The inevitability of essentializing culture in destination branding: the cases of fika and hygge

Laura Caprioli,Mia Larson,Richard Ek,Can-Seng Ooi

doi:10.1108/jpmd-12-2019-0114

Laura Caprioli, Mia Larson + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1108/jpmd-12-2019-0114

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Abstract

PurposeThis paper aims to focus on the re-presentation of the cultural phenomena hygge in Denmark and fika in Sweden in destination branding and address the inevitability of their essentialization through the branding process.Design/methodology/approachThree relevant semi-structured interviews with destination marketing organisation’s employees were conducted, as well as a content-based analysis of three social media channels (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram). A total of 465 posts in total were analysed (140 Facebook posts, 109 Twitter posts, 216 Instagram posts).FindingsThis study demonstrates how, when communicated through social media, intangible cultural assets are transformed into tangible elements. It explains why the re-presentation and place branding processes necessarily simplify and essentialize the destination.Originality/valueDestination branding scholars have traditionally criticised the flattening and essentialization of culture in destination branding and have called for a more nuanced approach to presenting a destination. This paper situates destination branding as a process that necessitates the manipulation of the presentation of the destination, which inevitably essentializes the place; this is intended. Critical destination branding researchers need to rethink their criticisms and acknowledge the inherent essentialization goal of destination branding.

Highlights

A growing number of studies claim that destination brands should reflect a distinctive and attractive image highlighting a destination’s unique features, identity and culture (Cai, 2002; Yúdice, 2003; Blain et al, 2005; Kavaratzis and Ashworth, 2005; Sinclair-Maragh, 2018)
By analysing fika and hygge as cultural practices used in destination branding, we show how intangible cultural “assets” are essentialized and further entrenched into the local host society through social media
Instead of just criticising the destination marketing organisations (DMOs) on the shallowness of their approach to these complex social cultural phenomena, we reveal the dynamics of how fika and hygge are made tangible and visible, simplified, commodified and commercialised

Summary

Introduction

A growing number of studies claim that destination brands should reflect a distinctive and attractive image highlighting a destination’s unique features, identity and culture (Cai, 2002; Yúdice, 2003; Blain et al, 2005; Kavaratzis and Ashworth, 2005; Sinclair-Maragh, 2018). As Scaramanga (2012) observes, culture is often superficially represented, as there is a focus on tangible expressions and manifestations of culture, such as landmarks and cultural facilities, rather than the intangible (Bianchini and Ghilardi, 2007; Kavaratzis and Ashworth, 2010, 2015) Another challenge of using culture in destination branding is that culture is dynamic, contextual and situational. Essentialization is an attempt at simplifying and reducing cultural complexity into core enduring elements (Hall, 1976; Hofstede, 2018) This packaging has attracted critiques from cultural studies for decades, with Kirshenblatt-Gimblett’s (1998) ground-breaking study being as relevant today as it was first published. Singapore is an ultra-modern and cosmopolitan city, but still the Singapore Tourism Board taps into the colonial imagination of the island in its destination branding, referring to Orientalized and essentialized cultural attractions, such as the trishaws, being served in the colonial Raffles Hotel, and tacky souvenirs (Ooi, 2011, 2014)

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