Who owns it? When communities brand destinations

Destination branding is an important strategy to allow for differentiation from competitors. However, there has been little discussion in the literature regarding community involvement in destination branding. This study explored the perceptions of residents actively involved in tourism across two destinations: Pitlochry, and the Isle of Gigha. The chosen destinations allowed for different types of communities to be explored given the purely voluntary nature within one destination, and the inclusion of both volunteering and ownership by the community of the destination. Four key themes were identified and explored in relation to both destinations: surrogate council, motivations, funding of the groups, and community support. Further data collection across different communities will be undertaken throughout 2016 to explore this phenomenon further

Community destination branding : potential and paradox

For destinations to compete in a context of global competition they rely on their destination image as a way to position themselves and resonate with prospective visitors (Di Marino, 2008). As such, the branding of destinations is an important strategy to implement, allowing differentiation between competitors, and providing a competitive advantage. Once branded, it is far easier for a prospective visitor to remember, as well as to form positive perceptions and emotional connections with a destination (Agres & Dubitsky, 1996; de Chernatony & McDonald, 2003). The image of the destination is created in part through the identity of the community. However, many small communities struggle to make their voices heard (Taylor, 1995), and in some instances do not feel as though they are competing amongst other small neighbouring communities (TDM, 2014). Given that the level of esteem that a city, or community’s name “evokes has a direct impact on the health of its tourism, economic development, prestige, and respect” (Baker, 2012, p. 19) active community involvement in destination branding is potentially an omission from the literature

Role conflict and changing heritage practice : ancestral tourism in Scotland

Developing mutually beneficial outcomes in service encounters can be challenging due to resource asymmetry within co-created experiences. Such encounters can result in role conflict for service providers. Limited attention has been paid to the effect on service providers of highly collaborative exchanges which require specific customisation. An example of this is ancestral tourism, a dimension of heritage consumption, in which visitors actively participate in the co-creation of experience at museums, archives and related heritage sites. These institutions, previously seen as repositories of historical information, now act as conduits for visitors to investigate their ancestral past. The purpose of this study is to explore the relationship between changing professional discourse in the cultural heritage sector, specifically ancestral tourism, and role conflict amongst staff. Through interviews conducted with professionals, the extent and outcomes of role conflict in complex and collaborative exchanges is explored

Delivering the past : providing personalized ancestral tourism experiences

Heritage tourism is increasingly viewed as an individual and experiential phenomenon as well as being related to specific attributes of a destination. Ancestral tourism fits the former perspective and centers on tourists travelling to sites which they perceive to be a ‘homeland’ where, during the visit, they attempt to discover more about their own heritage. This study explores ancestral tourism from a provider perspective focusing on the delivery of tourist experiences and relationships between tourists and the place visited. The research is based on a qualitative study of tourist and non-tourist specific providers across Scotland with data collected using in-depth interviews. This study reveals a phenomenon which delivers deeply personal experiences to visitors and where encounters involve intense, often lengthy, interactions between visitors and providers. Ancestral tourism experiences are also often centered on tourism provision within local communities which can present challenges to both provider and tourist alike

What pulls ancestral tourists 'home'? An analysis of ancestral tourist motivations

Ancestry has received limited attention within the tourism literature but is shown to play a crucial role in heritage tourism, especially for countries with extended diasporas such as Ireland, Italy India, China, and Scotland. The purpose of this study is to explore ancestral tourist motivations, and attain a broader understanding of this market. A survey of 282 ancestral tourists allowed the identification of three key factors: ancestral tourist motivation; heritage tourist motivations; and mass tourist motivation. These themes enabled a detailed analysis of clusters, identifying four ancestral segments: full heritage immersion; the ancestral enthusiast; general interest; and heritage focused. Given the lack of funding and resources currently available to ancestral tourism providers, the identification of these factors goes some way to highlighting productive areas of focus for promotional efforts and resources

Diaspora, authenticity and the imagined past

Ancestral tourism in Scotland, a sector of the heritage tourism market sensitive to consumer personalisation, has particular propensities towards process-driven co-created experiences. These experiences occur within existing categories of object-based and existential notions of authenticity alongside an emergent category of the ‘authentically imagined past’. The latter of these modes reveals a complex interplay between professionally endorsed validation of the empirical veracity of objects, documents and places and the deeply held, authentically imagined, narratives of ‘home’. These narratives, built up in the Diaspora over centuries, drive new processes towards authenticity in tourism. We conducted 31 re-enactment interviews across 27 sites throughout Scotland with curators, archivists, and volunteers to explore these notions of authenticity within the ancestral tourism context

