Repositioning a Tourism Destination

SUMMARY

This paper is a case study of the repositioning of New Orleans as a tourism destination after the devastating effects of Hurricane Katrina in August 2005. It examines the event from a post-disaster marketing viewpoint and first outlines the tourism industry in New Orleans before Hurricane Katrina, including visitor profile, destination image, and positioning statements. The article then recounts the effects of the hurricane on the tourism infrastructure. The effectiveness of recovery marketing strategies, including the repositioning strategies undertaken by the city's tourism marketing organizations, is examined. The disaster management frameworks as discussed in the literature are revisited and extended to include the lessons learned for post disaster market repositioning.     

黑色叙事对旅游目的地引致形象的影响机制

"讲好故事"已成为塑造和传播国家和地方形象的重要手段。以"讲故事"为手段打造旅游目的地形象是一种国际通行的旅游目的地营销方式。现有旅游目的地叙事研究开展还很不充分,关注的叙事偏重于正面叙事材料,对负面叙事的关注还很不够。文章着眼于黑色叙事对旅游目的地引致形象的影响机制,以德国首都柏林作为研究案例,以著名历史游记《柏林:一座城市的肖像》(Berlin:Imagine a City)中关于柏林的系列黑色叙事和柏林旅游局在微信公众号发布的图片作为实验材料,通过招募志愿者参与包括4个阶段的混合研究设计,验证黑色叙事对柏林旅游目的地形象(认知、情感及意动)的复杂影响。研究的主要理论贡献在于:首先,验证了黑色叙事对旅游目的地形象具有显著影响,实证该影响主要透过"叙事主角-游客-自我形象一致性"这一主线发挥作用,明确了黑色叙事主角形象对黑色叙事引致旅游目的地形象的影响机理,丰富了叙事传输理论相关结论。其次,验证了黑色叙事引致情感形象在黑色叙事影响旅游目的地形象过程中的影响效应,发现黑色叙事引致情感形象(而非认知形象)是黑色叙事最终能够影响游客动机的关键。最后,在黑色叙事这一特定研究情境中,验证了目的...     

How cute mascots affect relationships with tourism destinations: A moderated mediation model

The mascot, acting as an ambassador for a destination, plays a significant role in promoting tourism development. However, limited research has focused on the cute features of a mascot and its marketing effects on a destination. This study extends the literature on cuteness and mascots by examining the effect of including a cute mascot in destination advertising on a person's travel intention. Four experiments were undertaken to investigate the cuteness effect. It was found that including a cute mascot in a destination advertisement increased travel intention. Feelings of healing and destination intimacy mediated the cuteness effect. The moderating role of social exclusion was also examined. The study revealed that a mascot's cuteness effect was stronger for socially excluded individuals. The findings give destination managers novel insights into mascot design in tourism and destination marketing.     

Event Quality,Perceived Value,Destination Image,and Behavioral Intention of Sports Events: The Case of the IAAF World Championship,Daegu, 2011

This study proposes a conceptual model to investigate visitors' perceptions of an event's quality according to value and the destination image, and visitors' resulting behavioral intentions in the context of a mega-sports event. This study also examines whether or not perceived value and destination image determine visitors' future behavioral intentions. Using structural equation modeling analysis, this study determines that an event's quality and its perceived value have a significant effect on behavioral intentions. Moreover, perceived value exerted a direct influence on behavioral intentions, and destination image determined visitors' perceptions of value. However, the impact of destination image had an insignificant effect on behavioral intentions. The implications have merit for academic researchers and sports event organizers.     

Exploring event bundling: The strategy and its impacts

The objectives of this article are to explore the strategy of event bundling from the perspectives of varied event stakeholders including event organizers, event attendees, and destination marketing organizations (DMOs); and to examine the strategy's impacts on the relationships between perceived event value and visitors' trip outcome (perceived trip value and destination loyalty intention). Based on a mixed-method approach, the research first investigates stakeholders' perceptions and perceived value of event bundling from a qualitative approach in Study 1. It further tests a proposed framework through a quantitative approach in Study 2, in which two well-known events in Macau, China were chosen as an event bundle and a large sample of over 800 respondents were surveyed. Findings from the research advance the literature on event tourism and tourism product bundling practices. They further provide insights for DMOs and event planners in event policymaking and destination marketing.     

国外旅游目的地营销研究综述

本文对国外旅游目的地营销研究进行综述.近10年来国外研究主要涉及旅游目的地形象、旅游目的地营销组织、旅游目的地促销、信息技术与目的地营销4大方面.文章在简要评述我国旅游目的地营销研究现状的基础上,结合国外研究情况,认为强化实证研究及定量分析、旅游目的地品牌及定位研究、旅游目的地营销组织、信息技术的促进作用和旅游目的地营销绩效评价应是我国近期旅游目的地营销研究的主要方向.     

