The Theme Park Syndrome in Low Season

It may seem like a depressive disorder. Well, there is something of that, but it is not a human illness; it affects tourist destinations. Have you ever visited a theme park in the low season? Think of it: half the restaurants closed, some attractions shut as well, fewer staff and only a handful of visitors you happen to encounter. Does it not make you feel a little melancholy? It does me. You get the sense that you are not in the real park, that the real one is more dynamic, more vibrant, better. Tourist destinations experience something similar in the low season. There is a certain sadness in their promenades, a touch of nostalgia. Many hotels close, as do some restaurants and even some shops; the tourists are a different kind, and everything seems to move more slowly. Why do I say this? Because I want to convey my conviction that a destination is shaped by all the social and economic stakeholders that make up its fabric. Hotels, restaurants, shops, bars, parks… they all form part of the destination. And let us remember: tourists buy a stay in a destination, not in a hotel. When tourists pay for a hotel booking, they have the destination in mind, not the hotel. That is why coordinated destination management is so important, with all hotels (and other stakeholders) acting for the benefit of the destination. Does this mean that hotels should remain open all year round even if they have no guests? Not at all. What is more, there is a market for these low-season periods. I myself enjoy walking along the seafront promenades of Santa Pola or La Manga del Mar Menor in autumn; I like the melancholy they convey. But we must be aware that this type of market is smaller, and its segmentation has an element of weakness that other types of segmentation do not: timing. The enjoyment sought by this segment is temporally incompatible with that of others. Segmentation by nationality may allow several segments to stay at the hotel. The “low-season melancholics” segment seeks the absence of other segments, of other guests, and this must be taken into account. A hotel must be aware that it depends on the destination, and that its success depends on the success of the destination and, therefore, on the other stakeholders operating within it. Choosing a low-season opening strategy must entail a series of changes in the response to guests. Perhaps because they are a “melancholic”, or perhaps because they are a “high-season” guest who has only been able to visit in the low season and is seeking the sensations of peak season. Management cannot be linear, any more than guests are.