Abstract
The rapid growth of tourism supply and demand has contributed to overtourism, resulting in environmental, social, and economic strain on many destinations. Among these, Miami Beach has been notably affected during spring break, prompting actions to address overcrowding, increased crime and violence rates, and pressure on local resources. To counter these challenges, the destination has been rebranded for the 2024 spring break season through a targeted marketing campaign aimed at mitigating overtourism, promoting sustainability, and discouraging disorderly behavior. A key component of this campaign is a video featuring residents breaking up with spring breakers, which has generated significant online discussion and engagement. Destination branding is a co-creation process involving destination marketing organizations, tourism stakeholders, intermediaries, residents, and consumers. Therefore, this work examines user-generated content across social media and online news about spring break in Miami Beach to explore their combined influence on the destination image. Relying on Corpus-Assisted Discourse Studies (CADS), this research investigates how online discourse from these sources shapes public perceptions of the destination and seeks to assess the impact of these perceptions on the effectiveness of the rebranding efforts. Understanding the role of online discourse in destination branding is essential for refining destination brand positioning. By examining the interplay between social media content and news coverage, this work aims to provide valuable insights into how sustainable destination branding can be refined by aligning with evolving public opinion.
Presenters
Walter SpezzanoStudent, PhD Candidate, Department of Economics, Business, and Statistics, University of Palermo, Italy Carolin Lusby
Associate Professor, Chaplin School of Hospitality and Tourism Management, Florida International University, United States
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
Economic, Social, and Cultural Context
KEYWORDS
Sustainable Tourism, Overtourism, Digital Communication, Destination Branding, Corpus-Assisted Discourse Studies
