Classifying residents’ roles as online place-ambassadors

Uchinaka, Sanae; Yoganathan, Vignesh; Osburg, Victoria-Sophie

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.

Citation

Uchinaka, S., Yoganathan, V., & Osburg, V. (2019). Classifying residents’ roles as online place-ambassadors. Tourism Management, 71, 137-150. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2018.10.008

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Oct 8, 2018
• Online Publication Date: Oct 15, 2018
• Publication Date: Apr 1, 2019
• Deposit Date: Oct 9, 2018
• Publicly Available Date: Oct 16, 2020
• Print ISSN: 0261-5177
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 71
• Pages: 137-150
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2018.10.008
• Keywords: Residents; Place Marketing; Destination branding; Word-of-mouth; Social media
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/1106809
• Publisher URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0261517718302437