DESTINATION LAKE ATITLÁN Marketing and Communication Strategy, Action Plan, and Benchmarking Analysis for the Lake Atitlán Region of Guatemala Table of Contents LIST OF TABLES .................................................................................................................. 4 LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................................. 4 CONSULTANT TEAM ........................................................................................................... 5 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ......................................................................................................... 7 RESUMEN EJECUTIVO .......................................................................................................... 9 ACRONYMS ..................................................................................................................... 12 INTRODUCTION/PURPOSE .................................................................................................. 14 SCOPE OF WORK ............................................................................................................................. 14 THE ROAD AHEAD .......................................................................................................................... 14 METHODOLOGY .............................................................................................................................. 14 PART 1: STRATEGIC ASSESSMENT .............................................................................. 16 1.1 SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS ........................................................................................................... 16 1.2 ROLE OF SOLOLÁ SUB-COMMISSION & STRATEGIC PLAN ...................................................... 20 STRATEGIC TOURISM PLAN OF LAKE ATITLÁN ........................................................... 20 1.3 OTHER IMPORTANT TOURISM STAKEHOLDERS .................................................... 23 PUBLIC SECTOR .............................................................................................................. 24 PRIVATE SECTOR ............................................................................................................ 24 CIVIL SOCIETY ................................................................................................................ 24 COMMUNITIES ................................................................................................................ 25 DONORS .......................................................................................................................... 25 MEDIA ............................................................................................................................. 25 TOURISTS ........................................................................................................................ 25 STAKEHOLDER GRID...................................................................................................... 26 1.4 GUATEMALA COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS .................................................................................... 26 GUATEMALA AND ITS REGIONAL COMPETITORS ......................................................... 28 GUATEMALA AND ITS COMPETITIVE POSITIONING ..................................................... 30 GUATEMALA AND ITS COMPARATIVE ADVANTAGES ................................................... 30 1.5 LAKE ATITLÁN HIGHLIGHTS ................................................................................................... 33 1.6 MARKET FOR GUATEMALA (INTERNATIONAL & NATIONAL) ................................................. 34 CURRENTLY IDENTIFIED TOURIST PROFILE ................................................................ 36 1.7 PERCEPTION ANALYSIS ............................................................................................................. 36 EXPLORATORY SURVEY RESULTS.................................................................................. 37 1.8 TOURIST SURVEYS ..................................................................................................................... 38 DEMOGRAPHICS OF SAMPLE .......................................................................................... 39 SURVEY RESULTS ............................................................................................................ 39 1 1.9 SUMMARY OF PART 1 ................................................................................................................ 41 PART 2: ANALYSIS & STRATEGIC SOLUTIONS: COMMUNITY-BASED TOURISM ................... 43 2.1 WHAT IS CBT? ......................................................................................................................... 43 COMPARISON WITH CONVENTIONAL TOURISM .......................................................... 43 2.2 IMPORTANCE OF COMMUNITY-BASED TOURISM IN LAKE ATILTÁN ...................................... 44 2.3 EXAMPLES OF CBT IN LAKE ATITLÁN .................................................................................... 45 2.4 ADVANCING CBT IN LAKE ATILTÁN ....................................................................................... 48 CBT – TOURISM MARKET SEGMENT OR A TOURISM MANAGEMENT PROCESS ........ 48 INTRODUCING THE SAVE MARKET SEGMENT ............................................................ 48 2.5 CBT DISTRIBUTION CHANNELS .............................................................................................. 52 2.6 PROPOSED ACTIONS FOR DEVELOPING CBT IN LAKE ATILTÁN ........................................... 54 CBT BROCHURE & CAPACITY BUILDING TOOLKIT .................................................... 54 DEVELOPMENT OF S.A.V.E. MARKETS ......................................................................... 55 ATITLÁN BOAT MOBILE ................................................................................................ 56 PEDESTRIAN FRIENDLY PANAJACHEL ........................................................................... 57 STAY ANOTHER DAY CAMPAIGN .................................................................................. 57 PROFESSIONAL TRAINING IN EVENT MANAGEMENT ................................................... 58 CBT DISTRIBUTION CHANNELS ................................................................................... 59 2.7 GENERAL RECOMMENDATIONS ............................................................................................... 59 2.8 SUMMARY OF PART 2 ................................................................................................................ 61 PART 3: ANALYSIS & STRATEGIC SOLUTIONS: MARKETING & POSITIONING OF LAKE ATITLÁN 62 3.1 BRANDING AND POSITIONING ................................................................................................. 62 IMPORTANCE OF BRANDING AND POSITIONING .......................................................... 62 BRAND RESPONSE TO “SOUL OF THE EARTH”: GUATEMALA ..................................... 62 BRANDING & POSITIONING LAKE ATITLÁN ................................................................. 62 3.2 PROPOSED ACTIONS FOR EFFECTIVE MARKETING & POSITIONING OF LAKE ATILTÁN ...... 64 BRANDING COMPETITION ............................................................................................. 65 MARKETING DISTRIBUTION STRATEGY AND MARKETING DISTRIBUTION SCORECARD 65 KEEP LAKE ATITLÁN BEAUTIFUL CAMPAIGN .............................................................. 66 3.3 GENERAL RECOMMENDATIONS ............................................................................................... 67 3.4 SUMMARY OF PART 3 ................................................................................................................ 67 PART 4: ANALYSIS & STRATEGIC SOLUTIONS: CRISIS MANAGEMENT IN LAKE ATITLÁN ..... 69 4.1 TOURISM AND CRISES MANAGEMENT ................................................................................ 69 THE CONTEXT OF CRISIS .............................................................................................. 69 RISK IN GUATEMALA ...................................................................................................... 69 CURRENT CRISIS MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS IN GUATEMALA ........................................ 70 4.2 CRISIS MANAGEMENT: NATURAL DISASTER AND CRIME - PREVENTION, MITIGATION AND RECOVERY ....................................................................................................................................... 71 DISASTER PREVENTION ................................................................................................. 72 CRISIS MITIGATION ....................................................................................................... 73 DESTINATION RECOVERY .............................................................................................. 75 4.3 PROPOSED ACTIONS FOR EFFECTIVE CRISIS MANAGEMENT IN LAKE ATILTÁN ................... 78 2 CRISIS MANAGEMENT TOOLKIT FOR STAKEHOLDERS ................................................ 78 CRISIS COMMUNICATION CAMPAIGN ........................................................................... 79 4.4 GENERAL RECOMMENDATIONS ............................................................................................... 80 4.5 SUMMARY OF PART 4 ................................................................................................................ 82 PART 5: ANALYSIS & STRATEGIC SOLUTIONS: DEVELOPING