‘Other tourists’: A critical factor for a geo-brand-building process

Abstract

From this exploratory research it is concluded that tourists are relevant and an important factor for a place brand-building process; much of a place's image is likely to be created by stereotyping the holidaymaker. In this paper perceived holidaymakers are labelled ‘other tourists’. The ‘other tourist’ factor is used to evaluate differences in place brands (geo-brands) and to support people's decisions about tourism consumption. It is clear that this factor has an ambiguous impact on a geo-brand. An individual's motivations allied with other structural conditions influence the nature of the impact. Hence in order to interpret its impact it is essential to analyse the ‘other tourists’ factor using a restrictive definition — British tourists, foreign tourists and national tourists. The impact of each of these subgroups on a geo-brand will be distinct.