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Classifying residents' roles as online place-ambassadors
Uchinaka, S. Yoganathan, Vignesh Osburg, V-S
Uchinaka, S.
Yoganathan, Vignesh
Osburg, V-S
Publication Date
2018
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© 2018 Elsevier. Reproduced in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. This manuscript version is made available under the CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license.
Peer-Reviewed
Yes
Open Access status
openAccess
Accepted for publication
08/10/2018
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Abstract
Residents are pivotal in the competitiveness of tourism destinations. Yet, their role as place-brand ambassadors needs better understanding, particularly in relation to social media, which directly link visitors to residents through user-generated-content (UGC). This paper explores residents’ roles as place-brand ambassadors on Twitter, using the case of Onomichi (Japan), where decreasing population meets economic dependence on tourism. From a content analysis of residents’ tweets, four distinct roles are identified, and corresponding types of content are mapped on a two-dimensional continuum based on direct vs. indirect word-of-mouth and the level of sentiment. Authors discuss implications for Destination Management Organizations (DMOs). Findings highlight the increasingly shifting role of residents towards being primary sources of place-marketing, especially due to social media, and as active proponents (rather than passive targets) of place-branding in the digital age. Such organic place-marketing may be the key to sustaining tourism in the face of rising anti-tourist sentiments worldwide.
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Accepted manuscript
Citation
Uchinaks S, Yoganathan V and Osburg VS (2018) Classifying residents' roles as online place-ambassadors. Tourism Management. 71: 137-150.
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Article