'Other tourists': A critical factor for a geo-brand-building process

already adopted a brand managementperspective. Not only should productsand services develop a system of brandmanagement focused on an identity thathelps develop a coherent execution, butplaces should also develop a similar brandmanagement system. Today a range ofcountries (Greece, Australia, Malaysia,Spain, Wales, Yugoslavia and Croatia),regions (Western Australia, Oregon,Montana, etc) and cities (Glasgow,Manchester, London, New York, etc)have already adopted a placebrand-building philosophy approach (Cai,2002; Guilmore, 2001; Hankinson, 2001;Hall, 2002; Martinovic, 2002; Nickersonand Moisey, 1999; Pritchard and Morgan,1998). The relevance of the placebranding concept is made clear byMorgan and Pritchard (2000: 214), whoargue that ‘the battle for customers in

INTRODUCTIONThe application of brands and brandingmanagement philosophy and research hasrecently been evolving and reachingundreamed-of areas. Today it is arguedthat not only should products andservices develop a system of brandmanagement focused on their identity,which helps develop a coherentexecution, but places should also developa similar brand management system.There is a general agreement amongacademics and practitioners that placescan be branded in much the same wayas consumer goods and services (egAnholt, 2002; Caldwell and Freire, 2004;Cai, 2002; Freire, 2005; Hankinson,2003; Kotler and Gertner, 2002; Morganet al., 2002; Olins, 2002). By scrutinisingthe relevant literature it could beconcluded that several places have

68 Place Branding Vol. 2, 1, 68–83 � Palgrave Macmillan Ltd 1744–070X/06 $30.00

‘Other tourists’: A critical factorfor a geo-brand-building processReceived (in revised form): 2nd November, 2005

Joao R. Freireis researching place branding for his PhD. He also lectures at London Metropolitan University and manages his own brandand company.

Abstract From this exploratory research it is concluded that tourists are relevant andan important factor for a place brand-building process; much of a place’s image is likelyto be created by stereotyping the holidaymaker. In this paper perceived holidaymakersare labelled ‘other tourists’. The ‘other tourist’ factor is used to evaluate differences inplace brands (geo-brands) and to support people’s decisions about tourismconsumption. It is clear that this factor has an ambiguous impact on a geo-brand. Anindividual’s motivations allied with other structural conditions influence the nature of theimpact. Hence in order to interpret its impact it is essential to analyse the ‘othertourists’ factor using a restrictive definition — British tourists, foreign tourists andnational tourists. The impact of each of these subgroups on a geo-brand will bedistinct.

Keywords: Branding places, brands, tourist behaviour, countries, cities, destinations

Joao Ricardo FreireDepartment of Businessand Service SectorManagement,London MetropolitanUniversity,277–281 Holloway Road,London N7 8HN, UK.

e-mail: [email protected]:www.ecoterra.co.uk

paper seeks to give an answer to thisproblem and is the result of a muchbroader investigation. If a place can bemanaged under a branding philosophythen geo-brand managers should bemade aware of the dimensions thatcomprise it.

Although several important dimensionsemerged from this research, only onewill be discussed in the present paper.This dimension, which was consideredone of the most important for geo-brandconstruction, was labelled as ‘othertourists’. Its definition is straightforwardand based on the perception of thegeo-brand’s ‘typical’ consumer.Nevertheless, its dynamics are complexand require a more precise definition.‘Other tourists’ was defined andsubdivided by nationalities. In this paper,although the sample participants were allBritish, the ‘other tourists’ dimension wassub-divided into ‘other British tourists’,‘other foreign tourists’ and ‘other nationaltourists’ (this last segment refers to atourist vacationing in his or her owncountry). These subdivisions wererequired because each subcategory willhave a different impact on a geo-brand.

THE RESEARCHThis research is exploratory in nature andintends to understand, without imposingany kind of reference or preconceptions,which factors consumers use to evaluategeo-brands. In order to find ameaningful answer to the researchproblem a qualitative methodology basedon in-depth interviews was employed.Applying qualitative methods, andspecifically the use of non-structuredin-depth interviews, was thought to bethe most appropriate methodology tosolve this type of problem (deChernatony and Riley, 1999; Goodyear,1990). Among others, elicitationtechniques were used. Questions such as

the tourism industry will be fought notover price but over the hearts and minds— in essence, branding . . . will be thekey to success’. Furthermore, Cai (2002:721) also suggests that:

‘Marketing agencies at all levels, thus, have avested interest in building strong and positiveimages for their destinations. However, theextent to which image building benefits theirtargets can be greater if it takes place in thecontext of branding.’

But can one really talk about brandingplaces? Is it nonsense to talk about placebranding, as Girard (1999) argues? Freire(2005) maintained that indeed it is notonly possible but also desirable to talkabout place brands or geo-brands (brandsapplied to places — countries, regions orcities). His initial argument is based onthe idea that ‘for a consumer a place willalways mean something, thus implyingthat a place name will function as abrand, even if not managed under abranding conceptual framework’ (Freire,2005: 6).

Furthermore, he argues thatconsumers’ place images are usually nomore than stereotypes. Althoughstereotyping is usually seen negatively,because it is alleged to be a crudesimplification of reality, that strategy willalways be present because it is thesimplest process to deal with anunmanageable information flow.Nevertheless, and because stereotypes aredynamic and evolve, it means thatnational or regional tourism officesaround the world can build and developstrategies to manage those perceivedimages in a positive way (Freire, 2005).

