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Supporting Economically and Socially Sustainable Destination Development through Branding: Opportunities and Challenges

  • Anne Köchling and Bernd Eisenstein
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Tourism Destination Development
This chapter is in the book Tourism Destination Development

Abstract

To actively develop a positive destination image and differentiate their destination from competitors, more and more Destination Management Organisations (DMOs) apply the concept of destination branding which has also become an important research area in tourism. This chapter aims at elaborating the role that destination branding can play in the context of economically and socially sustainable destination development. As a starting point, an overview of the opportunities of destination branding as discussed in the literature is presented. Beyond its much-discussed economic advantages, it is shown that through stakeholder participation, destination branding can become part of a destination governance approach that also supports a socially sustainable destination development. However, destination managers are faced with various challenges in branding their destinations resulting from the special features of destinations as complex spatial conglomerates of (service) offerings involving various stakeholders, including the local residents. Although the necessity for resident participation for successful destination development has been widely recognised, in destination branding practice this is still largely neglected. In this chapter, it is proposed that for successful destination branding that supports an economically and socially sustainable destination development, a shift towards an inclusive, democratic, bottom-up stakeholder strategy is needed. This requires, among others, a change of mindset among DMOs, which until now have mostly seen themselves as brand controllers and regarded stakeholder integration as a necessary evil instead of an opportunity to jointly develop the brand identity. Moreover, this chapter calls for a research-led brand process as well as measures to empower all stakeholders, especially residents. Last, based on the knowledge that destination branding can also support socially sustainable destination development, it is suggested that branding budgets should be reallocated and renegotiated. However, not all destinations will succeed in such a holistic approach as the prerequisites for implementation are individually different.

Abstract

To actively develop a positive destination image and differentiate their destination from competitors, more and more Destination Management Organisations (DMOs) apply the concept of destination branding which has also become an important research area in tourism. This chapter aims at elaborating the role that destination branding can play in the context of economically and socially sustainable destination development. As a starting point, an overview of the opportunities of destination branding as discussed in the literature is presented. Beyond its much-discussed economic advantages, it is shown that through stakeholder participation, destination branding can become part of a destination governance approach that also supports a socially sustainable destination development. However, destination managers are faced with various challenges in branding their destinations resulting from the special features of destinations as complex spatial conglomerates of (service) offerings involving various stakeholders, including the local residents. Although the necessity for resident participation for successful destination development has been widely recognised, in destination branding practice this is still largely neglected. In this chapter, it is proposed that for successful destination branding that supports an economically and socially sustainable destination development, a shift towards an inclusive, democratic, bottom-up stakeholder strategy is needed. This requires, among others, a change of mindset among DMOs, which until now have mostly seen themselves as brand controllers and regarded stakeholder integration as a necessary evil instead of an opportunity to jointly develop the brand identity. Moreover, this chapter calls for a research-led brand process as well as measures to empower all stakeholders, especially residents. Last, based on the knowledge that destination branding can also support socially sustainable destination development, it is suggested that branding budgets should be reallocated and renegotiated. However, not all destinations will succeed in such a holistic approach as the prerequisites for implementation are individually different.

