This essay, which is at once a literary critical examination and a theological exploration of the Hebraic scriptural book of Lamentations in relation to ancient Sumerian lament, employs a mixed critical approach (e.g., form, feminist, postmodern, reader response), to address various lyrical, contextual, and thematic elements common to both the biblical Lamentations and the older Sumerian compositions. Specific focus is given to issues of gender and gender-malleability, as well as the notion of "transgression" and the various meanings that may be attached to this word in various contexts, theological or otherwise. Also addressed is the means by which the lament genre reflects/reveals the ways in which individuals and communities attempt to construct meaning, or find solace, in the face of human suffering.

Sport events are known to be strategically utilized to ‘sell’ the identity of its host destination. This since projections of and from the sport event can indirectly reflect elements symbolizing the destination, generating an image transfer process. And oppositely, how visitors project their lived experiences of a sport event on social media, may also have an impact on the destination image. But in research, the issue of branding outcomes from sport events has predominantly been studied from a managerial perspective and was mainly conducted 15 years ago. Since then, digital revolutions have entered the global arena and offered innovative ways to share and create the stories of our lives; causing a change in our perspectives of how we interpret experiences of the world. In the context of sport tourism, existing knowledge on the field would benefit to gain new insights following these new circumstances. And given these circumstances, there is not only a theoretical need but also an implicational need to understand visitors’ subjective experiences when attending a hallmark event and how such are being projected to the world through social media. Answers may provide new, strategical opportunities for practitioners to coordinate their branding activities to align with values that visitors places into their experiences of sport events – which in long-term lead to favorable, shared destination images. This study provides a glimpse of this perspective, by approaching a contemporary case study of the hallmark sport event Svenska Skidspelen 2022 in Falun, Sweden. Focus lies to examine visitors’ subjective experiences judged by their uploaded content on Instagram. A thematic analysis combined with online interviews of users bring light to prominent themes arising from the content; ranging from emotional to spatial experiences of the sport event and the destination of Falun. Moreover, new light is brought upon the previous studied effects of sport event leverages. Results reveal how ‘liminal’ sensations of experiencing the ‘folkfest’ contribute greatly to the overall experience and affect how visitors projects their sense of place on Instagram. This study is to the author’s note being the first one during the last decade seeing these results.

The aim of my thesis is to analyze the operation of selected organizations of destination management in the South Bohemian region or in other regions in the neighborhood. My work focuses especially on comparison the existence, operation, focus and also cooperation between individual subjects of destination managements. The thesis brings a real recommendations in order to improve efficiency in operation of these subjects.

