Aspects of sustainability in the destination branding process: a bottom-up approach

The concept of sustainability is based on the premise that the inhabitants of a destination should be involved in the way that destination is managed and promoted. At the same time, the literature of place branding emphasizes the important role of local stakeholders in the creation of a true and reliable place brand. In fact, the process of developing a destination brand begins with the aim of shaping the identity of a destination; what the destination stands for. The sustainable dimensions of the destination branding process are explored, while focus groups and structured questionnaires are used to evaluate the usefulness of projection techniques in the process of building a brand identity. It seems that the use of the personification technique could work as an effective destination positioning exercise and as an alternative proposal to the outdated clichés used in tourism promotion.