Co-created Tourist Brands
An Analysis of User-Generated Content from Catedral and Las Leñas Ski Resorts
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.24215/27186717e060Keywords:
branding co-creation, e-WOM, ski resorts, sought benefits, user generated contentAbstract
This study analyzes the co-creation of ski resort brands Las Leñas and Catedral Alta Patagonia (Argentina), using electronic word-of-mouth (e-WOM) as a source of information. Brand building is understood as a social process involving multiple actors, including tourism service users. To identify knowledge patterns in unstructured textual documents, text mining was applied to 500 Google Maps reviews, using automated content analysis.
The results show that the most frequent words were "place," "beautiful," and "snow." Three types of benefits were identified: functional, experiential, and symbolic. The main topics included environment, economy, tourism, and leisure. Las Leñas was more associated with environmental and mobility issues, while Catedral was linked more to sports.
This work highlights the value of user-generated content and text mining as tools for tourism market research. It enables the analysis of destination brand images from the perspective of visitors without relying on intrusive techniques.
Managerial implications include capitalizing on each resort’s unique strengths, adjusting pricing strategies, enhancing customer experience, and tailoring segmentation and promotion efforts to meet tourists’ preferences and expectations.
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