Destination Alps and its communicated brand image

Destination image can be considered as the tourists' and sellers' perceptions of the attributes or attractions available within a destination area and plays a crucial role in the description, promotion, amalgamation and delivery of the destinations' product distribution. A number of recent studies have used the term “image” in relation to a tourist destination. Most studies of destination brand images have been conducted from the perspective of the leisure tourist or from the perspective of the host population. This study identifies the image of the Alps as it is perceived in the minds of the accommodation providers of the region. The authors chose the destination of the European Alps as it is a complex image system and an excellent example for unveiling image values associated with the destination. The paper aims to find out how and by which sources—attributes, factors and associations—the brand image is obtained by accommodation providers of Tyrol, South Tyrol and Trentino and the consequences ...