In a tourism context, the image potential customers have of a destination is a very important issue. Images play an essential role in destination choice matters and in this regard, as tourism services are intangible, images are said to become even more important than reality. The concepts of destination image and destination marketing and branding are closely interrelated. The ultimate goal of any destination is to influence possible tourists’ travel-related decision making and choice through marketing activities. Although it is not possible to influence all aspects of image formation, tourism marketers try to strategically establish, reinforce and, if necessary, change the image of their destination by communicating a strong destination brand. Hence, image studies are considered to be a vital part of marketing and branding strategies. However, not everyone has the same image of a destination, as image perception changes according to different influences, such as personal, cultural and psychological ones. The purpose of this thesis was primarily to give an overview of destination image theory and its interrelationships to destination marketing and branding. In this respect, the study aimed at finding out in how far a DMO can achieve to develop a marketing strategy that is consistent and somewhat standardised, and yet adapted to the individual market and culture in which it is operated. Furthermore, the study wanted to investigate whether marketing approaches should be changed for people with different images of a country as a destination, or if alternatively a “one-size-fits-all” approach should be employed. In addition to a literature review, a case study made it possible to show how a real organisation handles those questions. The case of the Austrian National Tourist Office ANTO provides a good example of an internationally operating destination marketing organisation that uses market research, and among others also image studies, to adapt its marketing mix and branding approach to the individual markets’ characteristics and the image held of the destination Austria. By means of applying the qualitative method of personal in-depth interviews and thorough analysis, interesting data concerning the topic of destination image and marketing could be collected and compared to the findings from literature. Results indicate that destination image studies are the foundation of successful marketing strategies and that in times of ever-increasing competitiveness, image is one of the few points of differentiation from other tourist destinations. It is necessary to be aware of the fact that customers’ cultural differences have an influence on how different they perceive images. Therefore, DMOs should have a powerful overall strategy which globally leads into one pre-defined direction, but then locally adapt this common strategy to regionally differing cultural specifics. Even though destination brands should be strong and consistent, it is not advisable to communicate the exact same image to all customers.

This essay will examine the visitors' view of destination South Djurgården and the impact that tourism provides in them. South Djurgården belongs to Stockholm where the boundary between the southern and northern Djurgården is Djurgårdsbrunnsviken and Djurgårdsbrunnskanalen. The reason we chose South Djurgården is because the biggest and famous attractions of Stockholm are there. In this essay we have used a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods. We conducted the survey through questionnaires and deep interviews. Moreover, we have applied the previous research and theories of the concept of destination, destination development and tourism impacts. The results of the survey showed that visitors want it to be cheaper on attractions, logistics facilities and guided tours. Visitors want also that the attractions should be renewed and adapted to all audiences. And that cooperation between actors in South Djurgården should be improved in order to have a successful destination development. / Den här uppsatsen kommer att undersöka besökarnassyn på destinationen Södra Djurgården och vilka konsekvenser som turismen åstadkommer enligt dem. Södra Djurgården tillhör Stockholm där gränsen mellan södra och norra Djurgården är Djurgårdsbrunnsviken och kanalen. Anledningen till att vi valde just Södra Djurgården beror på att de flesta stora och kändaattraktioner av Stockholm befinner sig där. I denna uppsats har vi använt oss av en kombination av kvalitativa och kvantitativa metoder. Vi genomförde undersökningen genom enkäter och djupintervjuer. Dessutom har vi tillämpat tidigare forskningoch teorier om destinationsbegreppet, destinationsutveckling och turismenseffekter. Resultatet av undersökningen visade att besökarna vill att det ska vara billigare på attraktionerna, logistikanläggningarna och guidningarna. Besökarna vill även att attraktionerna bör förnyas och anpassas till alla målgrupper. Samt att ett samarbete mellan aktörerna på Södra Djurgården börförbättras för att få en lyckad destinationsutveckling.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Past studies are focused on measuring competitiveness factors that are significant to a destination, while lesser focus is provided to capturing specific tourists’ attractiveness factors. The purpose of this study was to explore Millennials’ perception of destination attractiveness (DA) and their propensity to visit a destination. The objectives of this research include 1) To explore the perceptions of the millennial tourist when deciding on visiting a destination, 2) To determine which destination attractiveness factors are significant to the millennial tourist, 3) To identify Millennials propensity to visit a destination and 4) To explore other preferences that affect propensity to visit a destination. To accomplish the purpose and objectives, millennial college students and recent graduates from multiple universities in the USA were surveyed. A total of 103 Millennials participated in the study. Descriptive statistics and multivariate analysis were used to analyze the data. The results of this study will contribute to the existing knowledge in the areas of Millennials’ propensity to visit a destination and their perception of destination attractiveness.

