Reconciling tensions and tradeoffs between supply side network actors as Tourism Brand Making: the case of Burren Eco-Tourism Network

By empirically examining the interactions between actors involved in the Burren Ecotoursm Network, we empirically explore how a destination brand is brought into being (Onyas and Ryan, 2015) through the “dynamic processes... [ view full abstract ]

By empirically examining the interactions between actors involved in the Burren Ecotoursm Network, we empirically explore how a destination brand is brought into being (Onyas and Ryan, 2015) through the “dynamic processes and practice that take place between the context-bound interconnected actors” (Saraniemi and Kylanen (2011, 136). Here we consider the destination brand as co-constructed by the many and varied actors operating within the destination. We position our work at the nexus of three academic discussions. One, we consider the supply side of destination brand success, where actions of destination ‘stakeholders’ are recognised as key to the successful delivery of a coherent brand experience to the end consumer. Two, we join those that counter the traditional static view of destinations to consider them as socio-culturally constructed spaces that actively shape their own future (Saraniemi and Kylanen (2011). Three, we consider the brand as outcome of network actors rather than pre-given entities. These actors include suppliers and consumers but also non-human actors such as standards/certification process, training programmes etc. Therefore, rather than take the brand as pre-given we consider the brand as co-created, involving many tradeoffs and tensions between actor mindsets and actions.