Abstract
Standardised place branding practices such as the serial reproduction of cultural attractions have been heavily criticised for producing ‘comfortingly predictable’ tourist spaces (Edensor, 2006), while, paradoxically, fuelling the touristic quest for authentic places. This is essentially the burden of authenticity. In unravelling this conundrum, we consider how applications of marketing management thinking to tourism have exacerbated commodification processes, by homogenising places. We then explore how more recent marketing thinking opens up new possibilities for action, facilitating experience co-creation, the realisation of value and the potential for existential authenticity. The implication for place is that marketing should not be fully determined or articulated in advance. Rather than managing value per se, tourism places should focus on the resources out of which value can be created. Here the place brand becomes an important symbolic resource.
Original language | English |
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Title of host publication | A Research Agenda for Place Branding |
Publisher | Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd. |
Pages | 215-231 |
Number of pages | 17 |
ISBN (Electronic) | 9781839102851 |
ISBN (Print) | 9781839102844 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 1 Jan 2021 |
Externally published | Yes |