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DESTINATION BRANDING:
A TOOL FOR CREATING AND MARKETING
TOURISM DESTINATION IMAGE
Aina, Olayinka Christopher
Department of Tourism and Events Management
Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti,
Ekiti State, Nigeria.
[email protected]
08033785791, 08074040090
Abiola-Oke, Elizabeth
Department of Transport and Tourism Studies
Redeemer’s University
Ede, Nigeria
[email protected]
08032588074, 08055713870
Abstract
Destination branding is seen as a marketing tool as well as a tool for creating an image for the
destination. In creating an image for the destination through branding, it is therefore important
to have a differentiating element in the destination. Therefore, this research is focused on
identifying the differentiating factor that would make a destination unique amongst others by
examining the place of hotel brand in creating this unique factor. In line with this, the aim of the
research was to examine the influence hotel brands have on the choice of destination to visit. To
achieve the aim, the researcher reviewed literature on the topic to identify the information that is
available on the topic. The researcher also collected empirical data on the topic using
questionnaire (Online). The data collected were analyzed both quantitatively and qualitatively
because the questionnaire was used to collect both quantitative and qualitative data using
closed-ended and open-ended questions. Statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) was used
to quantitatively analyze the data while content analysis method was used in analyzing the
qualitative data.
Having carried out the research as explained above, the findings showed that, although the
availability of branded hotels in a destination could create an image for the destination, but it is
not the major factor influencing the choice of destination to visit. A conclusion was reached
based on the findings that, the major factor that influences the choice of destination is attractions
and the others- accommodation, transportation, and other supporting services- are essential
which cannot exist without the attractions in a destination.
Keywords: Branding, Image Creation, Destination, Marketing
Introduction
The growth in the tourism industry has made its marketing a bit challenging due to its
nature (Echtner and Ritchie, 2003). This is because as tourism industry develops, more options
are made available for tourists as per the destinations to visit, then it places on each destination to
create an image for themselves so as to have a competitive edge over the other destinations
offering the same product. This therefore is the place for destination branding. Hence, the role
played by the Destination Marketing Organisations (DMOs) which is the marketing and the
branding of the destination but they are limited by fund (Elbe, Hallen and Exelsson., 2009). Due
to the increasing competitive nature of the tourism market, the marketing of the industry and its
management may be difficult to be effectively done according to Fyall and Garrod (2005).
Therefore the DMOs are to play a major role in bringing all the stakeholders together to have a
common goal for the destination and to also participate in the branding of the destination by
integrating marketing process (Elbe et al., 2009). In line with the integration of marketing
process, Dioko and So (2012) identified the place of internationally branded hotels in creating an
image for the destination. This therefore is the basis of this research.
Accommodation in the forms of hotels, hostels and other types are essential parts of a destination
and they creates the feeling of welcome and a lasting impression on the tourists when they visit
(Cooper, 2012).
Anyone traveling to visit a destination away from their usual places of
residence for whatsoever purpose would require an accommodation. While some of them might
have friends and family at the destination, some might not have, but they both need where to stay
especially when such person is staying for more than a day.
Furthermore, the experience of the tourists at the destination is important for the promotion of
the destination. Accommodation is an essential part of a destination experience for the tourists
(Cooper, 2012). In addition to that, according to Ismail (2011), factors such as brand name, price,
advertising, word of mouth and past experience determines the type of experience a customer
would have on a product or services, and also determines their loyalty.
This research revolves around two major marketing concepts- brand and image. These two
concepts will be presented as dependent elements where image is seen to be dependent on the
brand in the context of promoting a destination based on the branded hotels available at the
destination. This is because creating an image for a destination would in turn impact on the hotel
business (Damonte 1993; Binkowski, 2005).
In the context of this study, different studies have been carried out by some researchers. Some of
the studies carried out are in the context of; knowing the meaning and the measurement of
destination image (Echtner and Ritchie, 2003), the marketing process used by destination
marketing organizations (Elbe et al., 2009).
Dioko and So (2012) conducted a study on how the brand of hotel in the destination determines
the choice of a gaming destination. The result of their study showed that the brand of hotel does
not determine the choice of destination. Although they have concluded on the topic, but they
stated the limitations to the study and that is the basis of this study as they have recommended a
further study on the topic. Their study was limited to a destination- Macao and therefore they
said, a conclusive statement cannot be made on the topic and to make a generalized statement,
visitors to other destinations have to be surveyed.
Although, accommodation providers are not the only service providers that make up the
destination brand, but it is seen from the perspective of the researcher as the major service
provider without which destinations cannot be complete. According to Pike, (2005); Morgan,
Pritchard and Piggott (2003) and Pritchard and Morgan, (2001), Branding of destination is a
complex thing due to the fact that there are still many destinations that are yet to be studied in the
relative application of branding to the marketing principles of the destinations (Dioko and So
2012).
