Do visitors gaze and reproduce what destination managers wish to commercialise? Perceived and projected image in the UNESCO World Heritage area 'West Norwegian Fjords'

A study examining the West Norwegian Fjords UNESCO World Heritage Sites found that tourists do not consistently reproduce the commercialized images promoted by destination managers. Contrary to expectations, Instagram users' shared photographs did not align with the projected image intended for marketing purposes. This challenges the notion of a 'hermeneutic circle of representation,' where tourists would mirror the commercialized narrative. The research employed a photography-based analysis comparing official promotional images with user-generated content from Instagram. Findings suggest that social media and user-generated content introduce complexity, reducing the control tourism suppliers have over image projection. This insight is critical for understanding how destination imaging influences tourism dynamics in protected areas.

Mata, I. L., Fossgard, K., & Haukeland, J. V. (2018). Do visitors gaze and reproduce what destination managers wish to commercialise? Perceived and projected image in the UNESCO World Heritage area ‘West Norwegian Fjords’. International Journal of Digital Culture and Electronic Tourism, 2(4), 294. https://doi.org/10.1504/ijdcet.2018.092205