But if a place can be managed as abrand it is essential to understand whichdimensions are involved in the brand’sconstruction. It is reasonable to assumethat geo-brands will have some uniquecharacteristics that will be quite differentfrom product or services brands. This

� Palgrave Macmillan Ltd 1744–070X/06 $30.00 Vol. 2, 1, 68–83 Place Branding 69

‘Other tourists’: A critical factor for a geo-brand-building process

The data in the present survey werecollected in several regions to maximisethe diversity of the sample, namely in theAlgarve (Portugal), Costa del Sol (Spain)and London (UK). Within each regionseveral locations were selected asappropriate to conduct the interviews. Inthe Algarve people were interviewed at afour-star resort near Albufeira and at barsin Carvoeiro and Praia da Rocha. Thesampling was done by either previousselection (by the hotel management) or byobservation and selection of availableBritish tourists. In Albufeira and at thefour-star resort it was possible to conductthe interviews with the target sample(mostly part-time residents) thanks to theresort’s efficient management team. Theykindly assisted the researcher by bookinginterviews with the resort’s Britishhomeowners. In the other areas,Carvoeiro and Praia da Rocha, theselection process was based on randomobservation. Any British person seated ina bar would be approached and askedabout his or her availability to beinterviewed. In this case it would be morecorrect to say persons, because allinterviews, except in three situations,were conducted with couples. In-depthinterviews were conducted with 16couples and three individuals, whichmeant that altogether 35 people wereinterviewed in the Algarve. This strategyof interviewing people in differentlocations paid off, since it was possible tocollect data from people with differentages, incomes, lifestyles, life-cycle stagesand motivations. In the Costa del Sol thesample selection was similar to the one inthe Algarve, and people were alsointerviewed in several cities within theregion — Marbella, Torremelinos andFuengirola. By selecting different locationshere it was likewise possible to capture amore diversified sample. As in the Algarvethe selected participants were Britishconsumers seated at bars. In this set of

‘If the Algarve were a car which brandwould it be?’ were asked. Moreover, theinterviewer routinely asked intervieweesto compare different destinations, such asthe Algarve, Costa del Sol, FrenchRiviera, etc. These regions could beperceived as functionally similar.Nevertheless the current research usedthe Algarve (a region in the south ofPortugal) as the main empiricalgeo-brand, and the other geo-brandswere eventually involved for comparisonpurposes. It was also relevant todistinguish Portugal carefully from theAlgarve and, likewise and whererequired, other geo-brands such as Costadel Sol from Spain. Trying todiscriminate regions from countries wasessential because it was expected thatindividuals would use differentdimensions to evaluate each type ofgeo-brand. These expectations werebased on the findings of Caldwell andFreire (2004), who argued that there aredifferences in branding a city, a regionand a country.

This research was focused onconsumers (current or future tourists) asthe principal geo-brand audience, asopposed to, for example, investors.Therefore, the participants involved inthis study were exclusively Britishconsumers. It was critical to identifyconsumers because it was assumed thatgeo-brand construction differs and isdependent on the target audience. Whileinvestors will look for infrastructures,local government, taxes and cost andavailability of labour (Kotler et al., 1993),the tourist might not be so worriedabout these aspects and might be lookingfor other things such as natural beauty,sun, adventure, gaming, events/sports,cultural/history or even a certain level oflifestyle and fashion. Tourists will choosea place that best suits their needs (Gnothet al., 2000; Iso-Ahola, 1982;Krippendorf, 1987; Moutinho, 1987).


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differentiating geo-brands and, moreimportantly, they used it to makedecisions about consumption. Typically,when the participants were asked todescribe a geo-brand image, the ‘othertourist’ dimension emerged as a majorfactor. The procedure of using othertourists to define a geo-brand is similarto the process identified by severalresearchers investigating brands. Forexample, Aaker (1996), in the context ofproduct brands, argued that other usersare a factor that helps to build brandpersonality and identity.

The relevance of this dimensionbecame apparent when the researcherused elicitation techniques to understandthe Algarve’s image. The brand imagewas formed and partly based on theperception of its users. Obviously it wasnot the only factor that emerged, but itwas a very relevant one. When theinterviewer asked participants to definethe Algarve as a car, the intervieweesrepeatedly used the ‘other tourists’ factorto justify their choices instead of usingfunctional aspects such as climate orlandscape.

Interviewer: If the Algarve were a car whichbrand would it be?ST5F: Something like a Rover.ST5M: A Rover, yeah . . .Interviewer: Why?ST5M: Typical middle class, middle age.ST5F: Yeah.(. . .)ST5F: I always thought about elderly peopleover there [in the Algarve]. I think aboutretired people.

Nevertheless, for some interviewees thegeo-brand image was formed byrepresentational and functional attributes.Interestingly, the representationaldimension was usually identified by thefactor ‘other tourists’. Moreover, in somecases the definition of ‘other tourists’might be characterised more precisely

interviews six couples and two individualswere interviewed, making a total of 14people. Once more individuals’ personalcharacteristics varied extensively, fromretired couples to young couples.Likewise, in London the intervieweeswere people from different backgrounds,lifestyles, family life-cycle stages, agegroups, education levels and occupations.Experience of the Algarve was not a setcriterion — it was only during theinterview that the researcher would learnif the interviewee had previously visitedthe Algarve or not. Once again, thesampling technique used was not totallyrandomised: the sample was chosen usingthe researcher’s personal judgment andfollowing a snowball process. Theresearcher wanted a stratified sample, andin order to have such a sampleinterviewees were selected because of thenature of their occupation and age.Overall, nine people were interviewed.

