From destination marketing to destination management: a new model reshapes global tourism

Rather than relying on standalone offers from hotels and airlines, destinations are creating structured partnership networks designed to increase visitor frequency and overall tourist spending. This approach is strengthening the role of destination management organisations (DMOs), which coordinate public authorities and private businesses through shared digital platforms and loyalty programmes.

A prominent example is the Dubai Access Club, unveiled in November 2026 by Dubai Crown Prince Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.

The programme combines a five-year tourism membership with the possibility of obtaining a multiple-entry visa and benefits across air travel, hotels, retail outlets and leisure activities.

Its initial partners include Emirates, hotel group Accor and Visa. Through these companies’ loyalty programmes, selected customers can gain access to the Dubai Access Club, which operates on an invitation-only basis.

Benefits include discounts through the ALSAADA tourist card, hotel privileges, shopping offers at Majid Al Futtaim malls and access to selected events.

At the same time, Dubai is integrating tourist visa applications into the Visit Dubai platform, linking entry procedures with travel planning and access to tourism services. The initiative forms part of the Dubai Economic Agenda D33, which aims to strengthen the emirate’s position as an international business and tourism hub.

Saudi Arabia: Visitor Rewards and Integrated Travel Services

Saudi Arabia is pursuing a similar strategy through its Saudi Rewards programme, which connects hotels, tourism activities, restaurants, retail and entertainment.

The programme allows users to earn and redeem points while providing access to commercial offers from participating businesses.

In addition, the country’s Ministry of Tourism introduced the Package Visa service in 2026, allowing eligible visitors to combine tourist visa applications with transport and accommodation bookings through approved providers.

Saudi Arabia also operates a Stopover Visa programme, which allows transit passengers to stay in the country for up to 96 hours, creating additional opportunities to convert air traffic into tourism demand.

Unlike Dubai’s initiative, these services operate as complementary programmes rather than as a single, multi-year visitor membership scheme.

The Hong Kong Model

In Hong Kong, the tourism authority has developed visitor benefit programmes connecting hotels, transport providers, retail outlets, restaurants and attractions.

The Hong Kong Goodies programme involved partnerships with more than 400 businesses and approximately 3,800 service locations, offering visitors vouchers and discounts.

In 2024, the Summer Triple Rewards initiative followed, providing 500,000 benefit packages combining transport or attraction offers, dining and shopping.

In 2025, a new programme was introduced, featuring more than 150 offers across different sectors of the local economy.

Hong Kong’s strategy focuses on increasing visitor spending during their stay through shared commercial incentives and cross-sector partnerships.

From Destination Marketing to Destination Management

These three examples illustrate the transition from traditional tourism promotion towards a more integrated model of destination management.

Under this emerging approach, tourism organisations are no longer focused solely on attracting visitors through advertising campaigns. Instead, they take an active role in developing cross-sector partnerships, coordinating joint loyalty programmes and connecting digital services.

Airlines gain additional tools to encourage repeat travel demand, hotels can reach customers through shared commercial networks, and retailers gain access to organised groups of visitors.

For public authorities, these programmes create opportunities to improve coordination between tourism services and, where permitted by the regulatory framework, make use of aggregated data on visitor numbers and spending patterns.