Published Article / The question often arises as to how aware consumers are of prices of products and how much they are willing to pay for particular products. Research indicates that 'excellent value for money' is rated as the number one priority by consumers. In economically challenging conditions, tourists have become more price sensitive and prices charged will influence their decision-making. South Africa, as a destination, must ensure that prices charged for tourism products meet tourists' expectations and therefore research on the price perceptions in relation to major products that international tourists spend money on whilst on holiday, becomes important. As point of departure, it should be possible to establish the difference, if any, between what the tourists expected to pay for specific tourism products, and what they actually paid.

<p>Turismprodukten kan sägas vara en sammansättning av en rad olika produkter och tjänster. Denna produkt levereras ofta inom en turismdestination och är den sammanlagda upplevelsen av de enskilda aktörernas insatser. En avgörande faktor är att skapa ett samarbete mellan aktörerna som verkar inom destinationen. Detta bör göras för att kunna förbättra leveransen av turismprodukten. Här finns det en problematik, då de aktörer som bör ingå i samarbetet, även på ett eller annat sätt är konkurrenter. För att de skilda aktörerna skall kunna se destinationen som en helhet behöver verktyg och metoder för att skapa interaktion, personliga relationer och feedback utformas. Enligt de befintlig teoretiska resonemang framgår att system för interaktion, personliga relationer och feedback måste skapas, men få svar finns på hur dessa system skall utformas.</p><p>Genom att titta på teoretiska resonemang om hur organisationer anpassar sig till förändringar i omvärlden har jag så gjort en ansats att applicera dessa inom området för destinationsutveckling. Här har jag fokuserat på källor som behandlar lärande organisationer och dragit paralleller inom detta område. Genom att ha en förmåga att skapa, förvärva och förmedla kunskap samt sedan anpassa sitt handlande genom ny kunskap blir organisationen en lärande organisation. Genom att skapa en helhetsbild hos dem som arbetar inom organisationen, blir det här lättare att förstå de mål som satts upp. För att skapa engagemang kring att nå målen, presenteras hur det underlättar om individerna kan se hur de samtidigt som de strävar mot de kollektiva målen, även kan se hur detta kan hjälpa dem att nå individuella mål. Inom destinationen Åre har ett destinationsbolag nyligen bildats, fokus för detta bolag kommer bland annat att ligga på dessa frågor. Genom att utföra kvalitativa intervjuer med aktörer från fem olika branscher inom destinationen, samt med destinationsbolaget, har jag fått en bild av hur uppfattningarna om kunskapsdelning inom destinationen ser ut idag. Genom att identifiera befintliga problemområden, och förslag på åtgärder beträffande dessa, har jag i denna studie gjort en sammanställning över metoder för att göra destinationen till en lärande destinationen.</p><p>I denna studie vill jag skapa en förståelse för hur företagarna inom turismbranschen kan förhålla sig till kunskaps- utbyte/förmedling/generering. Min ambition är att hitta metoder för att få igång lärprocesser och skapa plattformar för samverkan inom turistbranschen.</p><p>I resultatet av min studie framkommer att helhetsbilden av destinationen tydligare behöver förankras hos aktörerna inom destinationen. Det blir här viktigt att samtliga aktörer kan känna personligt ansvar i att uppnå de gemensamma målen. När insikten om det personliga ansvaret infunnit sig, ser jag hur aktörerna i större utsträckning är benägna att dela med sig av information och kunskap till varandra. Analysen i min studie visar på att det finns det stora vinster i att utforma uttalade strukturer och mötesplatser för samverkan. Enligt mitt sätt att se på det ligger en avgörande faktor i leveransen av den samlade turismprodukten, och att ge ett gott gästbemötande, i att skapa personliga relationer.</p>

<p>Tourism is an important source of economic growth for destinations, which is why the interest for destination branding has grown in recent years. Meanwhile, Destination Marketing Organisations (DMOs) often struggle to promote their destination successfully. For instance, many stakeholders influence the perception of a destination and therefore it is difficult to create a coherent image. Some destinations have a more successful destination branding, which not only depends on their marketing methods but also the pre-requisites of the city. Hence, destination branding is a complex process where there is no standard solution. Therefore, three different destinations are used as a basis for the thesis; Brussels, Istanbul and Stuttgart. What can be learned from the marketing methods in these destinations? The purpose of this thesis is to examine the current market position of Brussels, Istanbul and Stuttgart as tourist destinations and their marketing strategies and methods used to promote the destinations. We will identify general recommendations on how to improve the destination branding, and propose specific recommendations to selected DMOs in the destinations.</p><p>Through the use of specific descriptive criteria, such as unique selling points (USPs), image and marketing channels, as well as the conducting of interviews with employees in higher administrative positions within the selected DMOs, the thesis aims at providing the reader with a deeper knowledge in the field of destination branding. The Tourist Area Lifecycle Model was used to analyse the destinations to understand their situation today and future possibilities and challenges in marketing the cities as tourist destinations. Moreover, the concepts of comparative and competitive advantages and the integrative model by Ritchie and Croutch was used to discuss the competitiveness of the destinations. The research shows that DMOs face problems, such as the lack of a coherent image, common goals, the coordination of activities between DMOs in different levels and cooperation between different stakeholders. These are areas that need attention from the DMOs in order to achieve successful destination branding and are included in the conclusion, which helps DMOs to improve their marketing methods in order to achieve success in the promotion of their destination.</p>

