Resident Attitudes, Place Attachment and Destination Branding: A Research Framework

Abstract

Purpose – This paper aims to propose a new line of research that explores the relationship between residents and destination brand building behaviours through the concept of place attachment. Design and methodology – We conducted a literature review on place attachment and brand building behaviour, and focused more specifically on place identity as an accumulation based dimension of place attachment and word-of-mouth as a behavioural outcome. Approach – With the emergence of new technologies, tourism managers no longer have a complete control over the development of destination brand, since various communication tools enable for residents to engage in the destination branding process. This calls for rethinking the role of residents in destination branding and the necessity to explore various place attachment dimensions and their outcomes. Findings – This study proposes a conceptual framework to understand the role of residents in the construction of the image of their place of residence as a tourism destination. Within this framework, we suggested that place satisfaction may affect residents’ internalisation process, contributing to residents’ behavioural output process, resulting in positive word-of-mouth, participation in tourism activities, and demonstration of destination ambassador behaviour. Originality – Despite the wide interest of researchers in human-place relationship, few studies have focused on residents’ place attachment and its outcomes. This framework suggests that it is important to understanding how residents form place attachment; how they perceive their place of residence as a tourism destination, and what they communicate in order to create positive destination image and strong destination brand.