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Destination marketing looks different from that of traditional marketing, since the product, in this case the destination, consists of several different parts compared to a good. A destination is marketed as a process where the consumption takes place at the same time as the production. Destination marketing organizations, DMO’s, are responsible for the marketing of a destination. Since destinations consist of several parts such as the train trip to the destination, restaurant visits, shopping, hotel stays etc., it is difficult for the DMO’s to fully control how a tourist perceive the destination. Collaborations between the DMO’s and the actors that come in contact with the tourists on the destination are essential. A strong brand and image of the destination are also important factors to consider.

Västerås has long been seen as an industrial town but has today begun a transformation of that image to one with Mälardalen in focus. The destination attracts many business travelers that due to the close distance to Stockholm usually just stay during the day and do not contribute to the number of guest nights. Västerås & Co., which is in charge of marketing the destination Västerås, wants to get the business travelers to stay overnight as well as increasing the number of leisure travelers. Its competitors are seen as, amongst others, Uppsala and Örebro, due to their sizes, types of tourists and the close distance to Stockholm.

The study shows how Västerås and its competitors market their destinations by going through market, communication and activity plans as well as different target documents. We have in our analysis processed the empirical material and in a conclusion come up with how theses destinations market themselves and what Västerås can do in order to reach the same results as its competitors.