Multilayered spatial categories in tourism marketing and branding

This paper explores the role and significance of spatial units in online tourism marketing and branding. The analysis is based on the application of different regional typologies as categorization units in understanding and analyzing quantitative and qualitative properties of tourism websites. The study combines four distinct ways of classifying regions into a spatial framework to systematize the properties of online tourism data. The research questions are addressed through data collection from Finnish municipalities, focusing on online tourism marketing websites. Results indicate that large municipalities, urban areas, and popular tourism regions are more invested in online tourism marketing and branding in comparison to smaller municipalities, rural areas, and less popular tourism regions. Rural municipalities locating close to large urban areas have low scores in the investigated variables, suggesting that they rely on their proximity to urban areas for online tourism marketing and branding. While likely advantageous, the use of distinct marketing tools (logos, slogans, locational highlights, and interest hotspots) is relatively limited in the data. The paper concludes by stressing the need for strategic and comprehensive approaches, collaboration with stakeholders, creativity, and innovative methods in tourism management, particularly for smaller municipalities.