Brand, Identity and Reputation: Exploring, Creating New Realities ...

associated with the brand‖ (Aaker, 1997: 347); 2); BPT (brand personality traits) were also indentify to verify to what
extent the traits found in Aaker‘s (1997) brand personality scale correspond to the ones found in the promotional texts,
and 3) DID, given that brand personality can also be interpreted in terms of the matching/mismatching between tourist
self-image and destination image (Enkinci, 2003). DID include the terms by which tourists express their impressions
and representations of a destination.
In addition, the categories of attributes in this study correspond to the categories of the RCBP suggested by Hanskinson
(2004): functional, symbolic and relational. Functional attributes includes not only general attributes related to the
destination: accessibility and transport; bars and restaurants; landscape/scenery; cleanliness; climate; beaches; cuisine;
nightlife; culture; entertainment, events; price; quality of accommodation; reputation; shopping and tourist information;
but also ones specific to golf destinations: golf courses; golf course layout; facilities (trolleys, buggies, clubhouses,
clubs, among others); golf tournaments; golf academies, proximity, tee times, maintenance and environmental policies.
These attributes were found in the literature on golf tourism as being the factors that would influence tourist choice
when choosing a golf destination (Barros, Butler & Correia, 2010; Correia, Barros & Silvestre, 2007; Hudson and
Hudson, 2010; KPMG, 2008; Martins & Correia, 2004, Mendes, 2004; National Golf Foundation, 2003; Petrick, 1999,
Ribeiro, 2006; Turismo de Portugal, 2008). As for symbolic attributes, they include: the character of the local residents;
the profile of typical visitors and the quality of the service provided by service contact personnel. The experiential
category comprises descriptors of: how destinations make visitors feel; the feel of the destination; the character of the
building environment and ones relating to security and safety. This categorization allowed the identification of which
attributes are more salient in the narratives promoting golf destinations and to what extend these adjectives correspond
to brand and human personality scales presented in the literature.
Major Findings
A total of 442 adjectives were found in both files. The Algarve related websites summed up a total of 130 adjectives
while the foreign destinations and golf courses websites accounted for 192 adjectives. The common ones reached the
amount of 120. In order to reduce the list, different degrees of adjectives were excluded as well as adjectives with a
frequency under 5%.
Figure 1 here
The common adjectives found in both files were indentified and correspond to 76, while there were 20 adjectives used
only in the Algarve-related websites and 33 used only in the websites of foreign destination and golf courses around the
world. That made a total of 129 potential destination brand personality traits (see figure 1).
Figure 2 here
Considering the models in the literature, only 9 adjectives correspond to the Big-Five model of human personality
(Goldberg, 1992) while 15 are found in Aaker‘s (1997) brand personality scale. In addition destination image
descriptors amounted to 39, 4 being common with BPT and 3 common with HPT (see figure 2).
Figure 3 here
Figure 3 shows the distribution of the traits and descriptors through the categories of destinations. The Algarve used
only 4 HPT, 10 BPT and 27 DIDs when promoting itself as a golf destination while the other destinations used 7 HPT,
11 BPT and 35 DIDs. In any case the number of adjectives is not relevant.
Figure 4 here
Furthermore, figure 4 illustrates the adjectives that belong to each of the dimensions as well as the common ones.
Figure 5 here
As far as the RCBP are concerned more emphasis was given to the functional attributes golf courses, landscape/scenery,
golf course layout and facilities. The experiential attribute which gathered a wide range of adjectives was the profile of
the typical visitor, and the more emphasized symbolic attribute was the character of the building environment (see
figure 5).
The results show that the majority of adjectives are used worldwide. The Algarve is not promoted with a very specific
set of adjectives. Only 15,5% of the adjectives apply to the Algarve and are not found in any other destination.
Adjectives comprised in the Big-Five Model of Personality (7%) and in the Brand Personality Model (11,6%) are barely
used to promote golf destinations worldwide and particularly the Algarve while DID accounted for (30,2%). These
findings clearly show that golf destinations are dehumanized and that there is no differentiation as far as websites‘
promotional texts are concerned. The terms used to describe the attributes of the Algarve as a golf destination are, in
most cases, the same as used elsewhere. Even the adjectives used in the ‗Algarve only‘ category do not represent any
regional specificity nor refer to local historical, political, religious and cultural characteristics as suggested in the
literature. It appears that golf tourism uses a common approach to communicate globally.
What is original/Value
This is one of the first pieces of research listing adjectives that stakeholders consider appropriate to promote
destinations and relating them to brand personality literature. At this point the appropriateness of human and brand
personality traits to define a scale for destination brand personality is questionable. This research represents a first step
towards reinventing the scale.
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