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From Mining to Tourism: Assessing the Destination’s Image, as Revealed by Travel-Oriented Social Networks

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  • Sanda Nicola

    (Laplec (UR SPHERES), Department of Geography, University of Liege, 4000 Liege, Belgium)

  • Serge Schmitz

    (Laplec (UR SPHERES), Department of Geography, University of Liege, 4000 Liege, Belgium)

Abstract

Mining communities often rely on tourism as a vehicle for post-mining territorial development. Sometimes, these expectations of the locals are justified by the natural setting and/or the well-preserved industrial heritage; however, these potential tourist destinations are disadvantaged primarily by their image, often associated with decay in the perception of travellers. In this paper, we treat travellers as stakeholders, able to decisively influence the image of a destination by uploading content (photos, reviews and ratings) on Google Maps and TripAdvisor, and we emphasise that user-generated content should be considered when shaping the tourism development strategies. Taking as case studies three former mining regions trying to capitalise on their tourist potential—Jiu Valley and Ștei, in Romania and La Louvière, in Belgium—this article proposes a method for assessing the image of the destination, also aiming to identify those aspects that require improvement.

Suggested Citation

  • Sanda Nicola & Serge Schmitz, 2024. "From Mining to Tourism: Assessing the Destination’s Image, as Revealed by Travel-Oriented Social Networks," Tourism and Hospitality, MDPI, vol. 5(2), pages 1-21, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jtourh:v:5:y:2024:i:2:p:25-415:d:1393369
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Lluís Garay Tamajón & Gemma Cànoves Valiente, 2017. "Barcelona seen through the eyes of TripAdvisor: actors, typologies and components of destination image in social media platforms," Current Issues in Tourism, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 20(1), pages 33-37, January.
    2. Qi Chu & Guang Bao & Jiayu Sun, 2022. "Progress and Prospects of Destination Image Research in the Last Decade," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(17), pages 1-21, August.
    3. Steven Bernstein & Matthew Hoffmann, 2018. "The politics of decarbonization and the catalytic impact of subnational climate experiments," Policy Sciences, Springer;Society of Policy Sciences, vol. 51(2), pages 189-211, June.
    4. Estela Marine-Roig & Salvador Anton Clavé, 2016. "A detailed method for destination image analysis using user-generated content," Information Technology & Tourism, Springer, vol. 15(4), pages 341-364, January.
    5. Emery N. Castle, 1998. "A Conceptual Framework for the Study of Rural Places," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 80(3), pages 621-631.
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