Challenges in destination branding: a cross-case study of three Italian tourist destinations

This study digs in this lacuna to expose the challenges and problems inherent within the particular Italian context of destination branding. It adopts a qualitative multiple case research approach to theory building, based on a grounded analysis of three festivals in three Italian destinations. Through thorough analyses of stakeholders’ discourses, the study seeks to identify and discuss the principal sets of problems that lie at the level of process, structure and agency, that impact destination managers in their efforts not only to create, enhance and/or preserve the destination brand through the hallmark festivals but also to link it to the concomitant experiences of and within the place. In line with a cultural approach to marketing that gives due recognition to the specificities of the place (Firat, Dholakia & Venkatesh 1995; Moisander & Valtonen, 2006), this study embraces a sociocultural approach to destination (see Saraniemy & Kylanen, 2011) in direct opposition to the more conventional marketing management-oriented approach. This subsequently ensures a deeper sensitivity towards the emotional and symbolic elements that play a pivotal role in the creation and maintenance of destination branding efforts.