Paper Title
Non-utilitarian Tourism Destination Positioning using Affective Images and Personality Traits
Start Date
8-1-2011 8:00 AM
End Date
8-1-2011 9:15 AM
Track
1. Track 1 – Formal Paper Presentation
Subject Area
Travel and Tourism
Faculty Member
Hailin Qu h.qu@okstate.edu
Abstract
While utilitarian thinking no longer dominates current marketing academia and practice, the extant destination positioning literature has largely neglected tourists’ non-utilitarian consumption needs. This study addresses this academic lacuna by incorporating the constructs of ‘destination affective image’ and ‘destination brand personality’ into a non-utilitarian destination positioning case of Dalian as a marine city destination in the domestic leisure tourism market. A sequential process was used to develop valid measures of ‘destination affective image’ and ‘destination brand personality’ pertinent to a marine city travel context. Data were collected in Dalian and four close competitors in northern China. The key differentiating points identified from using each of the two constructs were used to formulate a suggested ‘un-utilitarian position’ for Dalian. Data confirmed the efficacy of the non-utilitarian destination positioning approach proposed.
Keywords
destination positioning, destination affective image, destination brand personality, non-utilitarian consumption needs
Non-utilitarian Tourism Destination Positioning using Affective Images and Personality Traits
While utilitarian thinking no longer dominates current marketing academia and practice, the extant destination positioning literature has largely neglected tourists’ non-utilitarian consumption needs. This study addresses this academic lacuna by incorporating the constructs of ‘destination affective image’ and ‘destination brand personality’ into a non-utilitarian destination positioning case of Dalian as a marine city destination in the domestic leisure tourism market. A sequential process was used to develop valid measures of ‘destination affective image’ and ‘destination brand personality’ pertinent to a marine city travel context. Data were collected in Dalian and four close competitors in northern China. The key differentiating points identified from using each of the two constructs were used to formulate a suggested ‘un-utilitarian position’ for Dalian. Data confirmed the efficacy of the non-utilitarian destination positioning approach proposed.