Case Study Resort DMO
Maximum Reach Make Every Season Count
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Transforming a High-Profile Resort Destination into a Year-Round Travel Hub
A high-profile resort-based DMO faced significant challenges:
Accessibility Issues – The destination was hard to reach, limiting its visitor pool.
Seasonal Imbalance – While winter was strong, summer visitation was minimal.
Perception Problems – The resort had a reputation for being elite and expensive, discouraging budget-conscious travelers.
Branding Disconnect – The major lodging providers were located in an adjacent town with no brand recognition, creating a disconnect in visitor perception.
To address these issues, the DMO was created to represent the entire local region, bringing together stakeholders to build a strong, unified destination brand.
Strategy & Execution
✅ Custom SEO-Friendly Website Development:
Many off-the-shelf web platforms (especially those built for business directories) fail in SEO.
We worked closely with the web development team to build a custom, fully optimized site designed to dominate search results.
✅ Strategic Content Creation for Brand Positioning:
Developed content that compared the destination to other high-end resorts, strategically positioning it as an affordable alternative while maintaining its luxury appeal.
Created seasonal content focused on mountains, lakes, hiking, fishing, camping, mountain biking, festivals, and concerts, highlighting summer offerings beyond winter sports.
✅ Leveraging Local Investment in Summer Infrastructure:
The local area was aggressive in building summer event infrastructure (festivals, concerts, outdoor activities).
We aligned marketing campaigns to support and promote these growing summer attractions.
✅ Launching a Comprehensive, Unified Events Calendar:
Built an integrated events platform to centralize all regional activities, helping visitors easily find reasons to visit in non-peak seasons.
✅ Targeted Advertising & Audience Interception:
Focused on intercepting potential travelers in the discovery phase through Google Ads, paid social, and strategic native advertising.
Used data-driven targeting to reach travelers researching high-end destinations, showcasing affordable alternatives.
✅ 7X Growth in Website Traffic & Summer Visitation Domination:
Over seven years, traffic grew 7X, with summer visitation surpassing winter numbers, reversing the traditional seasonality imbalance.
✅ Short-Form Video Advertising to Reach New Markets:
Launched short-form video ads on TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts to expand audience segments.
Focused particularly on direct flight co-op markets, ensuring daily flights reached full capacity.
✅ Expansion into New Drive Markets:
Developed drive market itineraries, creating compelling road trip content that encouraged visitors to explore multiple destinations.
Results
✔️ 7X Website Traffic Growth – Over seven years, website traffic skyrocketed, driving unprecedented visibility and engagement.
✔️ Summer Visitor Numbers Now Exceed Winter – What was once an off-season is now a peak season, proving the success of the summer-focused strategy.
✔️ Search Dominance for Key Travel Terms – The destination now owns a huge swath of resort and outdoor travel-related search terms, ensuring continued organic growth.
✔️ Increased Flight Capacity Utilization – Targeted short-form video advertising helped fill direct flights from key co-op markets, ensuring sustained airline partnerships.
✔️ Expanded Regional Drive Market Reach – Road trip itineraries successfully attracted more visitors by integrating multiple destinations into compelling travel plans.
Timeline: 7 Years
Through SEO dominance, strategic content marketing, digital advertising, and destination branding, this resort DMO overcame seasonality challenges and positioned itself as a year-round travel powerhouse. 🚀