Therefore, from the perspective of a varied population and not limiting the research to a
destination, the researcher carried out this study to justify the findings of Dioko and So (2012) as
to whether the brand of hotel influences the choice of the people on the destination to visit. In
doing this, the researcher aims to add to knowledge on the concept of branding and its
application to destination as a product of tourism.
Theoretical and Conceptual Issues
Branding
In the explanation of what a brand is, Murphy (1998) identified some basic elements of brand
and these include: the product itself, its packaging, the name of the brand, promotion of the
product, how it is being advertised and its presentation to the public constitute. The elements of
the brand as highlighted comprise the definition of a brand. Although, one can say these
elements only applies to the physical product compared to the product of tourism which can be
both tangible and intangible. To prove that these elements also applies to the product of tourism,
Murphy (1998) stated that a brand is seen as the combination of the physical, aesthetic, rational
and emotional elements which aids the differentiation of one product to the other. Furthermore
on the definition of a brand, Kotler and Gertner (2000) sees a brand as a name, term, sign,
symbol or design or the combination of all ( Murphy, 1998) which aids differentiation in the
market place. From the definition of a brand, Dioko and So (2012) therefore identified that the
purpose of a brand is for differentiation which is done by presenting the product with a unique
identity.
Tourist destination and branding
Pike (2008) defined a destination as a geographical space accommodating the existence of a
cluster of tourism resources and being less of a political boundary. furthermore on the definition
of a destination, Leiper (1995) defined a tourist destination as a place where people choose to
visit for the purpose of having an experience of certain features of the destination, and Buhalis
(2000) said it can also be viewed it as a perpetual concept which can be interpreted by the
tourists subjectively based on their experience, purpose of visit, cultural background,
psychographic and demographic characteristics (Periera, Correia and schutz, 2012). Destination
according to Periera et al. (2012) is the combination of tourism products and services consumed
in the destination and constitute the tourists' integrated experience. Destinations are
representation of the tourism industry as it is a place where the tourism activities take place and
where the service providers of the industry are located to meet the needs of the tourists.
Destination by definition is the amalgamation of attraction, amenities and activities, also referred
to a point of access to all facilities and services that meets the needs of tourists (Cooper, Fletchr,
Gilbert, Shephard and Wanhill, 1998).
Having explained what destination branding is, it is worth noting that destination branding is a
bit difficult because, unlike companies or hotels, a destination comprise of different stakeholders
(Morgan et al., 2004) as identified above that destination is the combination of tourism products
and services (Periera et al. 2012). This therefore is the place for the destination marketing
organizations (DMOs) as solely responsible for the marketing of the destination (Elbe et al.,
2009). The activities they carry out in promoting the destination also includes the branding of the
destination.
The Hotel Industry and branding
As part of the hospitality and tourism industry, the hotel sector is categorized under the lodging
sector of the industry. It is aids the travel of people and overnight stay at the destination which
they visits (Littlejohn, 2003, Cooper, 2012). Hotels today impacts on the living style of people in
the cities, their travel around the world, how they conduct businesses, their communication with
nature and their construct of fantasy lives (Philips, 2005). Hotel properties range in sizes
(Barrows and Powers, 2009). The hotel industry has grown over the years from the traditional
accommodation service to a more comprehensive service – diverse in its operation (Berger and
Chiofaro Jr., 2007). The primary purpose of the hotel is to serve the holiday makers (Medlik and
Ingram, 2000). In line with this, hotel contributes to the development of the travel industry and
they are always located in a location where their services are required (Medlik and Ingram, 2000,
Cooper, 2012). The hotel industry/accommodation industry cannot be separated from the
destination because the hotel is part of what makes up the destination and cannot operate without
the destination (Cooper, 2012). The hotel industry compared to the destination can be easily
branded and that has been going on for some time now. Although, Barrows and Powers (2009)
identified that hotel properties range in sizes, the brand of hotels as well determines its size and
popularity.
The concept of branding continues to demonstrate a strong positive presence in the hotel industry
(Olsen, Chung, Graf, Lee and Madanoglu 2005). The modern hotel does not just offer the
traditional lodging facilities but also provide good experience for the guest through the design of
the hotel, the sense of spectacle and amenities (Philips, 2005). Also, according to Park and Petric
(2006), modern hotel guests seek consistency and quality at the right price. Due to this fact, the
brand of the hotel is also a contribution to the good experience a guest would enjoy in a hotel
because it is believed that branding is a way of ensuring quality service to guests (Buhalis, 2000).
Also, due to the changing needs of the people as a result of the changing lifestyle, they require
more from the hotel (Philips, 2005), now, the operators are looking for how to improve their
services and to gain a competitive edge in the market place, therefore they turn to branding.