For data management, a code wascreated which was able to show wherethe interview took place and give someindication about individual characteristicssuch as gender and relation with the areaor brand (ie visitors or residents). Thecodes were as follows: A � Algarve,S � Costa del Sol, L � London,P � property owner, T � tourist,F � female, M � male. So if a femaleinterviewee had a house in the Algarveshe would be codified as AP3F (thenumber was used to distinguish differentinterviewees). The interviews took onaverage 30 minutes and weretape-recorded. After recording theinterviews were transcribed for lateranalysis. The data were collectedbetween May and October 2004.

DATA ANALYSISFrom the beginning it became clear thatparticipants were influenced by the ‘othertourist’ dimension in evaluating and



the presence of other British tourists. Inthis case decisions about not consuming acertain geo-brand were made based onthe expectation of the presence of Britishtourists. Once again it is evident that the‘other tourist’ factor has an impact onconsumption decisions.

L3F: I don’t like to go to places where Englishpeople like to go. That’s why I do not like togo to the south of Spain — it’s full of English.

Interestingly, even if consumers doappreciate a place’s functional attributes,such as landscape, it seems that the factor‘other tourists’ is more relevant. In mostcases when analysing consumptionoptions ‘other tourists’ worked as adeterrent. It is clear that on a utility scaleother tourists have a bigger weight thana beautiful landscape.

L7F: . . . even in Tenerife, that I would thinkis too ‘Brit’, full of Britons, it does look lovely[on TV programmes] . . .Interviewer: Would you go to a place ‘full ofBrits’?L7F: No, I would try to go to a place thatwas ‘unfull of Brits’.

Other tourists are also useful todifferentiate geo-brands. Basically thisdimension is used not only to create animage about a place but also as adifferentiation tool, which then will beused to justify consumption. In this casethe ‘other tourists’ variable could andshould be used for geo-brandpositioning. Positioning anddifferentiation decisions should be madetaking into account the factor ‘othertourists’.

AT5MY: The scenery is different [Greece fromthe Algarve], it is more like Cyprus. You cansee different clientele.

Although for these intervieweeslandscape was initially used for

and described as being British tourists.Thus, another interviewee put it thisway:

L4F: Well, I picture it [the Algarve] as beachesand English people.

It seems that the ‘other tourist’ and morespecifically the ‘other British tourist’factor had a specific impact on theconsumer’s experience. Moreover, itseems that the British factor might alsoinvolve British businesses andentrepreneurs. In the following case theparticipant defines the geo-brand basednot only on the presence of other Britishtourists but also on a certain Britishcultural involvement.

AP5F: They [her parents] did use to have asmaller apartment in Spain for a couple ofyears but . . . to me it wasn’t . . . you know thearea, I can’t remember exactly where it was.But it was just too English [fade].Interviewer: In terms of what?AP5F: Just everything. During the day all thebars, everything, nightlife all Brits drinking . . .everything. You really had to go to the sort ofback roads of the town and everything to findanything vaguely Spanish including Spanishpeople [laughing]. So it has been exploited.Okay, it was right on the beach but . . . this ismuch, much better here [in the Algarve].

It is also evident that a geo-brandevaluation, which is strongly affected bythe factor ‘other tourists’, will influencefuture consumption.

L2M: It’s not about the place, it’s about thepeople that go there now. I wouldn’t go there[Costa del Sol] now it’s full of English,Germans, Swedish . . . it is now a place where18 and 30 years old go now.

This aspect is also supported by severalother participants who conditioned theirconsumption based on the presence ofother tourists, and more specifically on


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Interestingly, it seems that for sometourists a higher density of local peoplein a place was not a worrying factor.

Interviewer: So do you think it makes thedifference being in a place full of tourists or ina place full of locals?L5F: Yes. In Estoril there are many morelocals than tourists. We went in the summerbut even . . . I’m sure that there were tourists,but for example in Cascais it was full of locals.I rather prefer that.

An overwhelming presence of othertourists might have a negative impact ona geo-brand; nevertheless the samecannot be concluded in relation to localpeople. But other tourists can besometimes linked to an idea of crowdedand touristic places, which might signallow-quality and cheap holidays.

AP3M: I think Albufeira would be, to someextent, lower end of the market; not that Ihave anything against Albufeira, but it’scrowded and busy.

Nevertheless, for some the presence of‘other foreign tourists’ was positive andan essential attribute for geo-brandconsumption. In these cases the presenceof other tourists was a positivedifferentiator and a geo-brand asset.

Interviewer: Why do you take holidays abroad[in the Costa del Sol] instead of England?ST3M: Because of the sun, differentenvironment, a lot of different people from allover the world.

And more specifically the presence ofother British tourists can be seen ashaving a positive impact on a geo-brand:

ST3M: Well Costa del Sol, you just thinkabout good beaches, good nightlife, goodvariety of restaurants, you have everything thatneeds to be . . . everything that people want.You can feel at home, you never feel

differentiation, subsequently it seems thatits relevance waned, only to be replacedby the factor ‘other tourists’.

AT5MX: Well, it’s more classy [the Algarve]. . . and you have places like Kefaloni andplaces like that [Greek resorts], it’s all aboutteenagers, hotels everywhere, here is morevillas . . . you can see there is more money outhere . . .Interviewer: Do you think that in terms ofnightlife it is similar to the south of Spain andother resorts?AT5MX: No, it’s different.Owner: It’s a different kind of clientele,different type of people, you can tell . . .Interviewer: Is it?AT5MX: Yes, it is hard to explain, I like ithere . . .

