Green marketing and branding is not a widely researched topic in a destination context. Therefore, this dissertation uses Switzerland and the new sustainable tourism campaign in 2017 as a case study to explore the field in terms of credibility and perception. The research is based on a document/website analysis, expert interviews and tourist questionnaires to explore and analyse opinions and views on the topic.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
1.1. Background of the study
1.2. Rationale/Problem Formulation
1.3. Aim and Objectives of the Research
1.4. Theoretical Background
1.4.1 Country background
1.4.2. Switzerland´s destination brand
1.5. Structure of the Dissertation
2. Literature Review
2.1. Introduction
2.2. Environmental concerns/ Environmental issues
2.2.1. Global Scale
2.2.2. Green Tourist
2.2.3. Destination´s perspective
2.3. Marketing
2.3.1. Destination Marketing
2.3.2. Green Marketing
2.4. Branding
2.4.1.Destination Branding
2.4.2. Image
2.4.3. Positioning
2.4.4.Green Branding/ Environmental Reputation
2.5. Advertising - communicating a message
2.5.1.Destination Advertising
2.5.2. Design of destination advertisement
2.5.3. Green advertisement
2.6. Greenwashing and Executional Greenwashing
2.6.1. Green Trust
2.7. Summary
2.8. Conceptual Framework
3. Methodology
3.1.Research philosophy
3.2.Research approach
3.3.Research strategy
3.4.Data collection
3.4.1.Documents and Websites
3.4.2. Semi-Structured Interviews
3.4.3. Questionnaires
3.4.4. Pilot Interview and Questionnaire
3.5. Data Analysis
3.5.1. Document and website analysis
3.5.2. Interview Analysis
3.5.3. Semi-Structured questionnaire analysis
3.6.Ethical issues
3.7.Reliability and Validity
3.8. Research Limitations
3.9.Summary
4. Findings
4.1. Secondary Findings
4.1.1. Governmental and Organizational documents
4.1.2.Web analysis
4.2. Primary Findings
4.2.1.Expert Interviews
4.2.1.1.Green marketing as a strategy for destinations
4.2.1.2. Green branding and the image Switzerland wants to convey
4.2.1.3.How Switzerland raises awareness with advertisement
4.2.1.4. Commitment towards the green message
4.2.2. Questionnaires
4.2.2.1. Demographics of tourist respondents
4.2.2.2.Image of Switzerland in the tourist mind
4.2.2.3. Message of the video
4.2.2.4. Perception of green advertisement and the issue of green trust
4.3. Summary
5. Discussion
5.1. Introduction
5.2.Green marketing and branding as a strategy for destinations
5.3. Perception and credibility of green advertisement in the context of Switzerland
5.4.Summary and revised Conceptual Framework
6. Conclusion
6.1.Introduction
6.2.Overview of the study
6.3. Implications of the findings
6.4. Limitations and further research
Research Objectives and Themes
This dissertation explores the credibility and perception of green branding and marketing within a tourist destination context, utilizing Switzerland and its 2017 sustainable campaign as a case study. The research investigates whether destination marketing efforts represent an authentic commitment to sustainability or if they should be categorized as greenwashing, while also evaluating how tourists perceive these communication efforts.
- Green marketing strategies in tourist destinations
- Credibility of destination brand communication
- Consumer perception of green advertising
- The influence of environmental concerns on destination branding
- The distinction between genuine sustainability and greenwashing
Excerpt from the Book
1.1. Background of the study
As more than one billion tourists travel across the globe (UNWTO, 2015) the issue of environmental concerns is one of the most discussed and important topics today (Holden, 2016).
Switzerland has a remarkable natural scenery and untouched nature. However, the environment like in many other industrialized countries is suffering from intense pollution and resource use due to agriculture, industry, transport and tourism (OECD, 2007). Tourism is highly important in Switzerland, and it has a long tradition (Schweizer Tourismus Verband, 2015). The beginnings are in the ancient times when the country was known for its thermal baths (HLS, 2013). And continued during the 16th century up to the 19th century when the country was most famous for mountaineering and climbing (HLS, 2013). The Alps mountain chain constitutes about 60% of the country. Therefore, the tourism industry was relying heavily on winter tourism (HLS, 2013). Particularly in the 20th century the winter tourism contributed a significant amount to the national economy (Barton, 2008). However, due to climatic changes the snowline is rising, and Switzerland started to increase summer tourism (HLS, 2013).
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: This chapter introduces the research topic, context, and objectives, establishing the gap in the literature regarding the credibility of green branding in destination management.
2. Literature Review: This section provides a critical overview of theoretical concepts concerning environmental issues, green marketing, branding, greenwashing, and green trust within the tourism sector.
3. Methodology: This chapter outlines the research design, detailing the case study approach of Switzerland, the data collection techniques including expert interviews and tourist questionnaires, and the analytical framework used.
4. Findings: This chapter presents the raw data collected from governmental reports, web analysis, expert interviews, and tourist surveys, categorized by their relevance to the research objectives.
5. Discussion: This section synthesizes the empirical findings with existing academic theories to evaluate the credibility and perception of Switzerland's green marketing efforts.
6. Conclusion: The final chapter summarizes the study, offers practical and theoretical implications for DMOs, and suggests areas for future research.
Keywords
Green Marketing, Destination Branding, Sustainability, Switzerland, Greenwashing, Green Trust, Tourism Management, Environmental Concern, Consumer Perception, Brand Image, Eco-tourism, Destination Marketing Organizations, Advertising Effectiveness, Sustainable Tourism, Credibility.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this research?
The research examines the credibility and consumer perception of green branding and marketing within the context of tourist destinations, using Switzerland as a primary case study.
What are the central thematic fields?
The study centers on green marketing strategies, environmental issues in tourism, the concept of greenwashing, consumer trust, and the effectiveness of visual/textual advertising in creating a sustainable brand image.
What is the primary goal of the dissertation?
The goal is to determine if green branding in destinations is an authentic, credible attempt to promote environmental sustainability or merely a superficial marketing trend.
Which scientific methods are employed?
The research uses a mixed-methods, phenomenological approach, involving document and website analysis, semi-structured expert interviews, and semi-structured tourist questionnaires.
What does the main body cover?
It covers the theoretical background of green branding, an analysis of the Swiss tourism market's current sustainability efforts, and empirical data collected from industry experts and international tourists.
Which keywords characterize this work?
Key terms include Green Marketing, Destination Branding, Greenwashing, Green Trust, and Sustainable Tourism.
How does the study define "executional greenwashing"?
The work defines this as the usage of nature-evoking elements (such as mountains, forests, or waterfalls) in advertisements to artificially enhance a brand’s ecological image without actual sustainable processes being in place.
What did the findings reveal regarding tourist perception of Switzerland's green campaign?
While most tourists perceived the campaign positively and recognized Switzerland as a clean, green destination, they criticized the lack of substantive information or evidence of actual sustainable processes in the advertisements.
- Citation du texte
- Julia Weis (Auteur), 2016, Credibility and perception of green branding in destinations. A case study of Switzerland, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/376277
