This research expands destination positioning theories by introducing a new perspective on destination positioning, namely sensory experience. This can be used to distinguish destinations with ...otherwise similar images. Through three studies focusing sequentially on positioning, segmenting and targeting (STP), this research for the first time provides a complete analytical procedure for positioning research. The findings demonstrate the effectiveness of destination positioning based on sensory preference. For tourists with a particular dominant sensory preference (e.g. taste or smell), promotion of the corresponding type of sensory experience is effective in destination marketing; for tourists with a more balanced set of sensory preferences, promotion of the type of sensory experience in which the destination has a natural advantage proves more attractive to the group of tourists with a moderate level of sensory demand. This new approach to destination positioning thereby supports more effective marketing.
This research analysed tourist experiences on beaches and suggested appropriate brand positioning for Thai beach destinations. A new destination positioning method was proposed involving a topic ...modelling algorithm, hierarchical clustering and textual analysis using data from 75,500 TripAdvisor reviews. Eleven tourist experiences and five clusters of distinctive beach destinations were identified. Findings suggested that the Tourism Authority of Thailand should replace their current “all-in-one” message with strategic and relevant communications to strengthen brand positioning by reinforcing the positive experiences and improving the negative aspects of beach tourism. Experiential brand positioning can assist DMOs to differentiate destinations as multi-faceted and dynamic.
Today, communication is a key factor of destination competitiveness. The aim of the present study is to examine the effect of message consistency between different online communication tools on the ...formation of consumer-based destination brand equity (CBDBE), within two distinct brand positioning strategies (single-destination brand vs. multiple-destination brands). An experimental design is applied to manipulate message consistency (high vs. low) and the type of brand positioning strategy implemented by the destination (single vs. multiple brands). The results demonstrate that when the messages received by the tourist are highly consistent across different channels, branding strategy type exerts no differential effect on CBDBE. By contrast, when the messages present low consistency, a single destination branding strategy generates higher CBDBE than a multiple destination branding strategy. The study makes an original contribution to the literature, showing the interaction between destination branding strategy type and degree of consistency in the messages received by the tourist.
There has been exponential growth in the number of studies of destination image appearing in the tourism literature. However, few have addressed the issues of destination positioning analysis and the ...role of affective perceptions. This article analyzes the market positions held by a competitive set of destinations through a comparison of cognitive, affective, and conative perceptions. Cognition was identified by trialing a factor analytic adaptation of importanceperformance analysis. Affect was measured using an affective response grid, while conation was gauged by stated intent to visit. The alignment of the results from these techniques identified leadership positions held by two quite different destinations on two quite different dimensions of destination attractiveness. It is suggested that this method of positioning analysis offers a practical means for destination marketers faced with the challenge of identifying the one or few features from their diverse and multiattributed product range that could be developed to differentiate their destination in a meaningful way to consumers.
Although the branding literature commenced during the 1940s, the first publications related to destination branding did not emerge until half a century later. A review of 74 destination branding ...publications by 102 authors from the first 10 years of destination branding literature (1998–2007) found at least nine potential research gaps warranting attention by researchers. In particular, there has been a lack of research examining the extent to which brand positioning campaigns have been successful in enhancing brand equity in the manner intended in the brand identity. The purpose of this paper is to report the results of an investigation of brand equity tracking for a competitive set of destinations in Queensland, Australia between 2003 and 2007. A hierarchy of consumer-based brand equity (CBBE) provided an effective means to monitor destination brand positions over time. A key implication of the results was the finding that there was no change in brand positions for any of the five destinations over the four year period. This leads to the proposition that destination position change within a competitive set will only occur slowly over a long period of time. The tabulation of 74 destination branding case studies, research papers, conceptual papers and web content analyses provides students and researchers with a useful resource on the current state of the field.
Addressing the lack of an integrated view of family travel destination positioning and experience design, this study focuses on examining how a new form of family travel experiences, that is, ...childcare service experiences available during the hospitality and tourism consumption, combined with destination positioning to trigger travelers' positive perceptions of the overall tourism experiences in Macau. Furthermore, using the lens of identity salience, this study is among the first to investigate how the salience of self‐ or family‐identity changes the impact of childcare service experiences on travelers' destination attitudes. The findings of the two scenario‐based experiments suggested that compared to family travel destination positioning, individual characteristics (i.e., identity salience) exerted a significant strengthening effect on the impact of childcare service experiences on family travelers. This study is informative for destination marketers and hospitality and tourism managers and will help them to effectively design tourism experiences that appeal to family travelers.
