn a summer getaway into a year-ro