Syfte: Syftet är att göra en redogörelse av förutsättningar för destinationsutveckling genom en film. I den här redogörelsen kommer vi att testa valda teorier på Öland. Metod: Vi valde att utgå från en deduktiv ansats för att på så vis kunna pröva våra valda teorier om filmturism på vårt empiriska material. Utifrån våra teorier kom vi fram till kategorier som vi utgick från vid insamlandet av vårt empiriska material. För att samla in information till vårt empiriska material intervjuade vi respondenter från Öland. När vi prövade teorierna på våra intervjurespondenter ställde vi frågor utifrån de kategorier vi kommit fram till. Vi har även tagit del av sekundärdata för insamlandet av vårt empiriska material. Slutsatser: I det avslutande kapitlet redogör vi för vad vi har kommit fram till för slutsatser. Vi kommer att presentera de slutsatser vi har kommit fram till genom de kategorier vi har prövat på Öland. Slutsatserna som vi har kommit fram till har lett till att vi har kunnat besvara vårt syfte för den här redogörelsen.

Tourism is an important source of economic growth for destinations, which is why the interest for destination branding has grown in recent years. Meanwhile, Destination Marketing Organisations (DMOs) often struggle to promote their destination successfully. For instance, many stakeholders influence the perception of a destination and therefore it is difficult to create a coherent image. Some destinations have a more successful destination branding, which not only depends on their marketing methods but also the pre-requisites of the city. Hence, destination branding is a complex process where there is no standard solution. Therefore, three different destinations are used as a basis for the thesis; Brussels, Istanbul and Stuttgart. What can be learned from the marketing methods in these destinations? The purpose of this thesis is to examine the current market position of Brussels, Istanbul and Stuttgart as tourist destinations and their marketing strategies and methods used to promote the destinations. We will identify general recommendations on how to improve the destination branding, and propose specific recommendations to selected DMOs in the destinations. Through the use of specific descriptive criteria, such as unique selling points (USPs), image and marketing channels, as well as the conducting of interviews with employees in higher administrative positions within the selected DMOs, the thesis aims at providing the reader with a deeper knowledge in the field of destination branding. The Tourist Area Lifecycle Model was used to analyse the destinations to understand their situation today and future possibilities and challenges in marketing the cities as tourist destinations. Moreover, the concepts of comparative and competitive advantages and the integrative model by Ritchie and Croutch was used to discuss the competitiveness of the destinations. The research shows that DMOs face problems, such as the lack of a coherent image, common goals, the coordination of activities between DMOs in different levels and cooperation between different stakeholders. These are areas that need attention from the DMOs in order to achieve successful destination branding and are included in the conclusion, which helps DMOs to improve their marketing methods in order to achieve success in the promotion of their destination.

Numerous scholars pointed out that destination images are an important and successful factor for destination marketing. Travel destination with strong and positive images are a key factor that was usually chosen by tourists. Personal subject consciousness and customer¡¦ s behaviors will be influenced by destination images. Therefore, destination images are the most important role in the process of tourism decisions. This study is attempted to investigate what factors are influenced by the formation of destination images. And to know what Kaohsiung City¡¦s destination images are from the perspectives of foreign tourists. This research provided structure questionnaire to foreign tourists whose native languages are Chinese, Japanese, English and taking the Kaohsiung International Airport as an investigating place. According to SPSS analysis, the findings are as follows: (1) Kaohsiung City¡¦s destination overall images were considered as good in the perspective of foreign tourists. The hospitality and friendliness the local residents are truly agreed by foreign tourists. On the contrary, the traffic and amusement at night in Kaohsiung City are highly disagreed by foreign tourists. (2) Images would be influenced by cultural resources, quality of services and natural environment which were considered by foreign tourists. (3) The formation of destination image would be influenced by travel motivations. (4) The formation of destination images would be influenced by the number of times of the sightseeing, companion¡¦s relation, age and nationality. (5) The formation of destination images would be influenced by information sources, which included previous visiting experiences by oneself, introductions of relatives and friends, the TV programs, travel guides and films. According to these findings, this study suggests that native government should reinforce communications development. And to promote Kaohsiung City¡¦s uniqueness and advantage by using TV, travel guides and films, such as cultural resources, amusements at night etc. In the aspect of tourism market, they should strengthen marketing in Hong Kong.

Destinationskopplade kläder är en slags kommunikation av image samt är ett relativt enkelt och positivt redskap för företag som vill utveckla och förmedla ett varumärke. Orts-kollektioner har en viktig roll för återförsäljare i och med direkt inkomst, dock är betydelsen för turismflöden och marknadsföring svårare att mäta. Efter insamlad data och empiri har författarna fått en upplevelse om vikten att kommunicera varumärke och en image som lockar människor att besöka en plats.