The Significance of Destination Intelligence

Relying on niche expertise and the understanding the environment of investments, Destination Intelligence has proven its value in support of investors, business developers, and cruise planners through all phases of investment – from planning through execution to crisis management.

In an increasingly complex global environment, the private investment sector faces unprecedented challenges in ensuring predictability, reliability, operability, safety, and security of investment considerations.

Pardon me! Destination Intelligence is what and to whom does it bring significance? How does it contribute to understanding the environment of investment destinations?

Addressing consideration of investment decisions over means or resources, the answer reflects a compromise of a process of intelligence fusion on the one side and a function of destination awareness on the other.

DO WE KNOW THE UNEXPECTED?

Let’s translate the methodology of the armed forces into non-military language: For a military leader, the accomplishment of a mission is an objective that only becomes successful by avoiding losses, frictions and delays. For the community of investment and business development this means that preparation through information is key. Whilst the investor or developer knows the business case, they can rely on own resources and capabilities. Local Effects connected to administration, society and community should be factored in to fully understand the environment of investment destinations. But often they remain unknown to the community.

Destination Intelligence is a tangible product. A trend dossier that explains the socio-economic and geopolitical risks associated with maritime and coastal investments. It combines rigorous open-source intelligence (OSINT) and human intelligence (HUMINT) to assess local capabilities, capacities and resilience and to articulate trends impacting the business case throughout planning, execution und crisis.

INTEGRATED ANALYSIS OF UNCHARTERED DESTINATIONS

Let’s begin by looking at investment considerations. Imagine you are planning an M&A transaction of a port in Senegal, for example as a Global Ports Holding. Alternatively you are a state development agency in the eastern Mediterranean and prepare the market entry for foreign investments, e.g. in Montenegro. On the other hand, perhaps, you are a financial agency, for example the EBRD or Worldbank, and evaluate funding region. All scenarios have one thing in common: the allocation of resources and financial means.

Holland-America Line recently announced a capital investment of USD 70 million for the expansion of its Denali Lodge and associated facilities in Alaska. Hence, investors should acknowledge the significance of destination intelligence as investment success hinges on informed decision-making.

A METHODOLOGY FOR DECISION SUPPORT

The state of the art instrument is a security and resilience profile. This evaluates the conditions and circumstances beyond the investment KPI, i.e. the socio-political environment, infrastructure conditions, the justice and security sector, climate change and natural disasters, essential public services of water, energy, communication, transport, the societal factors regarding religious diversity, healthcare, tourism etc.

All the security contributors are assessed against predictablity and reliabilty in phases of planning, execution and crisis.

The investor wants to know how would the community react to their investment. How would they respond to a crisis. What does it mean for the investment integrity. A free copy of such destination trend dossier to enhance the understanding the environment of investment destinations, e.g. the port of Essaouira in Morocco, is available for download.

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