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.

I Sverige förekommer turistbyråer på de flesta platser där det finns turism och den här studien undersöker digitaliseringen av turistbyråer. Den här studien berör frågor som i vilken utsträckning som turistbyråerna har digitaliserat sin verksamhet, vilka orsakerna är till turistbyråernas digitalisering och vilka potentiella effekter digitalisering leder till för verksamheten och dess framtid. Den teoretiska utgångspunkten bygger på forskning kring övergången från ett industrisamhälle till ett informationssamhälle, besöksnäringens beroende av digital utveckling och besökarnas krav på digitala tjänster och produkter. Studien har en kvantitativ metod i form av en enkätundersökning som distribuerades till alla auktoriserade turistbyråer i Sverige. Syftet med enkäten var att undersöka varför och i vilken utsträckning turistbyråerna har digitaliserat sin verksamhet samt vilka digitala planer dem har för framtiden. Studien resulterade i att orsakerna bakom digitaliseringen är att de följer samhällsutvecklingen och att konsumentbeteendet har förändrats vilket gör att besökaren kräver mer lättillgänglig information. Samtliga turistbyråer som deltog i enkäten använder sig av någon typ av digital kanal och majoriteten av dem planerar att utöka sin digitalisering. Respondenterna har både positiv och negativ inställning till digitaliseringen och majoriteten tror inte att en fullständig avveckling av det fysiska besökscentret är rätt väg att gå. Vikten av det fysiska och personliga mötet lyfts av både respondenterna och teorierna. / In Sweden tourist offices are found in most places where there is tourism and this following bachelor thesis is about digitization of tourist offices. The thesis will examine tourist office´s extent of digitized activities, underlying causes behind the digitalization of tourist offices and what potential effects digitalization will lead to for these organizations and their future. The theoretical starting point is based on research on the transition from an industrial society to an information society, the dependency of the tourism industry on digital development and consumer demand for digital services and products. A quantitative method is used in the form of a survey that was distributed to all authorized tourist offices in Sweden. The purpose of the survey was to investigate why and to what extent the tourist offices have digitized their business and what plans they have for digitalization in the future. The research showed that the underlying reasons behind digitization are that they want to follow the societal development, the consumer has changed their behavior and the visitors are requiring more accessible information. Every tourism office in Sweden that took part in the survey is using some kind of digital channel and the majority of them are planning to expand their digitalization. Respondents have both positive and negative attitudes towards digitization and the majority does not think that a complete discontinuation of the physical visitor center is the right way to go. The importance of the personal and physical meeting is highlighted by both respondents and theories.

L’émergence d’un contexte concurrentiel fort entre les destinations amène les offices de tourisme à se démarquer pour gagner leur place de dispositifs communicationnels d’informations touristiques. Ce mémoire de thèse défend l’idée que les stratégies spatio-communicationnelles mises en œuvre au sein des offices de tourisme équipés d’outils numériques jouent un rôle déterminant sur les pratiques des conseillers en séjour. Ces stratégies mettent en scène dans l’espace les quatre composants fondamentaux d’un office de tourisme : le territoire, le savoir, la relation aux usagers et les outils numériques. L’étude de ces composants et de leur organisation dans l’espace, selon une approche qui se place du côté de la production, fait ressortir trois types idéaux de stratégies spatio-communicationnelles : la séduction, la promotion et la revendication d’identité. Enfin, les analyses des pratiques des conseillers en séjour (à partir de leur observation et d’entretiens rétrospectifs) démontrent une mutation des métiers liée à ces stratégies : les pratiques des conseillers, induites par l’espace, les transforment alors en ambassadeurs du territoire auprès des usagers, en experts de l’offre touristique, ou encore en médiateurs numériques. Dès lors, l’énonciation spatiale désigne l’ensemble des tactiques ou stratégies élaborées à partir de relations spatialisées qui conditionnent la communication. / The emergence of a strong competitive environment between destinations compels tourist offices to stand out from one another so as to carry out their role of tourist information communication agencies. The present thesis argues that the spatio-communicational strategies implemented with digital equipment by tourist offices have a major impact on counselors’ guidelines for a trip. These strategies reproduce spatially the four basic components of a tourist office: territory, knowledge, customer relation, and digital tools. The study of these components and their spatial translation, especially in regard to their production, highlights three ideal types of spatio-communicational strategies: enticement, promotion and the claiming of identity. Lastly, the analysis of counsellors’ practices induced by space (as evidenced by their observations and retrospective testimonies) reveals a mutation of mission statements: influenced by spatial factors, counselors turn into ambassadors of the territory, experts of tourist happenings, or even digital mediators in their dealings with customers. Therefore, spatial enunciation has referred to all the possible techniques and strategies derived from spatialized relationships affecting communication.