THE STRUCTURE OF DESTINATION BRANDS: LEVERAGING VALUES

This theoretical contribution details how a destination's capital is comprised of the values and meanings as expressed in the cultural, social, natural, and economic dimensions of people's lives. Unlike in product brands, these values and meanings form a living and constantly evolving relational system existing among people. On this basis, selection criteria for the functional, experiential, and symbolic dimensions of destination brands are developed. The final model is designed to link the performance of the brand to its capital so that brand development becomes an integral part of sustainable destination management that can be appreciated by tourism operators. The major threat to destination brands is the disregard of the effects of aggregation and time in the commoditization of destination values.