The number of festivals and events worldwide as well as in South Africa has increased significantly over the past decade. With more than 600 festivals being staged annually in South Africa, it is clear that festivals are competing with each other to attract and retain visitors in order to remain sustainable. For this reason, creating and sustaining a loyal visitor base through marketing and branding activities has become increasingly important for festivals. This, however, is a complex task since branding of a festival is challenging in several ways. Festivals are non-permanent tourism offerings with a variety of attributes that need to be considered when branding the festival. These include attractions, accommodation, entertainment and the natural environment. The competitive environment in which festivals operate and the complex nature of a festival as a brand require a specific approach whereby festivals can create and sustain brand loyalty. To remain a competitive and sustainable arts festival, marketers of festivals need to know how their marketing efforts can be applied to enhance visitors’ loyalty as well as the aspects that contribute to visitors’ loyalty. Although various studies have been concerned with brand loyalty in a tourism context, little research has focused on brand loyalty in a festival context and more specifically in a South African arts festival context. In the light of this, the following research question was formulated: “What are the components and the relationships between the components of a brand loyalty model for arts festivals in South Africa? The primary goal of this thesis was to develop a brand loyalty model for arts festivals. To achieve this goal, four objectives were formulated. The first objective was to analyse the role of marketing in creating and sustaining brand loyalty for arts festivals by means of an in-depth literature review. The definition of marketing and the distinguishing features of tourism offerings were analysed. It was indicated that aspects such as visitors’ motivation for attending festivals impacts on their loyalty. Furthermore it was established that marketing activities such as market research, market segmentation, positioning, branding and developing an effective festival marketing mix can assist marketers of festivals to achieve visitors’ loyalty. The second objective was to review the literature regarding brand loyalty and its constructs. Branding and brand loyalty were defined and the history of branding was discussed. More importantly, the constructs of brand loyalty and the items for measuring them were analysed. It was clear that a variety of constructs impact on festival visitors’ loyalty including brand attitude, brand personality, individuals’ characteristics, circumstances and purchase situation, organisations’ commitment to being customer orientated, brand equity, brand associations, brand awareness, product involvement, brand commitment, brand affect, quality, brand image, brand experience, brand trust, brand value and satisfaction. In addition, it was concluded that these aspects are related and affect one another. The third objective was to identify the components of a brand loyalty model, test the relationships between them and determine the variables influencing them. This was done with the aim of developing a brand loyalty model for arts festivals. For this purpose, data were collected by means of a self-administered questionnaire which was distritubuted to visitors at Vryfees and Aardklop. A total of 400 questionnaires were distributed at each festival with 355 questionnaires obtained at Vryfees and 352 questionnaires obtained at Aardklop. Selected statistical techniques were employed to achieve this objective. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was performed on the items for measuring brand loyalty. From this, six brand loyalty components were revealed. Spearman Rank Order Correlation was used to determine the relationships between these brand loyalty components. An independent t-test, one-way ANOVA and two-way ANOVA between groups were employed to determine the impact of selected variables on the components of brand loyalty. Finally, the brand loyalty components were used in Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) to develop the model. The results of the study confirmed that brand loyalty for festivals such as Aardklop and Vryfees are multidimensional and consist of satisfaction, affective image, festival experience, loyalty, personal value and cognitive image. Affective image and satisfaction are also major components of visitors’ loyalty towards these festivals. It was furthermore confirmed that variables such as occupation, province of residence, frequency of attendance and home language have an impact on festival visitors’ loyalty. The final objective of this study was to draw conclusions and make recommendations concerning the compilation and implementation of the brand loyalty model for arts festivals. This research makes important contributions theoretically, methodologically and practically. Theoretically, this study is unique since it is one of the first to indicate the role of marketing in enhancing brand loyalty and to analyse various brand loyalty constructs that can be further investigated by future researchers. Methodologically, this study developed a reliable and valid questionnaire for the measurement of brand loyalty in a festival context which can be used by other festivals to determine visitors’ loyalty. In addition, this study investigated distinctive relationships between the festival loyalty constructs and other demographic and festival-related variables. The impact of demographic variables on festival loyalty constructs was also explored. The greatest contribution of this study, however, is its practical contribution by developing a brand loyalty model for arts festivals which can be used by marketers of festivals to create, maintain and increase visitors’ loyalty towards their festivals. / PhD (Tourism Management), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

