Building the Destination Brand: An Empirical Comparison of Two Approaches

Destination brand strategies have in the main assumed that consumers actively seek and process information about potential destinations with their choice determined on the basis of a favorable attitude toward the destination. This article examines an alternative approach to destination branding, which relates to building the salience of the destination to increase the likelihood that the destination will be considered in purchase situations. The study examines the predictive validity of brand salience measures for a set of travel destinations compared with the predictive validity of traditional attitude-based measures. The results of the research provide empirical support for a salience approach to destination marketing for domestic tourism in Australia.     

Understanding the City Brand in the Regional Tourism Market Among College Students

This study focuses on the regional tourism market around Buffalo, NY to investigate the relative importance of city brand and other city attributes in tourists' decision making about where to visit for a short weekend trip. A content analysis was used to identify the four competitor cities of Buffalo and the key attributes that the cities possess to attract tourists in the regional driving tourism market. Within the context of destination choice-sets model, the relative importance of the key attributes including city brands was investigated through a choice-based conjoint analysis. Shopping opportunities was found as the most important attribute, followed by restaurant/food, culture/festivals, sports, nature-based attractions, and city brand. Based on the relative importance of the attributes at an individual level, three distinctive tourist segments—Food and Shopping Lovers, City-Driven Do-It-All Tourists, and Cultural Tourists—were generated from a K-means cluster analysis. Different city attribute profiles were identified for those five cities. Implications and suggestions were presented to promote more efficient marketing efforts for regional tourism destinations.     

Using Wellness Services to Position and Promote Brand India

As travelers seek different experiences from different destinations, it is essential for destinations to create unique travel experiences on an emotional, physical, intellectual, and even spiritual level. The purpose of this article is to present a rationale for promoting brand India as a provider of wellness services. The article also discusses international literature on destination branding and wellness tourism. The success and shortcomings of India's current tourism campaign, and opportunities and challenges that come with branding India as a wellness destination are presented.     

旅游地社会责任对旅游地品牌资产的影响——中介与调节作用机制

文章构建了旅游地社会责任、旅游地声誉、旅游地认同、旅游地品牌资产的整合性理论模型,采用结构方程模型实证分析旅游地社会责任、旅游地声誉、旅游地认同和旅游地品牌资产之间的结构关系,试图发掘旅游地社会责任对旅游地品牌资产的影响机理,并引入信任倾向作为调节变量,剖析在不同信任倾向的旅游者中,旅游地社会责任对旅游地品牌资产的影响是否存在差异。研究结果表明,旅游地社会责任直接显著正向作用于旅游地品牌资产;旅游地社会责任通过旅游地声誉和旅游地认同对旅游地品牌资产产生显著的间接作用;信任倾向对旅游地社会责任和旅游地声誉之间的关系具有正向调节作用;信任倾向对旅游地社会责任与旅游地品牌资产之间的关系具有正向调节作用。最后,提出研究结论,指出研究不足和未来研究展望。     

目的地网络界面对旅游者体验及品牌形象的影响

旅游目的地推广营销所使用的官方网站、微博、电子商务平台等网络渠道构成了旅游者接触目的地的网络界面。旅游目的地网络界面特征主要包含信息价值、友好性和交互性3个要素。为探索旅游目的地网络界面对旅游者体验及品牌形象的影响,构建了旅游目的地网络界面特征、旅游者体验与目的地品牌形象的结构方程模型。研究发现,旅游目的地网络界面特征的3个要素通过功能体验和情感体验两个中介因素影响游客对目的地品牌形象的感知,但信息价值对情感体验的影响不显著。基于以上结论,对旅游目的地优化网络界面提出了策略建议。     

旅游目的地形象、定位及品牌化:概念辨析与关系模型

目的地形象、目的地定位和目的地品牌化是目的地营销研究领域3个非常重要的概念,它们既相互区别又相互联系,通过一定的逻辑链条在目的地营销实践中发挥各自的作用.从理论上探讨三者之间的关系对于目的地营销实践的顺利开展意义重大.本文对这3个概念及其相互联系进行了详细分析,认为3者作用的发挥应遵循"目的地定位一目的地品牌化一目的地形象"这样一种逻辑链条,并构建了3者之间的关系模型.     

