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The importance of destination brand identity has surged in tourism research, prompting a pivotal focus. This study employs bibliometric mapping analysis to pinpoint influential areas for future exploration. Utilizing SciMAT software, it scrutinizes 295 papers from 1995 to 2022, revealing an evolutionary framework across eight key themes: tourist destinations, digital technologies, co-creation, place branding, cultural identity, sustainability, dimensionality, and destination satisfaction. This pioneering work offers a roadmap for tourism and hospitality researchers, shaping the trajectory of future investigations.
The tourism industry has grown increasingly competitive in the last two decades, compelling destinations to differentiate themselves. Place branding strategies are crucial for attracting visitors, residents, and investors, especially as the COVID-19 pandemic has reshaped the market. Despite the pandemic, international tourism rebounded to 63% of pre-pandemic levels by 2022, with Europe leading the recovery. The industry experienced unexpected growth in 2022 due to pent-up demand and eased travel restrictions. Destination branding plays a critical role in global tourism positioning, with recent emphasis on understanding destination identity. Our research aims to address the lack of systematic analysis in this area through a bibliometric literature review, providing insights for future research directions.
Brand identity encapsulates a brand’s unique traits and associations, constituting its essence, crucial for communication with various stakeholders. Effectively managed, it sets an organization apart from competitors, influencing consumer choices, credibility, and trust. While traditionally viewed as static, contemporary literature emphasizes brand identity’s dynamic nature, co-created with consumers in evolving market contexts. In tourism, brand identity is pivotal for destinations, defining their character and attractiveness. It distinguishes destinations, influencing perceptions and experiences, thereby shaping relationships with tourists and stakeholders. By fostering unique associations, destination identity promises meaningful experiences, crucial for competitiveness and appeal.
The concept of destination brand identity is explored in various tourism sectors, with differing emphases and definitions. Despite this, it generally refers to how a destination should be perceived by visitors and stakeholders. Future research aims to establish a standardized definition and understand its theoretical foundations in the dynamic tourism industry. Moreover, the COVID-19 pandemic has influenced tourist behavior, leading to increased digitalization in destination selection and a growing preference for environmentally sustainable practices, potentially reshaping the tourism landscape.
Tourist location promotion involves diverse brand communication channels, including traditional platforms and online communities, to establish brand identity and foster traveler engagement. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the adoption of digital technologies in tourism, emphasizing virtual communication tools like video conferencing and social media for maintaining connections. Virtual channels have become essential for tourists in destination discovery, with platforms like YouTube, social media influencers, and travel agency websites playing significant roles. Future research opportunities in destination brand identity center on leveraging online social networks and AI, but ethical integration and preserving cultural authenticity pose challenges. Evaluating how these technologies influence tourists’ perceptions and experiences remains crucial.
Prahalad and Ramaswamy (2004) introduced co-creation in business, emphasizing collaboration between firms and consumers. Research highlights co-creation’s importance in brand identity, involving multiple stakeholders like consumers, communities, and employees. However, studies mainly focus on tourists, neglecting other stakeholders like residents and businesses. Addressing this gap requires theoretical frameworks to understand the complexities of stakeholder interactions and develop effective evaluation metrics.
Tourism marketing explores various aspects of place branding, including destination, city, and nation. While some scholars argue for similarities between place and destination analysis, others highlight their distinct scopes. Due to the competitiveness of tourist markets and the involvement of multiple stakeholders, studying destination identity co-creation poses a significant challenge. Future research could leverage service-dominant logic theory to better understand stakeholder collaboration in shaping destination identity.
Destination culture encompasses the essence and expression of a tourist place, shaped by its local geography, traditions, and behavior. It plays a crucial role in defining the meaning of a destination to tourists and promotes its cultural richness and heritage. However, researching destination culture poses challenges such as subjective measurement, cultural diversity, and sustainability amidst tourism development. Addressing these challenges requires interdisciplinary approaches to capture the dynamic nature and holistic impact of destination culture on the tourist experience.
The COVID-19 pandemic has heightened awareness of environmental care through global lockdowns, showcasing the positive impact of reduced human activity on the environment. This pause has spurred a shift towards sustainable practices and a deeper appreciation for nature. Consequently, sustainability has become a crucial aspect of destination branding, enhancing both environmental image and resident well-being. However, challenges persist in aligning brand objectives with long-term sustainability goals and evaluating their real impact, necessitating inclusive stakeholder participation for truly beneficial outcomes.
Various models exist for measuring destination brand identity, with no consensus on fundamental dimensions. Researchers propose differing scales, such as image, quality, personality, and culture. However, there’s a need for a comprehensive model. Brand loyalty is crucial in tourism, yet the link between destination brand identity and loyalty is underexplored. Future research should address this gap and tackle the challenge of delineating transversal dimensions in destination brand identity, considering diverse cultural, environmental, and socio-economic factors. Effective communication with stakeholders is essential for destinations facing convergence challenges. Furthermore, future research should explore the antecedents and consequences of destination identity, acknowledging its multifaceted nature and dynamic elements.
Place satisfaction refers to a traveler’s subjective feelings about a destination, involving meeting both pre-trip expectations and real-time experiences. Destination identity significantly influences perceived value and satisfaction, impacting tourists’ intentions to return and recommend. Continuously assessing and enhancing destination characteristics through avenues like websites is crucial for improving tourist satisfaction, warranting an ongoing evaluation process. This study suggests a research agenda for future exploration into destination brand identity.
This study employs bibliometric analysis to investigate research trends regarding destination brand identity. It suggests that destination brand identity should be viewed as a dynamic and socially constructed entity, particularly in the competitive landscape of modern tourism. While previous research has focused on traditional online communication methods, there is a call to explore newer technologies like neuromarketing and artificial intelligence in understanding destination identity. The findings reveal a lack of consensus on conceptualizing destination identity within the tourism industry, indicating a need for a dynamic rather than static approach. From a managerial perspective, the research highlights the importance of understanding destination brand identity for various stakeholders and leveraging it to enhance market prospects, especially through technologies and socially responsible practices. However, the study acknowledges limitations in the scope of analyzed articles and suggests addressing these in future research. It proposes a research agenda focusing on co-creation, technology integration, sustainability, and artificial intelligence in promoting destination identity.
Source:
Manuel Escobar-Farfán, Amparo Cervera-Taulet & Walesska Schlesinger (2024) Destination brand identity: challenges, opportunities, and future research agenda, Cogent Social Sciences, 10:1, DOI: 10.1080/23311886.2024.2302803