Heritage storytelling in destination marketing: cases from Malaysian states

Abstract

ABSTRACT Destination image ranks top of the most prominently researched topics in tourism. Storytelling will probably follow soon but shares already today the same attention bias, particularly in the research community: Studies into the planning and managerial perspective of intended and projected destination images are as scarce as studies into the use, structure, and content of storytelling principles applied for heritage attractions and within destination planning and promotion. The current study reviews the literature on – particularly heritage – storytelling in tourism and its conceptual links to branding, persuasiveness, experiences, servicescapes, and co-creation. Narratology informs about the relevant criteria to be considered. A selection will be applied to analyse the content of the official promotional websites of selected state tourism organizations in Malaysia: Penang, Sarawak, and Terengganu. All three are marketing complex cultural and natural heritages. This text-based content analysis answers the underlying research question: To which extent and by which elements are the principles of storytelling applied via heritage assets of the destination? The outcome of the content analysis helps in three ways: (a) improving the storytelling management for a destination marketing organization, (b) directions of narratives and storytelling as a tool for enhancing DMOs' image, and (c) for heritage interpretation.