Abstract
Tourism destinations are generally delimited and branded based on administrative boundaries, which act as artificial barriers that may reduce the competitiveness of the tourism sector. Increasingly, literature is taking a demand perspective (i.e., tourist spatial behaviour) when identifying and promoting destinations. This perspective can help to promote destinations more efficiently, particularly in rural areas, where most tourism flows depend on private vehicle and which do not take into account administrative boundaries. These flows are therefore highly conditioned by the geography of the area, hosting capacity and the cumulative effect of attractions. This research centres on brand creation from a tourist perspective, particularly how tourists consume a destination. Els Ports (Spain), a rural mountain area divided into multiple administrative divisions, each marketing its own brand, is taken as a case study. Recently, destination managers have seen the opportunity for regional cooperation and taken steps to cross traditional boundaries to market the area better. This study uses GIS techniques to compare tourist travel patterns with brand boundaries and new cooperative initiatives. The findings provide material for discussion on the branding strategy of Els Ports and the need to rebrand rural tourism destinations into functional tourism areas.
Highlights
Tourism destinations, destination branding, are a key field of interest for both academia and practitioners
This study explores the case of the rural mountain area around Els Ports (Spain)
The literature review showed that most tourism destination brands are defined in terms of administrative limits and fail to consider the tourist perspective of the destination
Summary
Destination branding, are a key field of interest for both academia and practitioners. Despite the importance of the term “tourism destination”, academics continue to debate how to define it. The management-oriented research perspective considers tourism destinations as agglomerations of facilities and services designed to meet the needs of tourists [1]. This, contrasts with the reality of established destinations. Tourism destinations are defined by the administrative boundaries of the corresponding territorial administrations. Branding based on administrative areas leads to static brands distinguished only by their borderlines.
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