The hotel industry itself is full of competition and branding, as said earlier on is seen as a way of
differentiating hotels (Olsen et al, 1998). Based on this fact, most hotel operators now understand
the importance of branding as a company asset and its ability to give them competitive edge.
Co-branding destinations and hotels
Not much literature on the influence of branded hotel on the image of a destination has been
found. The article identified in this bit is the research done by Dioko and So (2012) on how hotel
brands influences the decision of the tourists on the choice of gaming destination to visit.
Although their findings stated that the brand of hotels does not impact the choice of gaming
destination as against the statement made in the early part of the article that, the growth of Las
Vegas as a gaming destination is attributed to the establishment and development of brands of
gaming hospitality, which led to the establishment of Las Vegas as one of the top gaming
destinations in tourism.
Lee (2011) on the other hand also carried out a research on the influence of hotel design on the
branding of a destination, it was revealed that for destinations to differentiate themselves in the
market place, the hotels in such destination must incorporate the unique characteristics of the
culture of the destination where it is located. This means that hotels can decide to brand
themselves in line with the culture or the features of the destination of their location in the face
of globalization (Phillips, 2005; Hankinson, 2005). The study of Dioko and So (2012) was
limited to a location, so that is why they could come to that conclusion. This is not to say that
hotels are not important influence on the choice of destination to visit.
Branding is one of the concepts of differentiation (Dioko and So, 2012) used by marketers in the
industry. Branding as a concept of marketing is also applicable to destinations (Hankinson,
2005) because the products of tourism are also homogenous and there is the need for the
identification of a unique factor for differentiation hence the concept of cobranding.
The concept of co-branding has been applied across different studies (Ashton and Scott, 2011).
According to Heding et al. (2008), co-branding is the coming together of two brands to form a
brand. Therefore in the context of destination and hotel, cobranding is to be considered.
According to Fyall and Garrod (2005), it has become commonplace for organizations in the
industrial sectors to collaborate to aid the achievement of goals they have set out for themselves.
Tourism is a global organization/business and due to this, its competitive nature has increased
and now destinations have to vie for visitors. Therefore, its branding with a branded hotel will
have an impact on the destination (Dioko and So, 2012). This is not to say that some destinations
are not attracting visitors, but because of the competitiveness of destinations and the marketing
of the destination, co-branding with hotels in the destination should have an impact on the
destination itself. According to Holjevac (2003), tourism and the hotel industry will become one
of the largest world industries.
In the application of this to destination and hotel, there are people who are loyal to particular
hotel brands and when they see the hotel being co-branded with the destination, they are made to
believe that they would get quality experience when they visit the destination. This is due to the
fact that brands are no longer simple labels, logos or name but communication platforms used by
stakeholders to reach their customer which conveys the attributes of the product/service,
company values and the mission statements Davies and Chun (2002). On the other hand, it could
mean luxury to some people and could rather discourage them from visiting such destination.
The choice of a destination according to Kotler and Gartner (2000) begins with the collection of
information before visiting the place and the ability to make sense of the quantity of information
collected on the destination. As part of the information tourists would seek to determine the
choice of destination is the available accommodation facility before thinking of the type of
accommodation. It is also note worthy that, co-branding destination and hotel might not be
feasible because, in every destination, there are diverse hotel/accommodation operators, and cobranding with a branded hotel, would mean that the other operators do not matter, and this will
not be healthy for the destination. It is important to know the view of the consumers to be sure it
really matter to them. Although there are people who are loyal to brands of hotels, but it might
not actually be an influence on the choice of the destination to visit as there are other key
important features that matters and constitutes the experience a tourist might be seeking in a
destination.
Research Methods
Research methods according to Walliman (2010) are the techniques a researcher or researchers
uses in carrying out a research. The research method used for this dissertation is the mixedmethod research where the data was collected using a quantitative technique- questionnaire,
designed to collect both quantitative and qualitative data, and was analyzed using both
quantitative and qualitative method of analysis (Saunders et al, 2007) adopting the mixed method
approach. According to Walliman (2010), mixed method is the process of the collection of both
qualitative and quantitative data. It can also be seen as the combination of both numeric and
narrative data in a research (Aaron 2011). In support of the choice of this method, Walliman
(2010) further explains that the choice of a research method should be based on the type of
research.
The research first seeks to know if the brand of hotel does have effect on the destination brand to
create an image for the destination. To achieve the aim, the researcher reviewed literature to
identify the information that is available on the topic. A survey research method was used to
collect empirical data through the use of questionnaire (Online). An online questionnaire was
designed to access a variety of people through social media such as Facebook, LinkedIn and
Twitter. This methodology was adopted to be able to answer the research questions set such as:
Does the brand of hotel determine the choice of destination to visit on the part of the tourists? If
not, what influences their choice most? Based on the concept of brand loyalty, are the people
loyal to the brand of
destination or the brand of hotel? How important is the hotel business to
the promotion and development of the destination brand? What is the literature saying on the
topic and what argument is in the literature? An online questionnaire was designed to include
both closed-ended and open-ended questions to obtain the necessary data for the research. The
online questionnaire linked was emailed to the researcher’s contact, posted on the researcher’s
social media pages- LinkedIn, Facebook and twitter. A total of 95 responses was gotten and the
analyzed.
