Is the <i>projected</i> landscape also <i>perceived</i>? A proposed research plan on Etna Park's conflicting destination image

Sonia Malvica; Enrico Nicosia; Carmelo Maria Porto; Sonia Malvica; Enrico Nicosia; Carmelo Maria Porto

doi:10.3934/geosci.2023042

AIMS Geosciences

2023, Volume 9, Issue 4: 783-797. doi: 10.3934/geosci.2023042

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Is the projected landscape also perceived? A proposed research plan on Etna Park's conflicting destination image

1.
Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Sassari, Via Roma 151, Sassari, Italy
2.
Department of Cognitive Science, Psychology, Education and Cultural Studies, University of Messina, Via Concezione 6-8, Messina, Italy

Received: 30 July 2023 Revised: 19 November 2023 Accepted: 28 November 2023 Published: 07 December 2023

With the advent of social media, the online Destination Image (DI) is focal for destination development as well as a comprehensive promotion strategy. However, it has been demonstrated that the official projected destination image could not respect the tourist perceived image, generating a case of a "conflict landscape". Such a conflict could be critical for destination promotion, especially in the actual, prominent use of social media in tourist approach and experience. Social media has, in fact, a pivotal impact upon the online user's perception and destination development. Thus, electronic word-of-mouth content strongly influences the will to visit a destination, forcing Destination Management Organizations (DMOs) to update their image often. In the present work, we aim to present an in-progress-research on Etna Park (in Italy), a Regional Nature Park since 1987. More precisely, a web/social media analysis strategy on Etna Park's naturalistic pathways is exposed, highlighting tourists' feedback and perceived image. The results suggested managing any policy differences among actors (e.g., residents, Local Action Groups) engaged in Etna Park's DI, also investigating disagreements in all the viewpoints. The results obtained in this preliminary phase of research will be the basis for planning future research, which is intended to develop a positive relationship between nature-based tourism and Etna Park as a resilient destination, recommending a coherent place storytelling.
- Etna,
- destination photography,
- naturalistic paths,
- user-generated content,
- projected image,
- perceived image
Citation: Sonia Malvica, Enrico Nicosia, Carmelo Maria Porto. Is the projected landscape also perceived? A proposed research plan on Etna Park's conflicting destination image[J]. AIMS Geosciences, 2023, 9(4): 783-797. doi: 10.3934/geosci.2023042

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Abstract

With the advent of social media, the online Destination Image (DI) is focal for destination development as well as a comprehensive promotion strategy. However, it has been demonstrated that the official projected destination image could not respect the tourist perceived image, generating a case of a "conflict landscape". Such a conflict could be critical for destination promotion, especially in the actual, prominent use of social media in tourist approach and experience. Social media has, in fact, a pivotal impact upon the online user's perception and destination development. Thus, electronic word-of-mouth content strongly influences the will to visit a destination, forcing Destination Management Organizations (DMOs) to update their image often. In the present work, we aim to present an in-progress-research on Etna Park (in Italy), a Regional Nature Park since 1987. More precisely, a web/social media analysis strategy on Etna Park's naturalistic pathways is exposed, highlighting tourists' feedback and perceived image. The results suggested managing any policy differences among actors (e.g., residents, Local Action Groups) engaged in Etna Park's DI, also investigating disagreements in all the viewpoints. The results obtained in this preliminary phase of research will be the basis for planning future research, which is intended to develop a positive relationship between nature-based tourism and Etna Park as a resilient destination, recommending a coherent place storytelling.

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