乡村旅游地品牌个性与游客忠诚：以场所依赖为中介变量

文章以西安市长安区＂农家乐＂为例,实证分析乡村旅游地品牌个性与游客忠诚的关系,并探讨场所依赖的中介作用。结果显示：（1）乡村旅游地品牌个性中的实惠、喜悦、闲适、健康和逃逸5个维度对场所依赖（包括场所依靠和场所认同）具有显著的正向预测作用,而对游客忠诚具有显著正向预测作用的仅有实惠和闲适两个维度;（2）场所依靠和场所认同在实惠维度与游客忠诚关系间起到了部分中介作用,而在闲适维度与游客忠诚关系间起到了完全中介作用;（3）场所认同在实惠与游客忠诚关系间的中介作用以及它在闲适与游客忠诚关系间的中介作用都是相对较大的,而场所依靠在实惠与游客忠诚及闲适与游客忠诚关系间的中介作用相对较小。     

基于Web的省域旅游地品牌符号表征比较研究

在网络时代,网络宣传对于旅游地品牌的构建发挥了不可忽视的作用。文章在旅游地品牌符号“三位一体”系统构建基础上,基于政府旅游网站对中国各省域旅游地品牌符号表征进行比较研究。网站上研究的符号主要包括当地的旅游宣传口号、视频影像、图片及网站的语言设计等。首先,根据荣格原型理论把各研究样本旅游地的旅游宣传口号分成4大类;其次,随机抽样进一步探讨各旅游地所有品牌符号的匹配性;最后,通过政府官方网站和商业网站旅游地口号的对比研究,分析旅游地宣传口号的流行趋势。结果显示,部分旅游地网站旅游地宣传口号缺失,同时网站上各符号表征内容存在不和谐之处。目前,中国省域旅游地口号反映了3种不同知觉原型,并且官方网站旅游符号的打造反映了权力的操作,意识形态发挥主导作用。通过官方网站与商业网站的对比发现,整体上旅游地品牌口号愈来愈趋向于抽象“生活方式”的诉求,在商业旅游网站中意识形态的竞争日渐让位于意象形态的主导。     

South Korea's Medical Tourism Destination Brand Personality and the Influence of Personal Values

Adopting Aaker's brand personality scale, this study aimed to determine South Korea's medical tourism destination personality. Based on a survey of US consumers, the results indicate that South Korea's medical tourism destination personality comprised three dimensions: sincerity, competence, and ruggedness. Furthermore, sincerity and competence positively influenced consumers' willingness to travel to South Korea for medical care. This study also found that personal values, in particular excitement, self-respect, sense of belonging, and being well respected, were significant positive predictors of South Korea's medical tourism destination personality. Marketing implications of the findings are discussed, and suggestions for future research are offered. This study serves as a starting point for further research on medical tourism destination brand personality.     

Branding the destination versus the place: The effects of brand complexity and identification for residents and visitors

This article contributes to a broader understanding of how the branding of places affects both residents and tourists. While branding often relies on simplified messages, the effectiveness of such strategies for complex brands remains questionable. Residents in particular possess a confounded knowledge of the place and could disagree with simplified destination brands. To test the role of brand complexity for residents and tourists, we conducted two empirical studies (N = 765; N = 385), showing that, for residents, positive place attitude (i.e., place satisfaction, identification, and attachment) and place behaviour (i.e., positive word-of-mouth) increase with a higher brand complexity. The second study shows that the positive relationship of brand complexity is stronger for residents than for tourists, supporting the conclusion that brand complexity is relevant for place brands, but that the place brand for residents requires more complexity than a destination brand, while it imperative that both are integrative parts of an overall brand.     