The data collected were analyzed both quantitatively and qualitatively because the questionnaire
was used to collect both quantitative and qualitative data using closed-ended and open-ended
questions. Statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) was used to quantitatively analyze the
data while content analysis method was used in analyzing the qualitative data. Both descriptive
and inferential analysis was used in the presentation of result of findings. For the inferential
analysis, correlation co-efficient analysis- Pearson Product-Moment Correlation was used. This
method of analysis was used for the purpose of knowing if there is a relationship between
destination brand and the brand of hotel.
Discussion of Findings
Figure 1, below shows the response to the question asked to determine if the ranking of the hotel
brand information which influences their choice of destination. 68% of the respondents indicated
that it doesn’t influence their choice while 32% of them indicated it does influence their choice.
32%
No
68%
Figure 1:
Source:
yes
Hotel brand information ranking and choice of accommodation
Field Survey, 2015
The 32% of the respondents that indicated that the ranking of the hotel brand information
influences their choice of destination further supported their assertion with the following
attributes, which the claimed they derive from standard accommodation facilities;

Value for money

Safe and pleasant accommodation contributes to enjoyable holiday

Accommodation influences comfortability at the destination

Good quality branded hotel is an indication of safety and trust

Hotel choice is part of the whole travel experience.
From the bar chart, it is seen that the destination in terms of attraction is of more importance to
the people than the accommodation. This is agreed upon by 58 of the 95 respondents which
justifies the importance of attractions at the destination compared with other elements.
Figure 2: Inspiration for choice of destination and Hotel brand loyalty
Source: Field Survey, 2015
As identified in the literature review, marketing of a destination also known as place marketing is
more complex than the marketing of other organizations such as the hotels, transport service
providers (Karavatsis and Ashworth 2005). Therefore, Echtner and Ritchie (2003) indicated that
for the successful promotion of the destination in the targeted markets, the destination must be
differentiated from its competition. As a way of differentiating one destination from its
competition, the availability of branded hotel at the destination was assumed a differentiating
factor (Dioko and So, 2012), but from the findings, the availability of branded hotel does not
influence their choice of destination. Although, to some of the respondents, it indicates the
standard of the destination and it gives them the assurance of value, safety, quality service,
assurance of comfortability which makes it an important part of the whole travel experience.
Therefore, the availability of branded hotels can be seen as an added advantage in the promotion
of the destination which can as well create an image of the destination.
Discussions from the review of literature revealed that, a suggestion of branded hotels in a
destination is often made as a differentiating factor for a destination. consequently the research
and the research questions answered, the findings showed that, although the availability of
branded hotels in a destination could create an image for the destination, but it is not the major
factor influencing the choice of destination to visit. Attraction is a major influencer for the choice
of a destination to visit by the tourists, hence the need for destinations to focus more on
developing the attractions at the destination to create a brand image for the destination. The
finding also indicates that the other components are of great importance, but the different and
unique attractions in a destination differentiate it from the other destinations. Hence it was
concluded that the other components of tourism industry is also very important in branding a
destination. This is not to say that the availability of internationally branded hotels in the
destination will not have effect on the branding of the destination. It will add to the image of the
destination, but not a major determinant.
There were some limitations to the research as regards getting a good number of respondents to
respond to the online questionnaire on time, though they later responded. The researcher
assumed that since the research is taking precedence from the one carried out by Dioko and So
(2012) on the impact of branded hotels on gaming destination in Macao, then this shouldn’t be
limited to a destination to allow for concrete and justifiable conclusion, the essence of an online
questionnaire to reach a carried population, but it gave the researcher a bit of trouble. Hence, for
the purpose of further research in this area, a better understanding on the usage of online
questionnaire will be acquired and maybe other methods can be adopted.
Conclusion and Recommendations
In conclusion, it is believed that this research will be of great importance to further researches
and also for policy makers and destination developers on the branding of the destination for
effectiveness and enhanced patronage. Often times, DMOs could get the idea of branding
destination slightly wrong, therefore it is important to carry out studies in this context, this would
allow for making right decisions on how their destination can be unique amidst other competitive
destinations. Hence, it is recommended that DMOs should relate more with the service providers
to help in promoting tourism destination and also creating a good image for such destination.
Sequel to this therefore, branding a destination is not just about carrying out the research, but it
is to identify what is really important in branding the destination not and forgetting the
complexity of marketing the destination as a brand.
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