What positioning for the Agadir destination on social media? The reflection seems still distant for the city's professionals. The current communication plan remains classic and hardly takes into consideration the role that information and communication technologies can play. Over the last two years, two initiatives have emerged. Let us note in this context the creation of a Facebook page and an electronic site. The current plan refers largely to promotional actions via participation in trade fairs, events, and various advertising spots, but what about ICTs? At a time when all studies confirm the rise in the use of the Internet as a source of information, promotion, and booking by international tourists, the destination suffers from a lack of reflection and vision in this context. The current Facebook page, set up by the Regional Tourism Council, brings together barely sixty people and lacks both interactivity and animation. Thus, and according to a study carried out recently by PhocusWright, specialising in the travel industry, e-tourism showed a rise of 17% in 2011, and the growth speed should rise to reach 7% for the 2013-2014 period. The shortfall seems to be put aside by the city's professionals. No strategy for implementation or analysis of the relevance of social media is underway at the city level. Admittedly, individual efforts by hoteliers or travel agencies and other service providers in the sector are being started, but one can hardly speak of a global e-marketing strategy, studied and headed by the representative institution of the city's professionals. The destination thus remains shy in the face of the possibilities offered by social web tools, and no investment in this context is promulgated. The absence of regional reflection on the use of social media in the promotion of the destination puts it aside from the increased competition that the sector is experiencing in this period of crisis. And whether for national or international "touristnauts," the situation is hardly taken into consideration. Both on video sites, review sites, social networks, or forums, the absence of a strategy, a monitoring unit, and an analysis of the expectations of "touristnauts" hardly helps the destination to meet the challenge. Browsing the sites and social network pages of competing destinations quickly brings us face to face with the accomplished fact. The lack of exploration of these new avenues of promotion and marketing confronts the destination with real losses.
News 28 Dec 2012 2 min read
When will there be an e-marketing strategy for the promotion of the destination?
What positioning for the Agadir destination on social media? The reflection seems still distant for the city's professionals.