In that specific case, and addressing therelevance of other British tourists, it isclear that the specific category of ‘othertourists’ might have a negative impact ona geo-brand. In this case it is quite clearthat the geo-brand’s positioning will bedependent on its users.

Interviewer: Did you think that Portugalwould be similar to Spain, Greece and allthose Mediterranean destinations?AP5F: Portugal is posher. It’s more upmarket.And hopefully the Brits will not ruin it.

AT2F: That’s why we don’t like Spain, to getthe . . . that people . . . English footballers . . .

Density of the ‘other tourists’ factor wasalso relevant for a place’s evaluation anddifferentiation. It seems that the quantityof other tourists might be negativelycorrelated with a geo-brand’s imageevaluation.

Interviewer: Was it [the Costa del Sol] similarto here [the Algarve]?AT7M: I think this is nicer. It’s less . . .although there is obviously the catering fortourism, it’s less densely populated by touristsand it’s less tacky as well, definitely.



other tourists? Does this factor affectperceived quality?

Social activitiesThe presence of other tourists is arelevant aspect and a facilitator for thesocialising process. The relevance ofsocial activities varies, but its importanceis evident for the people who ownproperties in the Costa del Sol or theAlgarve. For these people, who spendlong periods abroad or even choose tolive there, socialising is a significant andessential activity. Furthermore, this is anactivity that even some temporary visitorselected as important when travelling.Hence the ‘other tourists’ dimension isan important aspect in facilitating socialactivities.

AP1F: There’s more social life here than thereis at home, without a doubt. The social life . . .people you meet and even tourists still go onvery well. That’s fine; no, there isn’t anything Ireally miss [from England].

SP2F: But you see in the winter it is veryquiet here. Torremelinos is not like it is now.The Spanish people don’t come here duringthe winter. So it’s very different in the winter,it is full of English pensioners here.Interviewer: Huge party here?SP2F: Yes. Lots of bingo and dancing goes onin winter. All the hotels cater for the Englishpensioners in the winter. It’s very good.

AP4M: It’s OK here, I meet a lot of nicepeople here. I meet people that come for aweek’s holiday now; I help them out with . . .I tell them which restaurants to go to, whereto shop, where the best bars are . . . the list ofrestaurants, places to go. I help all the Britishpeople that come here, if they ask me. I try tosave them some money.

But there is an important condition forthe ‘other tourists’ factor becoming ageo-brand asset: people must share thesame interests and certain characteristics.

homesick here because you have all theEnglish people around when you need, butyou still have the Spanish . . . you’ve goteverything really.

Interviewer: Do you have friends here?SP2F: Yeah, we know quite a lot people here.SP2M: Spanish and English and Germans . . .SP2F: We’ve got the British Legion you see inCosta del Sol. It is a charity of ex-servicemenand they have branches all over the Costa delSol. You know that you’ve always gotsomeone to call for help if you need it. Wehave social club as well. And we love to sitlike this.

From this final statement it looks as ifthe factor ‘other tourists’ might have adual impact on a geo-brand’s image. It isan ambiguous impact which is the resultof consumers’ motivations and the roleother tourists play in the consumptionexperience. Hence the ‘other tourists’factor might be either an asset or aliability to the geo-brand.

In order to understand fully thedynamics of ‘other tourists’, the findingswere analysed in four sections: socialactivities, symbolic meaning, novelty andperceived quality. Although this divisionwas imposed to facilitate understanding,in reality all four areas are connected andare based on an individual’s motivationto travel. The first section is relevant forunderstanding what role other touristshave in the individual’s consumptionexperience. Do they play an active role?This point is related to an individual’smotivation and whether he or she isgoing on holiday for socialising.Secondly, will people use their holidaysas a symbolic statement? It is importantto understand the influence of the factor‘other tourists’ in providing status to ageo-brand. Thirdly, are tourists lookingfor some kind of novelty in a place?What is the impact of other tourists?Finally, what is the link betweenperceived quality and the presence of


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In this sense, and because other touristsare essential to initiate and engage insocial activities, the factor has a positiveimpact on the geo-brand. Logically, othertourists must have a certain profileotherwise they will be a liability. Butthere are also other elementsconditioning the impact of this factor ona geo-brand.

Symbolic meaning: StatusGeo-brands, like any other type ofbrand, are partly consumed because oftheir symbolic meaning. As alreadydemonstrated, the factor ‘other tourists’ isone of the most relevant for building,shaping and influencing a place’s imageand positioning. ‘Other tourists’, whorepresent a set of symbolic values, willbe used to create a geo-brand image. Inthis paper, and from the data collected, itseems that the most relevant aspectwhich defines and translates symbolicmeaning is status. Thus, as related tobranding, the relevance of having clearpositioning becomes apparent.Consumption will be influenced by theperception of how a geo-brand canbecome a vehicle of values’ transmission,and these values are dependent on theidentity of the geo-brand consumers.

People do worry about consuming the‘correct’ geo-brand. It seems that peopleare worried if a place is perceived as‘tacky’.

AT3M: We went to Turkey last year,Marmaris, and it’s just one big street full ofbars and restaurants but it’s nice, it’s not tackyis it?

AT7M: It’s better here, it’s . . . I think perhapsyou can get a better feel for the Portugueseway of life without having to go too farinland. Whereas in Spain it was like a hotBlackpool, you could see that [kind ofenvironment] anywhere, a bit tacky, a bit . . .