The number of festivals and events worldwide as well as in South Africa has increased significantly over the past decade. With more than 600 festivals being staged annually in South Africa, it is clear that festivals are competing with each other to attract and retain visitors in order to remain sustainable. For this reason, creating and sustaining a loyal visitor base through marketing and branding activities has become increasingly important for festivals. This, however, is a complex task since branding of a festival is challenging in several ways. Festivals are non-permanent tourism offerings with a variety of attributes that need to be considered when branding the festival. These include attractions, accommodation, entertainment and the natural environment. The competitive environment in which festivals operate and the complex nature of a festival as a brand require a specific approach whereby festivals can create and sustain brand loyalty. To remain a competitive and sustainable arts festival, marketers of festivals need to know how their marketing efforts can be applied to enhance visitors’ loyalty as well as the aspects that contribute to visitors’ loyalty. Although various studies have been concerned with brand loyalty in a tourism context, little research has focused on brand loyalty in a festival context and more specifically in a South African arts festival context. In the light of this, the following research question was formulated: “What are the components and the relationships between the components of a brand loyalty model for arts festivals in South Africa? The primary goal of this thesis was to develop a brand loyalty model for arts festivals. To achieve this goal, four objectives were formulated. The first objective was to analyse the role of marketing in creating and sustaining brand loyalty for arts festivals by means of an in-depth literature review. The definition of marketing and the distinguishing features of tourism offerings were analysed. It was indicated that aspects such as visitors’ motivation for attending festivals impacts on their loyalty. Furthermore it was established that marketing activities such as market research, market segmentation, positioning, branding and developing an effective festival marketing mix can assist marketers of festivals to achieve visitors’ loyalty. The second objective was to review the literature regarding brand loyalty and its constructs. Branding and brand loyalty were defined and the history of branding was discussed. More importantly, the constructs of brand loyalty and the items for measuring them were analysed. It was clear that a variety of constructs impact on festival visitors’ loyalty including brand attitude, brand personality, individuals’ characteristics, circumstances and purchase situation, organisations’ commitment to being customer orientated, brand equity, brand associations, brand awareness, product involvement, brand commitment, brand affect, quality, brand image, brand experience, brand trust, brand value and satisfaction. In addition, it was concluded that these aspects are related and affect one another. The third objective was to identify the components of a brand loyalty model, test the relationships between them and determine the variables influencing them. This was done with the aim of developing a brand loyalty model for arts festivals. For this purpose, data were collected by means of a self-administered questionnaire which was distritubuted to visitors at Vryfees and Aardklop. A total of 400 questionnaires were distributed at each festival with 355 questionnaires obtained at Vryfees and 352 questionnaires obtained at Aardklop. Selected statistical techniques were employed to achieve this objective. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was performed on the items for measuring brand loyalty. From this, six brand loyalty components were revealed. Spearman Rank Order Correlation was used to determine the relationships between these brand loyalty components. An independent t-test, one-way ANOVA and two-way ANOVA between groups were employed to determine the impact of selected variables on the components of brand loyalty. Finally, the brand loyalty components were used in Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) to develop the model. The results of the study confirmed that brand loyalty for festivals such as Aardklop and Vryfees are multidimensional and consist of satisfaction, affective image, festival experience, loyalty, personal value and cognitive image. Affective image and satisfaction are also major components of visitors’ loyalty towards these festivals. It was furthermore confirmed that variables such as occupation, province of residence, frequency of attendance and home language have an impact on festival visitors’ loyalty. The final objective of this study was to draw conclusions and make recommendations concerning the compilation and implementation of the brand loyalty model for arts festivals. This research makes important contributions theoretically, methodologically and practically. Theoretically, this study is unique since it is one of the first to indicate the role of marketing in enhancing brand loyalty and to analyse various brand loyalty constructs that can be further investigated by future researchers. Methodologically, this study developed a reliable and valid questionnaire for the measurement of brand loyalty in a festival context which can be used by other festivals to determine visitors’ loyalty. In addition, this study investigated distinctive relationships between the festival loyalty constructs and other demographic and festival-related variables. The impact of demographic variables on festival loyalty constructs was also explored. The greatest contribution of this study, however, is its practical contribution by developing a brand loyalty model for arts festivals which can be used by marketers of festivals to create, maintain and increase visitors’ loyalty towards their festivals. / PhD (Tourism Management), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

Made available in DSpace on 2010-04-20T20:51:47Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 3 142983.pdf.jpg: 14354 bytes, checksum: 835e5332d4c50493b566a80221276b5e (MD5) 142983.pdf: 1180134 bytes, checksum: 7ff4eabcb59354fc01a73d10932320b8 (MD5) 142983.pdf.txt: 514544 bytes, checksum: 6aa7254fcd8fe85d04ae8d444d0e4c07 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2005-02-28T00:00:00Z / O tema do estudo é Destination Branding (DB), o processo de construção e desenvolvimento de marcas de destinos. O referencial teórico sobre o tema, bem como o estudo do branding da Nova Zelândia, estabeleceram as bases para a construção de um quadro de referência de DB, que foi estruturado em três macro etapas: ajuste do contexto, componentes de DB (aplicação de conceitos: imagem e identidade) e operacionalização (gestão, comunicação e avaliação). À luz desse quadro de referência, foi analisada a experiência de DB do Estado da Bahia - um estudo de caso único, de caráter exploratório, com base em dados qualitativos. A experiência da Bahia corroborou à pouca efetividade, apontada na teoria, de obter controle gerencial e continuidade das ações por meio de controle direto. Evidenciou-se também que a ausência de um diagnóstico completo - com análise dos clientes e da concorrência e auto-análise - prejudica a elaboração da identidade de marca para o destino. Por fim, o caso mostrou a necessidade de profissionalização da gestão para implementação das estratégias traçadas para o destino. / The research topic is Destination Branding (DB), the process of construction and development of destination brands. The theory about the research topic, as well as the study of branding in New Zealand, have established the foundation for the construction of a framework of DB, which has been structured in three macro steps: context adjustment, components of DB (concept application: image and identity) and operationalization (management, communication and evaluation). The DB case of Bahia has been analyzed under this framework – a single exploratory case study, based on qualitative data. The experience carried out in Bahia has endorsed the poor effectiveness, as seen in theory, to obtain management control and continuity by means of direct control. It has also become evident that the absence of a complete diagnostic – including an analysis of the clients and that of the competitor and a self-analysis – harms the elaboration of the identity of the destination branding. Finally, the case has shown the need for professional management to guarantee implementation of the strategies for the destination.