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter I
  2. Foreword VII
  3. Preface IX
  4. Contents XI
  5. The Need to Engage with Destination Development 1
  6. Part I: Developing Competitive Destinations
  7. Tourism Destinations: Risk, Management and Communication 11
  8. Destination Competitiveness and AI-based Methods 33
  9. Change Management Approaches to Encounter Rural Overtourism 55
  10. Visitor Management in Tourism Destinations: Current Challenges in Measuring and Managing Visitors’ Spatio-Temporal Behaviour 81
  11. Supporting Economically and Socially Sustainable Destination Development through Branding: Opportunities and Challenges 105
  12. Part II: Developing Sustainable Destinations
  13. From Global Frameworks to Local Meanings: Assessing Resilience for Sustainable Destinations through the Lens of Transdisciplinary Research 127
  14. Destination Resilience in the Context of COVID-19 and Its Hysteretic Impact on the Tourism System of South Tyrol 149
  15. Local Participation for a Higher Commitment to Destination Development 173
  16. Residents’ Attitudes and Sustainable Destination Development: Introducing the Tourism Acceptance Score 197
  17. Dogs, Frogs and Degrowth: Sustainable Development and Arctification as a Destination Development Dilemma in Northern Sweden 219
  18. Part III: Developing Accessible Destinations
  19. Principles and Practices of Effective Inclusive Stakeholder Community Engagement 243
  20. The Role of Universal Design in the Future of Tourism Planning and Development 261
  21. Developing Social Sustainable Tourism for and with People with Hidden Disabilities: Reflections from Fyn, Denmark 287
  22. Tourism Promotional Materials: Examining the Intersections of Accessibility and Inclusion 309
  23. Inclusive Destination Management Strategies 333
  24. Part IV: Developing Future-Proof Destinations
  25. Business as Usual or Completely Different? COVID-19 and Its Influence on the Participation in Tourism of the German Population 361
  26. Beyond Overtourism, Undertourism, the End of Tourism: New Perspectives for Urban Tourism 381
  27. Flight and Migration in the Context of Destinations: Conceptional Approaches and Empirical Insights Based on the Repurposing of Tourist Accommodation as Accommodation for Refugees – Case Study Bavaria 405
  28. The Challenge of Climate Change and Net-Zero Emissions for Destinations 425
  29. Techno-Utopia or Techno-Dystopia: Current and Future Extended Reality and Artificial Intelligence Developments in Destinations 453
  30. The Contribution of Academia to Destination Development 473
  31. List of Figures 483
  32. List of Tables 487
  33. List of Contributors 489
  34. Index 497
https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110794090-006

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter I
  2. Foreword VII
  3. Preface IX
  4. Contents XI
  5. The Need to Engage with Destination Development 1
  6. Part I: Developing Competitive Destinations
  7. Tourism Destinations: Risk, Management and Communication 11
  8. Destination Competitiveness and AI-based Methods 33
  9. Change Management Approaches to Encounter Rural Overtourism 55
  10. Visitor Management in Tourism Destinations: Current Challenges in Measuring and Managing Visitors’ Spatio-Temporal Behaviour 81
  11. Supporting Economically and Socially Sustainable Destination Development through Branding: Opportunities and Challenges 105
  12. Part II: Developing Sustainable Destinations
  13. From Global Frameworks to Local Meanings: Assessing Resilience for Sustainable Destinations through the Lens of Transdisciplinary Research 127
  14. Destination Resilience in the Context of COVID-19 and Its Hysteretic Impact on the Tourism System of South Tyrol 149
  15. Local Participation for a Higher Commitment to Destination Development 173
  16. Residents’ Attitudes and Sustainable Destination Development: Introducing the Tourism Acceptance Score 197
  17. Dogs, Frogs and Degrowth: Sustainable Development and Arctification as a Destination Development Dilemma in Northern Sweden 219
  18. Part III: Developing Accessible Destinations
  19. Principles and Practices of Effective Inclusive Stakeholder Community Engagement 243
  20. The Role of Universal Design in the Future of Tourism Planning and Development 261
  21. Developing Social Sustainable Tourism for and with People with Hidden Disabilities: Reflections from Fyn, Denmark 287
  22. Tourism Promotional Materials: Examining the Intersections of Accessibility and Inclusion 309
  23. Inclusive Destination Management Strategies 333
  24. Part IV: Developing Future-Proof Destinations
  25. Business as Usual or Completely Different? COVID-19 and Its Influence on the Participation in Tourism of the German Population 361
  26. Beyond Overtourism, Undertourism, the End of Tourism: New Perspectives for Urban Tourism 381
  27. Flight and Migration in the Context of Destinations: Conceptional Approaches and Empirical Insights Based on the Repurposing of Tourist Accommodation as Accommodation for Refugees – Case Study Bavaria 405
  28. The Challenge of Climate Change and Net-Zero Emissions for Destinations 425
  29. Techno-Utopia or Techno-Dystopia: Current and Future Extended Reality and Artificial Intelligence Developments in Destinations 453
  30. The Contribution of Academia to Destination Development 473
  31. List of Figures 483
  32. List of Tables 487
  33. List of Contributors 489
  34. Index 497
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