History and horses: the potential of destination marketing in a rural community : a study from Iceland

• Main Author: Gunnarsdóttir, Guđrún Póra
• Other Authors: Haywood, Michael
• Format: Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: University of Guelph 2005
• Subjects: rural tourism; destination marketing; domestic markets; international markets; image creation; branding; Skagafjörður region; North Iceland; target markets; Iceland
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10214/21801

This thesis is an investigation of rural tourism destination marketing, in both domestic and international markets. It explores the role of image creation in branding a rural locality to its target markets. For this study, tourists were surveyed to evaluate how well the study area of the Skagafjörður region, North Iceland articulated itself to target markets. A Delphi study using tourism experts and practitioners was also conducted to identify the important elements for the development of Skagafjörður as a tourism destination. The results indicate that Skagafjörður is lacking a distinctive destination image, and shows that it is problematic for rural regions to develop a distinctive identity within their target markets. There exists, however, an opportunity to enhance the tourists' experience through local connections. Consequently, rural regions should utilize national and sub-national marketing efforts, while at the same time offering products that emphasize the unique characteristics of the region.