Dracula’s image in tourism: Western bloggers versus tour guides

Abstract

This study attempted to describe the different Western images related to Dracula tourism, and the role Bran Castle tour guides have in the image formation process. This is accomplished by analyzing the contents of Western tourists’ travel blogs, and of qualitative interviews elicited from Bran Castle tour guides. The qualitative content analysis resulted in seven themes focused on historical and fictional images of the destination. The results show that the majority of Western bloggers visit Bran in search for Count Dracula; however, the Bran Castle tour guides focus on presenting the historical truth. The findings are discussed in terms of their relevance to the destination image formation literature and the concept of authenticity.

Improving destination competitiveness in South Africa: A DEA approach

“…The tourism competitiveness rankings, on the other hand, include rankings provided for attractions, food and beverages, other transport, airline transport and accommodation. The inefficiency in competitiveness can be assigned to the overdependence on current facilities/attractions that can limit the potential for product innovation in destinations (Chais, 2008); the dependence on outdated facilities/attractions (Bob and Maharaj, 2015; Torres and Milman, 2020); wrong or lack of combination of facilities/attractions offered (Balkaran and Maharaj, 2013); the lack of trained staff to ensure optimal services (Gabora and Olteana, 2012); expectations of tourists are not aligned with the destination image projected; expectations are not met due to unrealistic demands or failure of destination to deliver projected promises (Banyai, 2010); poor information and marketing (Booyens, 2010); misleading advertisements or the destination is oversold by outdated pictures and information (Pamela et al, 2008). This implies that this study will assume that from an input-oriented perspective, higher technical efficiency can only be obtained if visitors pay less (do not overspend) and if South Africa exhibits a high level of price competiveness.…”

Using travel blogs to explore the image of Romania as an emerging tourism destination

“…Indeed, tourists can use blogs, microblogs, and social networks to accurately describe their subjective and personal experiences or opinions and share them with friends and others. Travel blogs represent an important source for acquiring travel information (Banyai, 2010;Lin & Huang, 2006;Litvin et al, 2008;Singh et al, 2008). When using personal blogs, tourists share their travel experiences emotionally, and prospective tourists can search for and respond to these experiences.…”

“…Blogs communicate experiences, which are crucial for analysing tourism phenomena, because, as is known, "experience involves personal or intersubjective feelings activated by the liminal process of tourist activities" (Wang, 1999, p. 351). Accordingly, UGC is a wellknown resource due to the extend use of blogs in tourism research (Akehurst, 2008;Banyai, 2010;Magnini et al, 2011). Travel blogs are becoming more and more popular as a type of eWOM media (electronic word-of-mouth).…”

“…Since then, "the popularity of blogs has grown substantially over the past few years as advancements in communication technology have become more accessible, thereby enabling people to engage more easily in social commentaries" (Banyai & Glover 2012, p. 265). Over the last decade, many scholars have acknowledged the importance of travel blogs: they are considered rich and meaningful data sources which give insights, especially into tourists' perceptions, thoughts, and opinions (for examples, see in chronological order: Carson, 2008;Pühringer & Taylor, 2008;Wenger, 2008;Banyai, 2010;Banyai & Glover, 2012;Çakmak & Isaac, 2012;Ayeh et al, 2013;Jin et al 2020;Jin & Zhang, 2022). Accordingly, travel blogs are potentially powerful artifacts, but there is a gap in the way they can be exploited through a combined approach: experientially as they elicit emotions, but also allowing aggregated data in terms of frequencies.…”

“…Moreover, Romania as a tourist destination specifically has also been the subject of interest through blog analysis (e.g. Banyai, 2010) but only through qualitative approaches and by focusing on one aspect (e.g. the Dracula's experience, Lupu et al, 2017).…”