Travel intelligence leader ForwardKeys is delighted to introduce the Growth Management module, a new addition to its Destination Gateway product . This powerful tool provides Destination Management Organisations (DMOs) with a comprehensive view of their destination’s seasonality, competitors’ seasonality, and source market behaviour , enabling them to identify realistic growth opportunities and optimise their strategies.
The new module is part of ForwardKeys’ ongoing innovation strategy, focused on helping destinations manage sustainability — an increasingly critical consideration for DMOs and businesses worldwide.
The challenges of seasonality and market dependency
DMOs and tourist boards face significant challenges related to seasonal fluctuations. Low seasons can lead to higher unemployment rates, underused infrastructure, and economic burdens, while high seasons introduce overcrowding and resource pressure — and can negatively impact the quality of life of local residents.
To grow tourism sustainably, destinations need to balance demand across seasons as far as possible — but it can be difficult to find growth opportunities in key and emerging markets, especially when considering the variation of products and activities offered throughout the year.
Another common issue is a poor mix of source markets or high dependency on a single region. This can put a destination at risk of a significant tourism drop when a market falls away due to a pandemic, weather event, or other crisis. Larger travel distances can have a negative environmental impact, making it crucial for DMOs to consider sustainability when developing their marketing strategies.
Growth Management module – Potential growth opportunities: compared with competitor Italy and including several profile filters, Greece has the potential to grow the Austrian market with +39.4% during the low season.
Connecting the dots with the Growth Management module
The new Growth Management module in ForwardKeys Destination Gateway is designed to help DMOs overcome these challenges by providing a comprehensive view that connects the dots between a destination’s own seasonality, competitors’ seasonality, and source market behaviour.
Key features of the module include:
Seasonality Index: An overview of overnights, indicating the seasonality trend for your destination and competitors summarised in a single value. The lower the value, the flatter the curve.
Growth Opportunity Highlights: Identification of growth opportunities per season (with weekly granularity) and per source market.
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Filters: Ability to filter origin markets by region of interest and visitor profile (business/leisure, length of stay) and compare to your competitors.
Seasonality Index: An overview of overnights, indicating the seasonality trend for your destination and competitors summarised in a single value. The lower the value, the flatter the curve.
Growth Opportunity Highlights: Identification of growth opportunities per season (with weekly granularity) and per source market.
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Filters: Ability to filter origin markets by region of interest and visitor profile (business/leisure, length of stay) and compare to your competitors.
By leveraging these insights, DMOs can make informed decisions about which source markets to target, what types of products to develop, and how to encourage longer lengths of stay.
Unlocking growth potential and sustainability
The Growth Management module is an invaluable tool for any DMO looking to unlock their destination’s full potential. Whether you’re dealing with seasonality issues, eager to grow and find opportunities in new and current markets, conscious of the CO2 impact of travel, or seeking to develop new products and encourage longer stays, this module can provide the insights you need.
The new module empowers DMOs to make data-driven decisions and optimise their strategies for success by recommending potential new source markets for growth, highlighting growth potential per source market, and providing benchmarking and competition reference points.
In addition to driving growth, the Growth Management module also helps DMOs address sustainability concerns by identifying opportunities to attract visitors from short-haul markets, thereby reducing the environmental impact of travel.
Unlock your destination’s potential with ForwardKeys
To learn more about how the Growth Management module can benefit your destination, contact ForwardKeys today. Our team of travel intelligence experts will be happy to discuss your specific needs and demonstrate how this new module can help you unlock your destination’s full potential.