Cyprus' image—a sun and sea destination—as a detrimental factor to seasonal fluctuations. Exploration into motivational factors for holidaying in Cyprus

Cyprus is established as a summer destination. To aid the destination in developing its winter season as well, this research uses a qualitative, interpretive, inductive approach to explore the tourists' visitation motivations in order to establish whether Cyprus can be perceived as a year-round destination. The research indicates that the sun and sea image prevails and determines visitations. This in effect dissuades tourists from seeing it as a year-round destination. Nonetheless, increasing the pull factors of the destination through the development of unique special interest products can help in extending the tourism season as well as broaden its narrow image.     

Factors affecting international event visitors’ behavioral intentions: the moderating role of attachment avoidance

ABSTRACT

This study developed and tested a theoretical framework of event quality, motivation, value, and destination image in order to investigate visitors’ behavioral intentions to revisit an international event, along with the moderating role of attachment avoidance. Results revealed that the relationships among event quality, motivation, value, image, and behavioral intentions were highly significant. Attachment avoidance was additionally found to moderate the relationships between quality and value, motivation and value, value and destination image, and value and behavioral intentions. Findings further provide specific implications for both theoretical insight and marketing practice in the context of annual and international events.     

Message framing and regulatory focus effects on destination image formation

This study examines the influence of message framing and how a match or mismatch between message framing and individuals’ regulatory focus can influence their destination image perceptions and visit intentions utilizing attribute framing and regulatory focus fit theories. This study also examines the mediating role of cognitive fluency and emotional state on attribute framing effects on destination image formation and visit intentions. Findings indicate that framing of marketing messages exerts significant influences on consumers' decision making and destination selection process. Consumers under gain-framed message condition tend to have higher destination image perceptions compared to those under loss-framed message conditions. A match between attribute framing and regulatory focus results in formation of better destination image perceptions compared to mismatch. Furthermore, cognitive fluency and emotional state mediate attribute framing effects on destination image formation.     

Film-Induced Tourism as a Vehicle For Destination Marketing: Is it Worth the Efforts?

This study examined the impact of a film on the featured destination's image and travel intentions through comparing the results of a one-group pretest-posttest quasi-experiment. Then, the effect of destination attributes and overall image on travel intentions is examined simultaneously through path analysis. The results indicate that the role of the overall image as a mediating variable is not significant as respondents relied more on specific destination image attributes on their intention to visit. This was even more prominent after the viewing of the film. The overall image had the strongest direct effect on visit interest in future for both pretest and posttest.     

Destination familiarity and favorability in a country-image context: examining Taiwanese travelers’ perceptions of China

Building on international marketing research on the country-of-origin image effect, this research examines how people evaluate a culturally familiar country as a tourist destination. Derived from a sample of 710 Taiwanese travelers, research findings showed that when evaluating China as a tourist destination, respondents relied on both their general image of the country (country image) as well as tourism-specific perceptions (destination beliefs), while a few respondents with low familiarity with China relied only on their general image of the country to evaluate the destination. The research also showed that respondents with high levels of familiarity with China had more positive destination beliefs, resulting in more favorable destination evaluations; however, country image was found to be persistent and difficult to be changed by destination promoting materials and/or actual visits. The paper concludes with recommendations for destination marketing in the context of international tourism.     

Toward The Perspective Of Cognitive Destination Image And Destination Personality: The Case Of Beijing

Destination personality, as a viable metaphor of destination marketing, has attracted considerable attention, although empirical studies on this concept remain few. Based on tourism marketing literature, a model depicting the relationships among cognitive destination image, destination personality, and behavioral intentions is proposed. Using an on-site survey of 500 foreign tourists visiting Beijing, an emerging destination, the current study empirically validates that (a) competence, excitement, sophistication, and ruggedness are four building blocks of destination personality; (b) built environment, socially responsible environment, and local people are important in projecting destination personality; and (c) destination personalities—such as competence, excitement, and sophistication—drive tourists' behavioral intentions. The current study provides theoretical implication for knowledge advancement and managerial implications for destination marketing.     

The Impacts of Mass Media on Organic Destination Image: A Case Study of Singapore

The shaping of organic destination image received limited investigation though it is an important factor influencing destination image and tourist's intention to travel. This study explores the impacts of mass media on shaping the organic destination image of tourism destinations. The organic destination images of Singapore in the views of Hong Kong residents were explored. This study explores the consumers' subconscious awareness of Singapore, and identifies that organic destination images are the outcome of readers' assimilation of material from newspapers, publications and books. The findings also demonstrate the process underlying the changes of organic destination images due to the information feeding of mass media. The findings indicate the importance for destination marketing organizations to monitor the new reports related to the destination in its main tourist origin countries/regions, and strategically deploy their marketing efforts to leverage the impacts of positive news reports, minimize the negative influence of unfavorable news.     