World Heritage as a placebo brand: a comparative analysis of three sites and marketing implications

The UNESCO World Heritage (WH) List is often regarded as a successful tourism brand that motivates site nominations. However, there is relatively little research dealing specifically with WH brand attraction effects, and what does exist shows conflicting results. There is a significant research gap in terms of awareness of the WH brand and its potential impact on visitation, which this study seeks to fill through a comparative analysis of three diverse case studies: Independence Hall, USA; Studenica Monastery, Serbia; and the Archaeological Site of Volubilis, Morocco. Survey data (n = 771) from these three sites were collected and analyzed resulting in three distinct clusters of visitors. One of the clusters does exhibit higher levels of awareness of the WH brand, but members of this group were not motivated by this knowledge when planning their site visit. It is concluded that the WH brand may function as a placebo, and that its importance may be tied more to political interests than economic advancement. Thus, dependency on the WH List for tourism development may potentially be detrimental for locations in the long term. The WH brand's placebo effect could result in long-term problems for both the site and those whose livelihoods depend on tourism.     

Brand knowledge and non-financial brand performance in the green restaurants: Mediating effect of brand attitude

The restaurant business has been increasingly recognized for its ability to help mitigate many negative environmental impacts. To develop a competitive advantage, green restaurants may adopt an innovative branding strategy. Marketing management recognizes that understanding brand attitude is critical for marketing strategies. Studies have examined the relationship between brand knowledge and non-financial brand performance. However, it remains unclear how the green restaurant brand attitude affects this relationship.This study aims to fill this research gap by identifying the composition and structure of the brand attitude in Taiwan’s green restaurants and examining the mediating effects of brand attitude on the relationship between brand knowledge and brand performance. The findings of this study broaden and deepen the current knowledge of the role of brand attitude in Taiwan’s green restaurant industry. In practice, it is suggested that green restaurant management should develop well-known brand knowledge to form brand attitudes and foster brand performance.     

Brand personality of tourist destinations: An application of self-congruity theory

The purpose of this research was to investigate the perceived destination personality of Las Vegas and to examine the relationships among destination personality, self-congruity, and tourist’s behavioral intentions. A convenience sample of 382 visitors to Las Vegas was surveyed, and 368 usable questionnaires were analyzed. The findings of the study indicate that tourists ascribe personality characteristics to destinations and that the perceived destination personality of Las Vegas is five dimensional: vibrancy, sophistication, competence, contemporary, and sincerity. These dimensions have a positive influence on tourists’ intention to return and intention to recommend. The study also supports the self-congruity theory within the context of tourism destinations, indicating that both actual congruity and ideal congruity have a positive impact on behavioral intentions. The study concludes that self-congruity is a partial mediator on the relationship between destination personality and tourist’s behavioral intentions. The practical and theoretical implications are discussed within the contexts of destination branding and the self-congruity theory.     

The missing link in building customer brand identification: The role of brand attractiveness

The brand management literature has long acknowledged the strategic importance of managing brand identity. However, prior empirical research has largely ignored brand attractiveness in building such identity in the eyes of consumers. Focusing on the airline industry, this study investigates the role of brand attractiveness in fostering customer brand identification. The empirical testing of the conceptual model suggests that brand prestige, brand distinctiveness, and memorable brand experiences have a significant indirect effect on customer brand identification through brand attractiveness, while brand social benefits contributes directly to such identification. The results also challenge prior empirical findings by providing strong support for the need to include brand attractiveness in cultivating identification. When brand attractiveness is incorporated in the model, the effects of brand prestige, brand distinctiveness, and memorable brand experiences became non-significant in predicting customer brand identification. The findings highlight the importance of projecting a brand identity that is attractive to target consumers in order to achieve customer brand identification.     

