Matkakohteen imagon luominen valmismatkailussa

Aurinkomatkojen myyntivirkailijoiden ja oppaiden näkemyksiä Playa del Inglésistä

Abstract

Tourist destinations and their images are key factors
in tourism. This article examines how Playa del Inglés
is seen as a destination and how its image is built
in package tours from the tour operator’s point
of view. Tour operator’s travel agents and guides
have been interviewed for this study in order to get
information on both pre- and on-tour-phases of a
trip. This viewpoint has been almost nonexistent in
tourism research. Although tour operators mainly
concentrate on selling trips and not promoting
certain destinations, they still have a significant role
in the decision making of tourists. Image building is
not only done intentionally but it is achieved as a
result of the communication between tour operator
and tourist in their discussions about possible or
present destinations. This article presents different
discourses to demonstrate how destination is being
built through talking about it. The discourses are
placelessness, customization, diversification and
contextualization.