Image, construction and representation in tourism promotion and heritage management.

Abstract

Taking different examples across Europe, this chapter shows the intricacy of destination image construction and presents some factors that play a role. It foregrounds the phenomenon of image construction that towns go through, when starting to engage in tourism and develop policies. It focuses on the crossing, sometimes conflicting, or even internalized gazes of citizens, tourists and authorities in charge of tourism.

Tourism destination image as an antecedent of destination loyalty: The case of Linz, Austria

“…Over the past decades, many small and medium sized towns believed to have found a "savior" in the form of tourism development as a major source of economic benefits, along with improved local communities' quality of life (Dumont et al, 2010). However, establishing a place as a competitive and attractive tourist destination on the highly overcrowded with popular tourism "bastilles" map is a demanding activity.…”

“…However, establishing a place as a competitive and attractive tourist destination on the highly overcrowded with popular tourism "bastilles" map is a demanding activity. In this competitive environment, visuality is seen as a key issue and destination marketers invest much effort and resources in creating an image that would establish a destination as attractive in tourists' minds (Dumont et al, 2010;Kneesel et al, 2010).…”