ST5F: It’s all about what you can do here andthat can be quite boring if you do not havethe right players.

The presence of other tourists is relevantin creating a certain ambience in a place,which will have a major effect on howpeople experience a geo-brand. In thiscase it was the presence of people withthe same interests in the same locationthat would allow the development of acertain kind of social activity. For some itwas important and positive to have acertain kind of other tourist in order toenjoy the place. As participant L2Margues, the place itself with its functionalcharacteristics is not relevant; what isrelevant is the nature of the othertourists. It will be those tourists who willcondition the consumption experienceand determine satisfaction. Having acertain kind of other tourist wasimportant and positive for many people.

Interviewer: Well, you have friends all overthe place, France, Italy . . . which places doyou prefer going?L2M: I think it depends on what is going on.If there is a set of people there and somethinginteresting is going on, that will dictate theplace where I will go rather than the placeitself.

In this specific case the participant wasinterested in other tourists, which heunderstood to be communities that sharesome kind of artistic interest. Thesecommunities were fundamental for hisholidays’ objectives, ie engaging in somesort of social activity.

L2M: I tend to choose a place that has somekind of culture, some individuality wheresomething is . . . cultural stuff going on thereand that is different. I tend to choose to go toa more artistic music community, somethingcreative. That is a place where people canshare ideas.



which they think they are notcompatible.

SP2F: One thing about the Algarve. I thinkthey are going a little bit high class with thisgolf business. They are catering to the richpeople. Especially in Penina, very interesting.When you get to that area, where the golfcamps are, it is not for the ordinaryworking-class man, is it? Families? They areaiming a little high now. Years ago, say 20years ago, the ordinary working-class manwouldn’t have felt out of place in the Algarve.But I think now you could do so very easily. Ithink their hotels are going higher class, mostof them I think . . .

L5F: I enjoy it, but yes I just enjoy being atthe Estoril coast. It’s not so posh [compared tothe Algarve] . . .

It is evident that there is arepresentational dimension attached togeo-brands, which is partly defined bythe factor ‘other tourists’. Thisrepresentational dimension is related tostatus and has implications for how thegeo-brand image is perceived. Status willbe used to situate and differentiate offersin the marketplace and will influence aplace’s positioning and decisions aboutconsumption.

NoveltyOne of the motivations to travel is basedon the belief that it is possible toexperiment with something new anddifferent from the home environment.People seek novelty when travelling.They look for places that can beconsidered exotic, which can offer adifferent experience from the dailyroutine (Gnoth et al., 2000; Iso-Ahola,1982; Moutinho, 1987). Hence a placewhich is perceived as exotic or offering acertain dimension of novelty isparticularly relevant because it will give asense of ‘true’ holiday, a break with

Geo-brand consumption is often used tolabel and define people. Its consumptioncan give some clues about a visitor’slifestyle, status or interests. Hence othertourists can work as a magnet or adeterrent depending on how individualsperceive themselves. If personal valuesare aligned with the geo-brand(including other tourists), then a positiveimage is expected to emerge andconsumption might happen.

L5F: People who [vacation in the Algarve] . . .have a different lifestyle from me and valuestoo, probably. It’s very silly but judging fromthe people that are going there . . .

AP6M: It [the Algarve] used to have, in the1970s and 1980s, it had a very . . . middle-classappeal; it would appeal to middle-class Englishpeople. They didn’t want to go to Spainbecause that was sort of, you know . . .[negative gesture]

This idea of symbolic meaning wasreinforced by a participant interviewed inTorremelinos. She complained that herson would not visit her because herdaughter-in-law refused to go toTorremelinos. Apparently there was aproblem of status, and she did not wantto go to a place that was synonymouswith budget travelling.

SP2F: Snobbish. This [Torremelinos] is tootouristic for her. Too many budget holidayshere and she won’t come here.

This means that consumers are aware ofa geo-brand’s positioning and do not liketo go to places where people with otherincome levels or different lifestyles mix.People do segment the market, and willavoid consuming geo-brands which areperceived as being used by a differentsegment. The problem of status and itsimplications for a geo-brand is also basedon the fact that, in certain cases, peopledo not feel comfortable in areas with


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will have few tavernas, there will be localfood, local wine, and you can try speaking alittle bit Greek, not very well . . . and probablynice countryside, nice beaches, but not busy, atleast not so many British beer drinkers. So youare experiencing the country and the culture asopposed to going somewhere else likeTorremelinos where it is just a concretehigh-rise sort of tourist sausage factory.

This means that other tourists, andespecially other British tourists, willnegatively affect the consumer’sexperience. This occurs because the placewill not be able to satisfy the noveltydimension. A too-strong presence ofBritish culture and people might welljeopardise the feeling of being abroadand being a traveller.

ST4F: We always tend to go to the English. Ifyou see someone in a bar, working in a bar,they will be English, or they will speakEnglish. You can find anyone there that canspeak English.ST4M: Of course it is weird, it’s not likebeing on holidays, we could be at home!

In this case geo-brand evaluation will bedependent on the degree of Britishpresence. A place that is too touristic,which may have too many British peopleand their culture, might not be lookedupon favourably. From many participants’points of view, there was nothing new orexotic in the Costa del Sol; it was likebeing in Britain but with nicer weather.It is then evident that other tourists, andmore concretely British tourists, have anegative impact on the geo-brand.

