Market Opportunity Analysis for tourism marketing : a case study from Tenerife and the Flight Development Fund

Destination Marketing Organizations (DMOs) have been deeply studied, but there is still a gap in the literature regarding the structured approaches to their market selection methods. Among DMOs’ multiple activities there are many that require this preliminary study to maximize effectiveness. The Market Opportunity Analysis (MOA)(Woodruff 1976) is a powerful instrument to help the market selection process. It has been used in many different contexts, from real estates (Woodruff, 1976) to cargo transports (Golocic et al. 2003). It is now used in the international market selection of Destination Marketing Organizations subsidies program. The Flight Development Fund is the public aid program funded by the Canary Islands government and managed by the local DMOs to increase the connectivity of the region. The lack of a methodical approach when choosing the routes to fund might be one of the causes of the poor adherence to the program. The MOA applied to the Flight Development Fund’s market selection process is intended to increase the potential of the fund, adopting a structured method of analysis