SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION OF DESTINATION BRAND IMAGE: A CASE STUDY OF INDONESIA AND MALAYSIA

By

Burhan Bungin

Faculty of Social and Political Sciences

Universitas 17 Agustus 1945  Surabaya

arombai@yahoo.com

Abstract

Qualitative investigation was conducted to assess social construction of destination brand image and its effect on tourist arrival. The unit analyses are "Wonderful Indonesia" (WI) with "Visit Indonesia Year 2008" (VIY 2008) and “Malaysia Truly Asia" (MTA) with "Visit Malaysia Year 2007 (VMY 2008)". It aims to examine the social interpretation towards the destination branding construction. The study employed Open Grounded Theory (OGT) by conducting in depth interviews to prominent informants and reviewed secondary data from national government, tourist board, and creators of the brand. The study found (1) the destination brand which constructed based on national philosophy, values, culture and heritage as its products offering’s attraction assists tourist to interpret the destination image projection, (2) social interpretation towards the destination brand is done by tourist through social layers and cognitive levels, (3) a strong destination brand image is a brand that has technical, economical, and symbolist layers which have already passed the externalization, objectivity, and internalization phases, (4) national commitment and consistency is found as element that strengthen the brand image positioning at the market.

Abstract

Qualitative investigation was conducted to assess social construction of destination brand image and its effect on tourist arrival. The unit analyses are "Wonderful Indonesia" (WI) with "Visit Indonesia Year 2008" (VIY 2008) and “Malaysia Truly Asia" (MTA) with "Visit Malaysia Year 2007 (VMY 2008)". It aims to examine the social interpretation towards the destination branding construction. The study employed Open Grounded Theory (OGT) by conducting in depth interviews to prominent informants and reviewed secondary data from national government, tourist board, and creators of the brand. The study found (1) the destination brand which constructed based on national philosophy, values, culture and heritage as its products offering’s attraction assists tourist to interpret the destination image projection, (2) social interpretation towards the destination brand is done by tourist through social layers and cognitive levels, (3) a strong destination brand image is a brand that has technical, economical, and symbolist layers which have already passed the externalization, objectivity, and internalization phases, (4) national commitment and consistency is found as element that strengthen the brand image positioning at the market.

Keywords:Open grounded theory, Destination brand image, social construction, tourism, and marketing mix.