A Study of the Key Strategic Drivers of the Use of the World Heritage Site Designation as a Destination Brand

This article examines the emergence of the World Heritage Site (WHS) designation as a de facto brand. The study applies Balakrishnan’s (2009) strategic framework for destination branding to the demand for World Heritage Sites. A total of 72 countries currently applying for WHS status for national sites are examined. Previous studies in this area have been based mainly on case-study methodologies and/or are limited either to a single country or to a comparison among a small number of countries. The study finds, inter alia, that countries that have a large number of foreign arrivals but are not yet fully integrated into the global economy are particularly disposed to expanding the number of WHS on their national territories.     

Critical Success Factors for Business Tourism Destinations

Abstract

Business tourism is a highly lucrative but competitive sector of the tourism industry which has led many destinations to implement strategies and invest in infrastructure and human resource developments. National and regional capital city status gives additional kudos to a destination. This paper presents critical success factors for business tourism destinations developed from four case studies of successful UK business tourism destinations through stakeholder interviews and explores how Cardiff should exploit its national capital city status to support its business tourism offer. The critical success factors for business tourism destinations include: leadership; networking; branding; skills; ambassadors; infrastructure; and bidding. These will inform an action plan to develop and shape Cardiff's business tourism offer and position Cardiff amongst the UK and Europe's major business tourism destinations.     

A Model of Brand Prestige Formation in the Casino Industry

The objective of this study was to investigate the antecedents and consequences of brand prestige in the casino industry. To test the proposed model, this study collected data from 228 casino customers in the United States. The results of the data analysis show that three types of casino service quality (i.e. game service, service environment, and service delivery) influence the formation of brand prestige and can thus help to enhance social value, brand preference, and revisit intentions. Finally, brand consciousness moderated the relationship between brand prestige and brand preference.     

Ties that bind tourists: embedding destination motivators to destination attachment: a study in the context of Kumbh Fair,India

ABSTRACT

Despite the deep cultural value and strong appeal to global tourists, the Kumbh Fair has not been explored much by researchers. This is even though the Kumbh Fair is crafting the tourism of India, thereby leading to its overall socio-economic development. This study aims to examine the determinants of tourist motivation, such as ads awareness, destination image and online-communities, which provoke tourists to have attachment with the destination more closely. The study found the tourists’ attitude as a complementary mediation and spiritual stimuli as a mediating moderator are positively impacting on the significant relationship of destination motivators and destination attachment.     

A Comprehensive Cost Analysis on New System Structure for Nature-Based Tourism Destination: Perspective of Front and Back Stage Decoupling

To cope with several common problems in nature-based tourism destinations, including resource inefficiency, environmental pollutions and poor service quality, the paper proposes a new structure of service system for tourism destination in which some of the back-stage functions can be decoupled from the service system of individual tourism organizations and integrated into shared service centers and thus the overall scale of the back-stage functions of the destination can be reduced and equivalence of the front–back structure of the destination can be achieved to facilitate the above problems solving. Based on this understanding, a comprehensive costs analysis is conducted to explain the advantages of the new structure over the traditional one by considering three important factors involved in the above problems: the environment, service quality and operation costs. Finally, a case study on rural tourism in China is undertaken to justify this analysis.     

基于扎根理论的旅游品牌内化研究——以一家五星级酒店为例

近年来,越来越多的旅游企业重视品牌建设,然而,成效却并不尽如人意.全国旅游投诉统计数据显示,旅游者投诉在逐年递增.因此,如何将品牌内化到企业内部,转化为企业的实际行为,这是一个理论和实践都很关注的重要问题.文章以一家五星级酒店为例,运用扎根理论研究方法分析旅游品牌内化过程,识别出旅游品牌内化具有组织与员工层面的二元结构,并提炼出两个层面的主要要素,且进一步挖掘出学习、交易与关系三种品牌内化机制.这些结论对于致力于品牌建设的旅游企业有现实意义,同时也给旅游品牌领域的理论研究提供了一个新的视角.