This thesis investigates the relationship of regional food products in the tourist home country with destination marketing and management at the example of South Tyrol. South Tyrol was chosen as research area, because the 2 sectors have, on their own, a big standing in the region as well as a cooperate in many different ways. This has led to a symbiosis inside and outside the destination, making it an interesting area to research. While the interplay of the culinary assets of a destination with tourism within the destination is increasingly recognized, developed and used by researchers, planners, companies and authorities, the possible relationship of these sectors outside the destination remains an under-researched area. As Alderighi et al. (2016) found out in a study, an (empirical) connection between availability of local specialities in the tourist home (markets) and the intention of (re-)visit the place is evident. Therefore, this thesis uncovers different tools and mechanisms in (destination) marketing and management for the incorporation of regional food products in the tourist home country. Additionally, experts from the sectors of food and tourism, DMO, will share their considerations and limitations. Theory and practice will be opposed, where as the concepts of “region branding” and “sensory destination marketing” will be elaborated.

The purpose of this thesis is to identify the destination site selection criteria for internationalconferences from the perspectives of the three main players of the conference industry,conference buyers (organizers and delegates) and suppliers. Additionally, the researchidentifies the strengths and weaknesses of the congress cities of Stockholm and Vienna.Through a comparison with Vienna, the top city for hosting international conferences, a roadmap for Stockholm has been designed, to strengthen its congress tourism opportunities, thus,obtaining a higher status as an international congress city. This qualitative research hascombined both primary and secondary data methods, through semi-standardized expertinterviews and secondary studies respectively, to fulfil the study’s aim. The data have beenanalysed by applying the techniques of qualitative content analysis; the secondary dataadopting an inductive approach according to Mayring (2003) while the expert interviewsusing a deductive approach according to Meuser & Nagel (2009). The conclusions of thesecondary data have been further compared and contrasted with the outcomes of the primarydata, to propose fresh discoveries, clarifications, and concepts related to the site selectioncriteria for international conferences, and for the congress tourism industry of Stockholm. Theresearch discusses the discoveries of the site selection criteria, the implications of thestrengths and weaknesses of Stockholm in comparison to Vienna, recommendations forStockholm via a road map, and future research areas in detail. The findings andrecommendation, not only provide specific steps and inceptions that Stockholm as aninternational conference city can apply, but also propose findings, which can aid conferencebuyers and suppliers to cooperate, to strengthen their marketing strategies and developsuccessful international conferences and destinations to help achieve a greater competitiveadvantage.

