Muddling Through Destination Marketing: Experiences from the North West Province, South Africa

Globalization propagates the dominance of internationalization and the shortage of resources to strengthen competitive edges is apparent. The 4th Industrial Revolution (4IR) in developing countries is still a wish rather than a reality, putting more strains on destinations located in developing countries and hampers destination marketing strategies. This paper examines the rationale for destinations’ confusion over their positioning status, using the North West Province as a reference point. The paper adopts a qualitative design which was sourced through reviews of destination marketing strategies, white paper tourism policy and provinces’ tourism websites. The reviews were further analyzed using content analysis. The results indicate that the province positions itself as a cultural and heritage destination and that cultural and heritage activities account for less than 5%. Also, the results indicate a mismatch of the province’s strong attributes and marketing positioning strategy. The paper concludes that the province would become the hub of destination marketing and huge patronage if it focuses on its strengths and main competitive edge, namely the social activities, shopping, eating out, nightlife, and natural attractions such as the sun, dunes, and platinum mines.