This paper seeks contribute to the literature on the formation of consumer-based destination brand equity (CBDBE), on the premise that positioning is a major source of competitive advantage for ...organizations, coupled with an effective strategy to communicate that positioning. The aims of the study are: (1) to examine which type of positioning (specialized vs. diversified) is best suited to generating greater CBDBE, and (2) to identify the extent to which message consistency (high vs. low) within the integrated marketing communications strategy for the destination moderates that relationship. The results of the study make a contribution to the specialist literature on brand destination and integrated marketing communications, and offer interesting implications for tourist destination managers seeking to ensure their destination is selected by tourists.
•A positioning strategy based on tourism type has a significant effect on CBDBE.•Communication that comprises highly consistent messages contributes to increasing CBDBE.•Message consistency moderates the relationship between positioning strategy and CBDBE.
In today's digital world, it is crucial that Destination Management Organizations (DMOs) understand how tourists process and assimilate the information they receive through social media, whether this ...is posted online by the destination itself or by other users. When it comes to understanding the effectiveness of DMOs' integrated marketing communication (IMC) strategies, it is important to examine the extent to which the congruence between those online messages posted by the destination and those posted by other users (electronic word-of-mouth) influences the effectiveness of the communication. Similarly, it is also of value to understand the degree to which the use of emojis in social media messages may enhance the effect of congruence on IMC effectiveness. The scientific literature has found that tourists' responses to the information published online by the destination will depend on the type of positioning it adopts on its social media. The novelty of the present study work lies in addressing these issues from a neuroscientific perspective, using eye-tracking technology, to study (i) the user's cognitive effort (based on ocular indicators) when processing social media content and (ii) their affective evaluation of that content. A factorial experiment is conducted on a sample of 58 Facebook users. The results point to the important role played by the level of message congruence in users' information-processing and demonstrate the contextualizing effect exerted by emojis. Additionally, this study highlights the need for further research into the cognitive processing of tourism messages relative to different positioning strategies.
•Low-congruence eWOM demands greater cognitive effort and receives negative ratings.•Emojis enhance information processing and add tone to eWOM messages.•Users thoroughly explore posts on ‘natural landscapes’, ‘gastronomy’, and ‘hotels’.•Natural landscape positioning evokes strongly positive emotions.
Despite travel's potential to transform individuals, literature suggests a lapse in how its attractiveness is portrayed in marketing efforts. Adding to this is the lack of research on destination ...characteristics that trigger transformations and travellers' perceptions of transformative destinations. Using the Repertory Test with Laddering Analysis, underpinned by Personal Construct Theory, this article proposes that transformative destination attractiveness lies in the meaningfulness of attributes to travellers, rather than in the attributes themselves. This is because, when considering transformations, attractiveness is driven by travellers' perceptions of a destination's enduring impact on them. Findings indicate an alternate destination positioning opportunity as well.
While in many travel situations there is an almost limitless range of available destinations, travellers will usually only actively consider two to six in their decision set. One of the greatest ...challenges facing destination marketers is positioning their destination, against the myriad of competing places that offer similar features, into consumer decision sets. Since positioning requires a narrow focus, marketing communications must present a succinct and meaningful proposition, the selection of which is often problematic for destination marketing organisations (DMO), which deal with a diverse and often eclectic range of attributes in addition to self-interested and demanding stakeholders who have interests in different market segments. This paper reports the application of two qualitative techniques used to explore the range of cognitive attributes, consequences and personal values that represent potential positioning opportunities in the context of short break holidays. The Repertory Test is an effective technique for understanding the salient attributes used by a traveller to differentiate destinations, and Laddering Analysis enables the researcher to explore the smaller set of consequences and personal values guiding such decision making. A key finding of the research was that while individuals might vary in their repertoire of salient attributes, there was a commonality of shared consequences and values. This has important implications for DMOs, since a brand positioning theme that is based on a value will subsume multiple and diverse attributes. It is posited that such a theme will appeal to a broader range of travellers, as well as appease a greater number of destination stakeholders, than would an attribute-based theme.
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