On pourrait dire que le projet de cette thèse consiste à comprendre l’articulation dans l’espace, du tourisme et de la communication dans des situations qui mettent en tension un sujet individuel, dévoilant toute la singularité de son désir dans des récits ou des pratiques et des acteurs collectifs engagés dans les politiques touristiques, les médias et les institutions du tourisme.Notre réflexion s’organise ainsi en suivant les modalités de l’articulation entre ces dimensions réelle, symbolique et imaginaire du tourisme. Dans le champ des SIC et particulièrement grâce à des modèles permettant de formaliser la médiation touristique, notre approche conceptuelle permet d’appréhender les significations du tourisme. Nous modéliserons les composantes, les liens et interrelations de la médiation touristique pour proposer une approche théorique de ce que l’on peut appeler la signification touristique de l’espace.En premier lieu, nous abordons les définitions, un état de la recherche en tourisme et le lexique du tourisme par l’étymologie et l’analyse lexicale des termes les plus fréquents : « tour », « tourisme », « touriste », « loisir », « villégiature », « vacances » et « voyage ».En second lieu, nous proposons de poser les bases du champ de la médiation touristique et de montrer que la pratique sociale du tourisme est une médiation. Nous présenterons, commenterons et analyserons, en nous fondant sur un schéma de la médiation touristique, les différentes relations de communication en jeu dans la médiation touristique. Puis nous présenterons les structures de la médiation touristique pour fonder « une théorie critique » de la médiation touristique.Par la suite, nous approfondirons le concept en présentant les opérateurs, les acteurs et les politiques de l’organisation du tourisme, en nous fondant sur l’analyse d’exemples et d’études concernant principalement la médiation et les médiateurs dans le cas de la France pour comprendre comment pratiques et scènes de tourisme s’organisent. Par la suite, nous décrirons et analyserons le système d’information touristique en deux points. Le premier concerne l’énonciation de l’espace produit par le touriste, les touristes et les médiateurs du tourisme (énonciation de la parole du guide par exemple) au travers des récits pluri et multimédias. L’autre concerne la mise en œuvre des stratégies par les destinateurs (opérateurs et acteurs de l’organisation du tourisme privés et publics) au travers des médias du tourisme (généralistes, spécifiques du tourisme et guide touristiques). Un travail d’analyse de discours porte sur des exemples de documents textuels et/ou iconiques des guides touristiques et des labels touristiques. / It may be said that this thesis aims at understanding the spatial articulation between tourism and communication in such situations as those in which an individual subject – expressing the whole peculiarity of his or her desire through telling or practices – and collective actors are brought together.My reflection thus organises itself in accordance with the modalities of the articulation between the three dimensions of tourism: the practical dimension, the symbolic dimension and the imaginary dimension.Tourist activity consists in travelling and in visiting a site, a place or a destination; tourist mediation means the range of activities that are organised around tourism or those that are associated to it. Tourist mediation concerns the agents and the practices in the field of tourism. In this context, I wish to show that tourist mediation structures the perceptions, the interpretations and the practises of space.I address the definitions; give an overview of academic research on tourism and address the notions of tourism through the etymology of its main words (tour, tourism, and tourist) and through the differences that exist between tourism and other notions similar to it such as leisure, vacations, holiday and travelling. These notions are necessary to the comprehending of tourist mediation.I intend to lay the foundations of the field of tourist mediation and to demonstrate that the social practise of tourism is a form of mediation. I will present the tourist objects that structure the tourist practises of space. The structures of tourist mediation will then be laid; this will enable me to craft a “critical theory” of tourist mediation. With a view to understanding how the practises and the scenes of tourism organise, I will subsequently widen the concept by presenting the operators, the agents and the policies of the tourist organisation; the examples and the studies of the latter are mainly concerned with mediation and mediators in the case of France. I situate tourist mediation in relation to the experience of otherness and to the relationship to the others, to wanderlust, to the tourist imagination and to cultural imagination too. I then describe and give a two-point analysis of the tourist information system. The first point is concerned with the enunciation of space produced by the tourist, the tourists and by the tourist mediators (the enunciation of the guide’s discourse for instance) through various multimedia telling. The second point is concerned with the enunciation, through the tourist media (non-specialised or tourism media, tourist guides), by the speakers (e.g. operators and private or public agents of the tourist organisation) of the communication strategies and of the tourist descriptive signing. This discourse analysis relates to examples of textual and/or iconic documents.

Destination management is nowadays one of the main trends in tourism. Final thesis is divided into two parts - theoretical and practical. Theoretical part is focused on destination management and strategic management of tourism in destination. Practical part contains analysis and evaluation of Tourism Development Strategy in Zilina selfgoverning region. It is dedicated to analysis of current situation in tourism of Zilina region and to its Tourism Development Strategy. Last chapter includes the evaluation of tourism and development potential in region of Zilina and the Tourism Develompent Strategy of Zilina selfgoverning region in period of 2007-2013 as well.