This document summarizes research on Austria's destination image through the senses. Interviews were conducted with 32 international students to understand their sensory associations with Austria (sight, feeling, smell, sound, taste). Results showed the most common sights associated were mountains and old architecture. Feelings evoked included relaxation and artistic atmosphere. Smells centered around fresh air, landscapes, and foods. Sounds included nature noises and winter sports. Tastes focused on beers and meats. The research provided valuable insights into Austria's multi-sensory destination image that marketers can utilize.

1. Seeing, Feeling, Smelling, Hearing,
and Tasting Austria:
Retrieving Austria’s Destination
Image through the Senses
Andrea Ettinger, MSc (WU) MA
Alpen-Adria-Universität Klagenfurt

2. Structure of the Presentation
Theoretical Background
Destination Image
Previous Studies on Austria‘s Destination Image
RQ & Methodology
Results
Overall Image
Sight
Feeling
Smell
Sound
Taste
Discussion & Implications
Limitations & Suggestions for Further Research

3. Destination Image
“The sum of beliefs, ideas, and impressions that a person
has of a destination“ (Crompton 1979, 18)
“A strategic weapon“ (Pikkemaat 2004, 87)
A set of expectations is created before a consumer
actually experiences a destination
 The stronger the positive brand image, the higher the likelihood
to enter the consideration set and travel decision process
 Leads to reduced search costs and minimised perceived risk
 Against this image satisfaction with a visit to the destination is
measured
First studies conducted in 1970s
 Strong preference for structured methodologies
(Echtner & Ritchie 2003; Hosany et al. 2006; Pikkemaat 2004; Pike 2002)

4. Destination Image
Everybody has an image of a destination
 Whether true or not, or as desired by tourist office  irrelevant!
 Influences consumer behaviour  visit Y/N?
Increased importance in the last years
 Globalisation increased choices for tourism destinations
 Increasingly efficient transportation network
 Rising income level and leisure time
 Internet (Google Maps, booking websites,…)
Tourism Marketing
 To transform organic image into induced, desired images
 To position destinations in such a way that favourably differentiates
them from their competitors
(Schweiger & Wusst, 1988; Schweiger 1992; Plummer 1985; Gunn 1988; Echtner & Ritchie 2003; Wenger 2008)

5. Studies on Austria‘s
Destination Image
WU Vienna – WuM institute‘s decade-long research project
with the focus on Austria‘s country image (focus: economic
image abroad)
 Schweiger and Wusst (1988): country image stability over time
 Kurz (1988): Austria‘s world image, in comparison with Germany and
Switzerland
 Schweiger (1988): consequences of country image on Austria‘s export
economy, tourism, and foreign policy
Embacher & Buttle (1989): image of English opinion leaders of
Austria as summer destination, in comparison with
Switzerland; repertory grid analysis
Pikkemaat (2004): Polish students‘ image of Austria;
questionnaire with 26 attributes on Likert scale

6. Research Questions
What is Austria’s destination image among
international students?
What sensory image associations do they have with
Austria as a tourist destination?

7. Methodology –
Data Collection
Brand Fingerprinting:
Bring to light respondents‘ experiences and relationships with a brand (i.e.
destination)
Capable of uncovering metaphors  unconscious associations
Examines the thoughts and feelings held about a destination through the
senses
Important because imagery is multi-sensory
Not many applications to date! Particularly not in tourism context
 Morgan and Pritchard (2000): Las Vegas
 Prayag (2007): South Africa, Cape Town
Task: talk about associations with the destination Austria ‘one sense at a time‘
When you now think of Austria as a tourist destination, what do you see in
front of your eyes? …what do you feel / smell / hear / taste?
(Supphellen 2000; Morgan & Pritchard 2000; MacInnis & Price 1987)

8. Methodology –
Data Analysis
Qualitative Content Analysis
Construction and application of a system of categories
Data reduction: interviews audio-recorded, transcribed, and coded
by three independent judges for all destination image aspects
Frequency Analysis
Based on the categories derived through qualitative content
analysis
Data display: Word clouds made with ‘Wordle‘
Research conducted in Oslo, Norway with 32 student participants
Including people who had and had not been to Austria
Standardised procedure for the conduct of interviews
(Mayring 2010; Miles & Huberman 1994; Saldana 2009; Supphellen 2000; Herz 2010)

9. Results – Overall Image
292 individual elements extracted
Grouped into 10 broad categories
Geography (63 elements)
Culinary (51)
Atmosphere (31)
Country characteristics (29)
People (27)
Activities (25)
Feelings evoked (23)
Architecture (22)
Culture (18)
History (3)

10. Results - Sight
104 associations
“The mountains and all the old-fashioned people in the
Tyrol“
“Something like old castle, vintage, high class, of the old
age“
Previous visitors: winter sports, specific places &
attractions

11. Results - Sight

12. Results - Feeling
101 associations
“Very laid-back. And very… Not a lot of people, so
relaxing. And enjoy life but not much to do“
“A place that is very artistic“
Previous visitors: 8 out of 10: positive; non-visitors:
only 8 of 22

13. Results - Feeling

14. Results - Smell
45 associations, only categories geography, culinary,
atmosphere
“It’s not really a smell but it’s this fresh and clean air. It’s
not comparable to anything else. It’s clean“
“The wood of the forest, and of the traditional houses“
“And I smell a bit, I don’t want to be offending, […]
smoke”
Previous visitors: sweet dishes; non-visitors: landscape
smells

15. Results - Smell

16. Results - Sound
55 associations
“The crunching of the snow when you walk in it. The
crackling of the fire“
“Maybe the scratching of the skis when you’re
around a root and then people are breaking [the
root] and then it’s just chr-chr-chr“
Non-visitors: more varied sounds

17. Results - Sound

18. Results - Taste
47 associations, only category culinary
“During the winter, for me, it’s spicy, and during the
summer it’s, like, sweet, to compare it to chocolate,
in Vienna”
“I think first of all beer! And then all kinds of meat,
with… I don’t really know the traditional types of
meat but all kinds of meat. Not really vegetables, or
fruits, or fish – no. Just meat and beer”
Previous visitors: named specific Austrian dishes

19. Results - Taste

20. Discussion & Implications
Generally large agreement among this and previous studies in
Austrian context  stable over time, in main dimensions
Wealth of image elements  DI really a “strategic weapon“
 Less obvious image elements should receive attention (cosiness,
comfortable feeling, smells of fresh air, grass, and wood, sound of water)
Sensorial images can be used by tourism marketers in advertising
campaigns  It is the details that differentiate one destination
from another (e.g. Switzerland!)
Negative / Unfavourable associations need attention,
as well as those associations that were not made
 Certain senses did not produce any associations with some respondents
Methodology: Efficient! Very unique affective image elements
found

21. Discussion & Implications
For Content Marketing:
This research found how strongly destination image
relies on sensorial impressions
 challenge for tourism and hospitality managers: to make
use of this information and deliver content to their guests
 Tell stories
 Address the senses
 Make guests emotionally involved = via the senses
Consider the effect that marketing communication will
have on the consumer: it will define his or her image on
all the senses!
Online Marketing: find ways to appeal to the senses

22. Limitations & Suggestions
for Further Research
Qualitative research  findings not generalizable
Only students made up the sample
Only 3 out of 32 participants were native speakers of English
Response bias?
Quantitative validation of the extracted destination image
associations
Similar methodology for competitors – find fine image
distinctions

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24. References 2/2
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