ST5F: It’s the weather that attracts. If itweren’t for the weather I would probably notcome here. If his mother didn’t have anapartment here I wouldn’t have thought aboutcoming here. But . . .Interviewer: Why not?ST5F: Because of the tourist sites. It’s a littlebit too touristic gear up, but . . . I like to seedifferent things and history, things like that.

routine and an opportunity to enlargeknowledge. If holidaymakers have theobjective of exploring new realities, thepresence of other tourists mightjeopardise this feeling. Consequentlyother tourists might have a negativeimpact on the geo-brand because thesense of novelty is lost. But once againthe impact of this factor on the holidayexperience is ambiguous, and dependenton how the ‘other tourists’ are defined.Other tourists, and more specificallyBritish tourists, might be seen not onlyas a non-exotic element but also as anextension of the home area andsomething that might be undesirable fora vacation. In this case the factor has anegative impact. But tourists from othercountries might be a variable that adds asense of the exotic and satisfies themotivation for seeking new things.

L7F: I do like . . . it’s a false romance, but Ilike the idea that you are travelling somewherethat is a foreign land. I don’t want to beoffered anything, I don’t want to know that Ican buy marmalade in the shops and a pint ofbeer, it is exactly what I don’t want, and, but. . . I know from Spain that there are a lot of. . . even in the most tourist part of Spain,there’s a lot of good things . . . you usually, ifyou go beyond one strip by the sea, thingschange, it is just one strip of it that is likethat, but you know we tend to avoid [thosekind of touristic places].

For some consumers it was clear thatthere was a negative correlation betweenconsumption satisfaction and the numbersof other tourists in the place. There wasa belief that a reduced number of othertourists was a precondition to experimentwith local culture. The fewer the othertourists, the more a place was perceivedas authentic, which solves one of thetourists’ problems, ie seeking newexperiences.

L8M: So if you go to, say, Kidonia, you go toa small fishing town, it will be fairly quiet, it



also looking for social activities then thefactor ‘other tourists’ might be positive.This factor will be positive if the othertourists are defined as being other foreigntourists and will be negative if they aredefined as being other British tourists.

Interviewer: Why do you take holidays abroadand not take holidays here [in Britain]?L2M: I like to vary, I like to spend time withpeople I do not know from other cultures.

L7F: For us Brits that take holidays away thereis a kind of thing that which is a . . . there isjust a particular thing of British abroad . . . wecondemn that, we don’t want to gosomewhere where we are . . . we don’t want tobe drawn to it really and actually in otherout-of-the-way places that we meet . . . youknow odd couples, some Americans travellingand it has been a great delight, you know . . .it is a pleasure, but, yes I would be wary if Iwas in a place where everyone wore the sameglove . . .

The factor ‘other tourists’ has a dualimpact on the geo-brand and isdependent on tourists’ motivation totravel. Moreover, this ambiguity is also aresult of its own definition. For somepeople who seek novelty and exoticplaces the presence of other tourists willbe seen negatively. They do not wish tohave other tourists around, and localpeople will be the only presencedesirable. But for others who are lookingto satisfy a combination of motivations,such as seeking novelty and exotic placesbut also wanting social interaction, thepresence of other tourists will bepositive. The factor ‘other tourists’ mayin fact be contributing to the geo-brand’snovelty and the exotic dimension. Theonly condition is that these tourists arenot from their own country, in this casemeaning they were not British. Thepresence of other tourists from othercountries will have a positive impact onthe geo-brand image because it will

Get the feeling of the place rather . . . I don’treally want to go to an English bar, do youknow what I mean?ST5M: I went to Barcelona once with a friendand that was great.ST5F: Yeah, I would like to go there.Interviewer: Because here it is full of Englishdoes it annoy you?ST5F: Umm . . . well, yeah, a bit . . . it is justall types of persons. This would be more likea seaside town in England but hot [laughing].

On the other hand, and in the case ofthe Algarve, a stronger presence of locals(in this case Portuguese) as opposed toother British tourists has a positiveimpact on the brand. It seems thathaving a strong presence of local people(who may or may not be nationaltourists) is a dynamo for creating thesensation of being part of the localculture and experimenting with a newcultural environment.

AT7F: It’s nice to have Portuguese.AT7M: Yeah, definitely.AT7F: It’s what we want in the end of theday, having something different from home,that’s the reason to go abroad.

The factor of ‘other tourists’ conditions aconsumer’s experience and might have anegative impact on geo-brands because itreduces the possibility of acquiring andconsuming different and exotic cultures.Nevertheless, it seems that in certaincontexts this dynamic cannot be applied,and in fact other tourists are animportant variable for increasing thesense of novelty. For some people it isOK and desirable to have other touristsin the same place, but only as long asthey fulfil one condition: the touristsmust have a different nationality. Thismechanism and dynamics can beexplained by consumers’ combinedmotivations. If tourists travel becausethey are looking for something new,something exotic, and because they are


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If a place caters only to foreign touristspeople might think they are not havingthe best deal. There is a general idea thatplaces where nationals go will besuperior to places which target foreigners.

ST4M: Because we were with the locals,sitting in among the locals. They didn’t chargeas tourists [in Cyprus].(. . .)Interviewer: What about here, do younormally eat local food?ST4F: We try to check where all the Spanisheat and then we will be going there. I’mcoming from England and I think the Englishrestaurants are expensive, I do, very expensive.So we tend to watch where the Spanish goand then we eat and drink in there.

Interviewer: Do you think that knowing that alot of Brits have houses in the Algarve itwould put you off?L7F: I wouldn’t be worried with the Algarvebecause I think it is big enough to take it. Ithink it is the kind of place that Portugueseprefer to go to. For the Portuguese it’s theirfavourite bit of seaside, with a big historywhich gives kind of more depth to . . .