Tourist reviews of whale watching experiences : exploring TripAdvisor comments

Cetacean activities (including whales, dolphins, and porpoises) based tourism has seen a significant rise globally, attracting more than 13 million visitors each year. Understanding visitor satisfaction is an important element for small operators within this rather competitive industry, to enhance organisational performance. While previous studies have explored whale watching satisfaction quantitatively within an A ustralian context, this study proposes a more global and qualitative approach through the use of online reviews from TripAdvisor. An initial study of 5246 reviews shows significant patterns within the quantitative review elements. The outlined qualitative data shows differences between 1 and 5 star reviews, and lends itself to the possibility of further exploration

Customer value creation really works? The mediating role of customer self-determination and role stress

This article examines the mechanisms by which customer value creation in-role behavior and customer value creation extra-role behavior influence customer well-being. The results from a survey of 103 business customer-supplier dyads show that customer value creation in-role behavior and customer value creation extra-role behavior influence customer value through a process of customer self-determination and customer role stress, leading to an increase in customer value and, in turn, customer well-being. Moreover, the results show that relationship quality and interpersonal attraction moderate the influence of customer value creation behaviors on customer self-determination and customer role stress

Travel context : development of a model to measure destination brand performance across different travel situations

Purpose: There is a lack of theory relating to destination brand performance measurement in the destination branding literature, which emerged in the late 1990s (see for example Dosen, Vransevic, & Prebezac, 1998). Additionally, there is a lack of research about the importance of travel context in consumers’ destination decision making (Hu & Ritchie, 1993). This study develops a structural model to measure destination brand performance across different travel situations. The theory of planned behaviour (TpB) was utilised as a framework to underpin the consumer-based brand equity (CBBE) hierarchy to develop a model of destination brand performance. Research approach: A proposed model of destination brand performance was developed through a review of the literature. The first study was used to identify destination image attributes (the core construct) using an analysis of the literature, a document analysis, and personal interviews using the Repertory Test qualitative technique. Underpinned by Personal Construct Theory (PCT), the Repertory Test enables the elicitation of attributes consumers use to evaluate destinations when considering travel. Data was examined in the first study to i) identify any attribute differences in travel contexts and ii) create a scale for use in a questionnaire. A second study was conducted to test the proposed model using a questionnaire with eight groups of participants to assess four destinations across two travel contexts. The model was tested utilising structural equation modelling. Findings: The first study resulted in a list of 29 destination image attributes for use in a scale index. Attributes were assessed across travel contexts and few differences were identified. The second study assessed the congruence of destination brand identity (the destination marketing organisation’s desired image) and destination brand image (the actual perceptions held by consumers) using importance-performance analyses. Finally, the proposed model of destination brand performance was tested. Overall the data supported the model of destination brand performance across travel contexts and destinations. Additionally, this was compared to consumers’ decision sets, further supporting the model. Value: This research provides a contribution to the destination marketing literature through the development of a measurement of destination brand performance underpinned by TpB. Practically; it will provide destination marketing organisations with a tool to track destination brand performance, relative to key competing places, over time. This is important given the development of a destination brand is a long term endeavour

Perceptions of visitor relationship marketing opportunities by destination marketers : an importance-performance analysis

Customer relationship marketing (CRM) initiatives are increasingly being adopted by businesses in the attempt to enhance brand loyalty and stimulate repeat purchases. The purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which destination marketing organisations (DMOs) around the world have developed a visitor relationship marketing (VRM) orientation. The proposition underpinning the study is that maintaining meaningful dialogue with previous visitors in some markets would represent a more efficient use of resources than above the line advertising to attract new visitors. Importance-performance analysis was utilised to measure destination marketers’ perceptions of the efficacy of CRM initiatives, and then rate their own organisation’s performance across the same range of initiatives. A key finding was that mean importance was higher than perceived performance for every item. While the small sample limits generalisability, in general there are appears to be a lack of strategic intent by DMOs to invest in VRM