Advancing a tourist perspective in inclusive place branding: anticipated constraints of domestic tourists with foreign backgrounds

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ABSTRACT Research on inclusive place branding has primarily focused on residents, while tourists are yet to be addressed, except in representation studies. Inclusion is, however, more than a matter of representation. It must also consider the needs of the tourists. This study explores people with foreign backgrounds’ anticipated constraints to domestic tourism. This article advances knowledge of inclusive place branding in multicultural societies by introducing the constraint-negotiation model to analyse the anticipated constraints. The data includes online focus groups with 30 participants living in Sweden. The findings identify constraints on individual, interpersonal, and system levels. These include language skills, knowledge of the domestic destination and personal habits, lack of domestic network, strong network in another country, and beliefs about place brand communication. The study creates new knowledge of inclusive place branding by enhancing an understanding of constraints to inclusive tourism from a tourist perspective, and the anticipations of people with a foreign background. The findings suggest that understanding and addressing people’s experiences and needs are significant, and inclusion in a multicultural society is a multifaceted and ongoing process. Furthermore, the findings suggest that it is crucial to incorporate non-included groups in the process of producing place brand communication.