In this case it looks like the perceptionof having more national tourists thanforeign will be relevant for thegeo-brand image. Having nationaltourists in a place is especially relevantsince they are considered to be a sign ofquality.

Tourists’ negative attributes —DrunkennessThroughout this research several negativeaspects about other tourists wereidentified. Apart from the income levels,interests and lifestyle issues that might beused to segment the market, it seemsthere is a generic negative image aboutthe British tourist abroad which wascondemned by almost every Britishparticipant. It seems that one of the

satisfy consumers’ motivations, which arebased on meeting and socialising withpeople from other cultures.

Perceived qualityThe factor ‘other tourists’ had to besubdivided into different categories, asdiscussed above, because each has adifferent dynamic and impact on thegeo-brand. The most remarkable findingwas the impact of the local tourist on ageo-brand, and from the data gathered itcan be concluded that this impact ismainly positive. The fact that ageo-brand is perceived as beingconsumed by locals contributes to thecreation of a positive image. Themechanism behind this perceptionfollows a logic that is distinct from thosepresented above. The ratio between localand foreign tourists will have an impactin terms of perception of quality andprices. It seems that having a biggerpercentage of nationals vacationing in aplace reassures the visitor that he or sheis having a good deal. The excessivepresence of foreign tourists might have anegative impact on the geo-brand imagebecause it might signal that the place isnot good enough to attract the nationals.If the nationals are not in the majority,this might signal that there will be other,better places to go. Places consumed bynational tourists are perceived as offeringbetter quality and cheaper prices.

L4F: Is the English tourist the majority [in theCosta del Sol and the Algarve in August]?Interviewer: No, I guess the Portuguese andthe Spanish, they would be the majority.L4F: That’s a good sign, having the localpeople going there.

AT7F: It would be a lot nicer going to wherethe Portuguese go, because they obviouslyknow the special places.



L2M: Well if I stay away from the main areas[the Costa del Sol] probably it is not so bad. . . mmmm . . . it’s more family and not somuch drunkenness in the streets. If you getaway from the main resorts I guess you do notget the feeling of being in the West End[London] on a Friday or Saturday evening.

Hence for the majority of theinterviewees the negative stereotype ofthe British tourist was one of anindividual who goes on holiday to getdrunk.

AT7M: I was a little apprehensive of the sortof British-abroad mentality.(. . .)AT7M: I’d got this preconception that it wasBrits abroad and the place would be full ofBritish getting drunk and making noise. But Iwas very surprised, it was nice to be wrong.

Other tourists, and specifically Britishtourists, were perceived as having certaincharacteristics that make them undesirableto be with. British people did not wantto share a geo-brand with other drunkenBritish tourists. But this tourist definitionmight be linked to an aspect identifiedearlier, ie status. Probably holidaymakerswho go on holiday just to drink areperceived as having different interests,lifestyles and status, and for that reasonare undesirable to be with. In this sensea geo-brand that is perceived as a placewhere British people go to drink will be,for many consumers, a place to avoid.

CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONSBased on the present findings it ispossible to understand the ‘other tourists’factor’s dynamics and complexity, whichconsequently allows the adoption ofstrategies that optimise its use. This isonly possible because this factor is partlycontrollable. Organisations in charge ofgeo-brand management have the powerpartly to influence this factor. There are

worst and most important negativeattributes about British tourists is theirdrinking habits. British drunkenness wasmentioned several times, and it is thisattribute that people tried to avoid. Inthis respect the negative stereotype of theBritish abroad was based on the idea thatthey would possibly be drunk and noisy.

L8M: When you say Costa del Sol the firstthing that comes to my mind is high-risehotels and lots of British beer drinking andtourists, and the places I like to go to aremuch quieter and have a little bit moreculture and probably less volume of tourism.

L5F: I know that there are islands, like Ibiza,one part is full of English drunken tourists andthe other part is very beautiful, so of course itis silly for me to say that about the Algarve[the Algarve was being referred to as beingjust a modern touristic place full of Englishtourists].

It seems that the main thing Britishpeople were worried about having todeal with was drunken British touristsabroad. Some of the interviews tookplace during and after the Euro 2004Football Championship games in Portugalwhere there were clashes betweenEnglish supporters and the Portuguesepolice that were widely reported inBritain. It is natural to assume that theseevents may have influenced how Britishpeople perceived some other Britishtourists abroad.

AP1F: As long as they [British tourists] behavethemselves it’s fine. We consider this oursecond real home, but you know with all thetrouble that there was with the football, makesyou ashamed to be British. I don’t even thinkthey were even footballers. They were just aload of hooligans that went to town drinking. . . they get so aggressive with the drink. Idon’t understand why. So impressive . . . whenthey start breaking everything, smashingeverything it is just outrageous. But still . . .they are in the minority.


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through the supply side. Newdevelopments and resorts will influence ageo-brand’s image depending on the sortof people they attract. Therefore, it isquite logical that licences to build newresorts should be coherent with thegeo-brand manager’s pursuit strategy. Inorder to have consistency, it is importantthat all organisations involved with thegeo-brand target the same marketsegments. The present study demonstratesthat tourists might not want to mix withpeople who have different lifestyles orinterests. Therefore, in order to have aunique and strong geo-brand positioningthere should be an effort to coordinatepolicies throughout the region involvingall relevant geo-brands’ stakeholders.