The influence of artistically recreated nature on the image of tourist destinations: Lanzarote's art,cultural and tourism visitor centres and their links to sustainable tourism marketing

Can distinctive natural assets in tourist destinations be artistically recreated and used to improve destination image and attract more visitors? This paper analyses the formation of the tourist image based on artistically recreated local nature icons, and shows how those images can enhance the overall destination image. It focuses on the island of Lanzarote, a destination with its development based on promoting an environmental image founded on the creation of a network of multifunctional, high-quality art, culture and tourism centres exhibiting artistic recreation of its unique environmental assets. The methodology utilizes a questionnaire (n = 453) structural equations modelling approach in which the overall image of the destination is directly dependent on the image of the environmental conditions and indirectly influenced by the image of the artistically recreated centres. Results show that the destination's image is significantly grounded on the image of the art, culture and tourism centres using art based on Lanzarote's natural assets. They suggest that destinations have relevant opportunities to artistically enhance natural assets to improve their tourist image and marketing, that quality multi-functional visitor centres can be important within a sustainable tourism policy, and part of the emerging breadth of approaches taken by sustainable tourism marketing.     

A machine learning approach to cluster destination image on Instagram

Symbols are powerful in branding and marketing to represent tourist attractions. By bridging semiotics, marketing, and data science in the tourism context, this study uncovers the destination image based on Instagram photographs. This study constructed a novel methodological framework by evaluating different machine learning models to group textual information based on pictorial content. The results highlighted specific destination image clusters such as the wilderness and spirituality of alpine experiences. This information facilitates marketers' understanding of tourists’ preferences and movement. It also discloses blind spots that are less promoted by the marketers.     

Americans' intention to visit Cuba as a medical tourism destination: A destination and country image perspective

This study focuses on Americans' perceptions of and intentional behaviors toward Cuba as a medical tourism destination. Using a survey-based quantitative method, the study examined the effects of Cuba's country image and destination image as well as the perceived cost and quality of its medical tourism services on intention to visit Cuba. The results showed that country image and perceived quality of medical tourism services had the greatest positive influence on Americans' intention to travel to Cuba for medical purposes. The study also supported the positive effect of destination image and the negative effect of perceived costs of medical tourism services on intention to visit Cuba. Lastly, the study findings revealed that the better the country and destination image of Cuba, the lower the perceived cost and the higher the perceived quality of its medical tourism services would be.     

The Image of Taiwan as a Travel Destination: Perspectives from Mainland China

This study presents the perceived and projected image of Taiwan as a travel destination from perspectives from Mainland China. The perceived image of Taiwan was examined by interviewing 28 Mainland Chinese; the projected image of Taiwan was investigated by analyzing articles in China's most popular travel magazines. The different types of images of Taiwan among visitors, nonvisitors, and travel magazines were compared. The projected image changed notably after the opening of Taiwan's tourism to travelers from Mainland China. The results of this study could help destination marketing organizations to assess their marketing strategies for the Mainland Chinese travel market.     

Country Versus Destination Image in a Developing Country

In contrast to the country of origin studies in international marketing, the tourism literature fails to differentiate between the image of the country and that of the destination as a tourism product. The distinction is important for developing countries suffering from negative country perceptions, as opposed to more positive views regarding the tourism destination. Therefore, this research examines the difference between country and destination image in the context of Turkey, and proposes a scale to measure them. The study also provides evidence of this difference and suggests ways in which the destination's image may contribute to improve the country's general perceptions.     

Factors Affecting Group-Oriented Travel Intention to Major Events

Large-scale, major social events, such as music and cultural festivals and international sporting events, are an important motivator of tourism activity and an increasingly significant component of destination marketing. Despite the growing consumption trend of group-oriented travel behavior and the economic significance of large-scale, event-based tourism, a theoretical gap exists in understanding what drives potential attendees' desire to attend these events, particularly in groups. A theoretically developed conceptual model is empirically tested using survey data from 170 Australian respondents planning to attend, and travel in a group, to a major social event. The results support the model showing that travel motivations (configured as a Type II multidimensional model), affective destination image, and enduring involvement in the event category influence group-oriented travel behavior to major events. Managerial implications and recommendations for future research are also presented.     

Influence of popular culture on special interest tourists' destination image

In this study the role of pop-culture on shaping destination image was derived from focus groups and interviews with 24 fans from different nationalities of the Korean pop star Ahn Jae-wook. Three main theses emerged from the study: 1) the destination image induced by pop-culture was changed in a positive way; 2) the pop-star's event reinforced a positive place image through experiences of the event and travels in South Korea; and 3) the positive image from pop-culture experiences had a strong impact on future behavior. Results of the study suggest that pop-culture as an autonomous agent delivers a more powerful and stronger influence on destination image than previously recognized in the literature. Theoretical contributions and practical implications are discussed.