Product marketing in the Gstaad-Saanenland Tourism Organization (GST) is primarily focused on bundling and promoting products from service providers. A modern tourism organization, however, must increasingly be able to proactively affect and influence product and service design within the destination. For the emergence of a new, centrally organized DMO, this previously neglected aspect must be taken into account. In order to be able to actively design the offering and to be competitive for the future, the Marketing Department of the DMO must accordingly be structured and organized.

The proceeding of the thesis was divided into four parts. Firstly, a theoretical research of the concept of product marketing in tourism was conducted. Secondly, a situation analysis was carried out. In order to capture the current situation and problems regarding product marketing in the GST, a desk research and qualitative interviews were conducted. Thirdly, a strategic and competitive analysis was accomplished. This included a benchmark with other destinations. Finally, a synthesis and suggestions for the restructuring of product marketing in the emerging DMO were developed.

The main-objective was to propose organizational structure, which allows to proactively and collaboratively design and promote the product offering, and which enables to concentrate on particular product groups. At the same time, the suggested structure aims to eradicate weaknesses and threats, and builds on strengths and opportunities. The wide and broad product offering of the destination was broken down and integrated into four strategic business units (SBU): ‘Winter Experience’, ‘Summer Experience’, ‘Wellness & Lifestyle’ and ‘Nature & Culture’. These SBUs are the strategic cornerstones and are recommended to build the foundation of product marketing in the new DMO. A clear concept, objectives and prioritization for each of this fields must be elaborated. For the corresponding implementation, the introduction of a separate Product Management Division and product managers with different areas of focus is proposed. Finally, three different models for the organizational structure of the Product Management Division are illustrated. Cooperation and collaboration are a prerequisite for all the suggested measures. Hence, a corresponding commitment by all stakeholders is indispensable.