But resorts are not the only businessesthat have an impact on the geo-brand.Other distinct businesses, such as pubs orbars, also have an important impact onthe geo-brand’s image. It is evident thatthe presence of some particular kinds ofbusiness can be damaging for thegeo-brand image. Consequently, thereshould be some reflection and a coherentstrategy about which businesses should beallowed to open. For example, thepresence of too many British pubs ruinsthe appeal and the uniqueness of a place,thus jeopardising its geo-brand. Thereforenot only might the presence of otherBritish tourists have a negative impact (ina certain context), but the excessive

two areas where they have a clearimpact: influence on the supply side andinfluence in the communication of brandcharacteristics.

Geo-brand managers should initiallyclearly identify how they want toposition the geo-brand. Hence perceptualmaps, using the factor ‘other tourists’,which help to visualise the place’spositioning in the marketplace should bedrawn. From there, decisions abouttargeting can be made. The targetsegments have to be coherent with theirsupply structure. It is possible to target acertain segment only if the rightinfrastructures are in place. Finally,managers will need to think about whichwill be the best strategies tocommunicate geo-brand identity. Thesestrategies must always be developedassuming that the impact of each touristsubgroup on a geo-brand is distinct —Figure 1 summarises the impact of eachtype of tourist on the geo-brand.

Supply side: Positioning and resortsIt can be argued that national tourismorganisations, central and localgovernment or any other organisationthat might influence and control a place’sdevelopment in terms of, for example,concession of licences for new resortconstruction, will have an impact on thegeo-brand image. This will be an effect



Figure 1: Impact of other tourists on a geo-brand image

Other tourists

British Other nationalities Geo-brand’s nationals

Positive•Social activities•Safety

Negative•Different status•No novelty• Inferior quality

Positive•Superior quality•Authentic

Negative•None

Positive•Social activities•Novelty

Negative•Less authentic• Inferior quality

Other touristsOther tourists

BritishBritish Other nationalitiesOther nationalities Geo-brand’s nationals

Positive••Safety

Positive••Safety

Negative•Different•No novelty• Inferior quality


Negative•



Negative•Negative•

Positive••Novelty






tourists. The implications of theseperceptions might be rather negative forthe geo-brand. Probably, instead of usingmajor mass-media vehicles, the use ofpublic relations, for example, might bemore efficient.

Moreover, consumers might not be soconcerned about finding othernationalities in the target destination.Thus, it will be wiser to target differentsegments in several international marketsrather than concentrating all resources injust one market. This is in accordancewith the idea that it is better to have agreat diversity of nationalities than tohave a big concentration of just onenational group.

The communication strategy mightalso have an impact on how touristicthe place is perceived to be. A placeperceived as too touristic is associatedwith inferior quality and higher prices,and this perception can be influencedby using mass-market advertising tools.Once again the implications indicatethat mass-market advertising andconcentration of resources in onemarket might not be the bestcommunication strategy. Moreover, thepresence of national tourists has apositive impact on a geo-brand. Therewere no negative impacts related tothe presence of national tourists, andfor that reason it might be a goodidea to work them into the geo-brandconstruction. It will be relevant forforeign tourists to know that thegeo-brand is extensively consumed bynational tourists. The communicationshould emphasise that the geo-brand ismostly consumed by national tourists.

The present research used exclusivelyBritish participants, which poses thefollowing question: if another nationalityhad been used would the results change?It is reasonable to assume that the samemechanisms apply to other nationalities,but further research will need to be

presence of British cultural institutionsalso poses a problem for the geo-brand’sauthenticity and differentiation.Furthermore, these businesses might alsosignal lower quality and higher prices.Consumers might perceive areas that areoverly tourist oriented and which appealto foreign (non-national) tourists ashaving inferior value. Finally, thequantity of bars/pubs and theirpromotion of cheap alcohol andincentives to binge drink should also bemonitored. The biggest criticism aboutBritish tourists was their drinking habits,and this implies that any activities whichencourage excessive alcohol consumptionwill have a negative impact on thegeo-brand. The presence of perceiveddrunk tourists is a characteristic invokedto justify dissatisfaction with a geo-brand,and is used as a relevant cue to decideabout geo-brand consumption.

Positioning and communicationGeo-brand communication strategy is animportant aspect of image creation, andfor that reason the adopted strategyshould take into account several relevantissues about geo-brand identityconstruction. Broadly, there are two mainareas where managers should pay extraattention when developing theircommunication policy: scope of thetarget and communication content.

From the available research, it seemsthat using mass-communication vehiclessuch as TV advertisements might pose aproblem. Using mass media which coversa huge market scope to communicategeo-brand values might convey ameaning of mass consumption. Thisperception will have a negative impactvia two mechanisms: other Britishtourists and perceived quality. Consumersmight perceive a place that is advertisedon British TV, for example, as beingmass consumed and crowded with British


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Finally, it is reasonable to assume thatfor certain segments of the tourist marketthe present sample’s conclusions andsuggestions may not apply. There mightbe a segment of the tourist market thatwants to travel only to places where theweather is favourable and where there isno novelty, where everything is similarto the home environment.Hypothetically, for these touriststravelling would be chiefly an exercise ofescaping from a bad climate and enjoyingthe presence of other British people andculture in a positive sense. Unfortunately,the author could not find a sample withthese characteristics.

AcknowledgmentThe author wishes to thank Dr Doug Frey for hisadvice and suggestions.

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'Other tourists': A critical factor for a geo-brand-building process

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