The Art of Destination Marketing lies in attracting visitors who will stay overnight in a location and drive hotel occupancy rates higher.
In San Marino, a city-state completely surrounded by Italy, tourism promoters are working feverishly to encourage people to stay the night and spend more money.
However, with swarms of camera-toting tourists quickly passing through on a multi-city bus tour across Italy, they are finding that there is very little to get the people to stick around.
For San Marino, and an untold number of other daytime destinations, the secret to getting tourists to spend more money and stay longer is to generate a compelling nighttime event.
From historical reenactments to laser light shows and fireworks, an evening event is the answer to increasing hotel bookings, dinner reservations, and breakfast expenditures.
The reason being is that few people want to embark on a long road trip when it is dark outside, especially after a few glasses of beer or wine.
Is your region looking to boost its hotel occupancy rates? What are your thoughts on possible evening events?
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