Abstract
The literature widely acknowledges visual communication in the form of a logo as a potential marketing tool for attracting visitors. Focusing exclusively on logos, this study uses the Haitian Destination Marketing Organization (DMO) logo as a case study to explain how the choice of colors of a logo can benefit from market research methods. In essence, the study develops an analytical framework and contributes to the body of meta-literature in tourism marketing research. The results of the research affect current marketing practices in tourism, because firms seemingly overlook some important elements when developing a new logo. This situation is the case of the Haitian DMO and possibly other DMOs in the world.
1. Introduction
In the tourism industry, exogenous factors like political instability, economic crisis, natural disasters, and the outbreak of diseases (Hai & Chick, 2011; Ritchie, Dorrell, Miller, & Miller, 2004) can cause destinations to decline and sometimes even totally disappear from the tourism map (Seddighi, Nuttall, & Theocharus, 2001). In this respect, tourism is a problematic industry (Getz, 2008). Destinations have an interest in developing strategies to mitigate the effects of these exogenous factors on inbound tourism. Communication with the tourism market using an effective recovery message (Walters & Mair, 2012) is the approach that this study covers. Brands are important intangible assets that can have significant positive effects (Park, Eisingerich, Pol, & Park, 2013) on the performance of a destination.
5. Conclusions
Haiti, as a tourism destination, has since 1960s portrayed an image of uncertainty and insecurity. To win back its popularity, the Haitian DMO has introduced a new logo. This article does not question the decision of adopting a new logo. Instead, this study focuses on the design (including colors used), and particularly, the absence of empirical research to inform the decision. This study proposes a conceptual framework to determine the right colors for the DMO logo. The framework establishes a relationship between color and its effect on the overall competitiveness of the destination.
