ABSTRACT
Why? The authors do not perceive the issue of ‘branding’ to be solely an issue of promotion or that RTOs and NTOs only exist to promote a destination. In its fullest sense marketing is about product design and service delivery beside simple promotion, and thus to divorce branding and the promotion that NTOs and RTOs undertake from the wider context is believed to be self-defeating if one wishes to understand the nature of these marketing exercises, why they have been initiated and what they purport to do. To understand the marketing activities undertaken by Tourism Organizations, it needs to be appreciated that for the most part they are quasi-public sector bodies, primarily funded by local and national government, and often have elected politicians present upon their executive and/or advisory boards. In addition, in some instances, the funding authorities will effectively delegate to the NTO or RTO a number of responsibilities that de facto places the NTO or RTO in the position of possessing that authority’s main source of tourism expertise. Thereby, the tourism organization becomes an important source of advice and indirectly influences policy in matters beyond promotion. Product development thus shades into a consideration of social and environmental issues. The discourse of this chapter is to describe, at least partially, the politics that contribute to and emerge from this situation.
