The Ambiguous Image of Linz: Linz09 - European Capital of Culture
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Vol. 8(3) Special Issue págs. 67-77. 2010
www.pasosonline.org
The Ambiguous Image of Linz: Linz09 – European Capital of Culture
Elitza Iordanova-Krastevai
Eugenia Wickensii
Ali Bakirii
Buckinghamshire New University (United Kingdom)
Abstract: The importance of destination image is widely recognised for its significant effect on the
behavioural intentions of tourists. As such, efforts to build and/or improve destination images are critical
to the success of destination tourism development. An important prerequisite for the successful long-
term destination image improvement and promotion is the knowledge of tourists’ perceptions of the
attributes of the destination’s image. This exploratory paper seeks to obtain some insight into this par-
ticular knowledge and to provoke discussions by contrasting the projected image of Linz as a tourist
destination promoted by its policy makers with the perceived image held by Linz’s potential tourists in
the context of the European initiative, “Cultural Capital of Europe” 2009. The paper juxtaposes the re-
sults of Linz’s 2008 image monitoring survey conducted by its policy makers with those of an explora-
tory survey conducted for this study. The latter was designed to capture the image components of Linz
held by a convenient sample of domestic and foreign potential tourists to Linz.
Keywords: Destination Image; Linz; European Capital of Culture; Cognitive; Affective.
Resumen: La importancia de la imagen del destino ha sido reconocida debido a su efecto significativo
en las intenciones de comportamiento de los turistas. Como tal, los esfuerzos dirigidos a crear o mejorar
la imagen del destino son críticos para el éxito del desarrollo del destino turístico. Una condición impor-
tante para la mejora eficaz de la imagen y la promoción a largo plazo es el conocimento de las percep-
ciones de los turistas y los atributos de la imagen del destino. Este artículo exploratorio, pretende obtener
perspectivas sobre este punto y provocar discusiones, contrastando la imagen proyectada de Linz como
destino turístico promovida por sus responsables de política turística, y la imagen de Linz percibida por
los turistas potenciales, según el contexto de la iniciativa Europea “Capital Europea de la Cultura” 2009.
Este artículo yuxtapone las conclusiones de una encuesta de control de la imagen de Linz dirigida por
los responsables de política turística, con los resultados obtenidos a través de un estudio exploratorio
llevado a cabo para este estudio. Este ultimo ha sido diseñado para capturar los componentes de la ima-
gen de Linz a través de una muestra de conveniencia de turistas potenciales de Linz, tanto nacionales
como internacionales.
Palabras clave: Imagen de destino; Linz; Capital Europea de la cultura; Cognitiva; Afectiva.
i
Ph.D candidate, Buckinghamshire New University. Email: elitza.iordanova@bucks.ac.uk.
ii
Professors, Buckinghamshire New University. Email: eugenia.wickens@bucks.ac.uk; ali.bakir@bucks.ac.uk.
© PASOS. Revista de Turismo y Patrimonio Cultural. ISSN 1695-712168 The Ambiguous Image of Linz
Introduction personal characteristics, form the received
place images.
The significance of tourist destination Baloglu and Brimberg (1997) have ana-
image has been broadly acknowledged as it lyzed destination image in terms of an in-
correlates with people’s perceptions of a dividual’s mental representation of knowl-
place and can affect the destination selec- edge, beliefs, feelings, and global impres-
tion process (Gartner, 1993), tourists’ be- sions about the destination. The cognitive
haviour in terms of revisit and recommen- component of destination image is related
dation (Echtner & Ritchie, 2003; Bigné, to the tourist destination’s attributes – the
Sánchez & Sánchez, 2001), and the levels of beliefs and knowledge one holds regarding
experienced satisfaction (Hose & Wickens, a destination (White, 2004). The affective
2002; Chon, 1990, 1992). It has also been component expresses the emotions (e.g.
established that destination image influ- pleasure, excitement) that a tourist desti-
ences the earliest stage in the decision nation is able to evoke in individuals (Mar-
making process by encouraging individuals tin & Bosque, 2008; Baloglu & Brinberg,
to form expectations and assumptions 1997) or an individual’s feelings about a
about the destination prior to their actual destination (White, 2004). Baloglu and
experience of it (Fakeye & Crompton, Brinberg also suggest that the sum of both
1991). Baloglu and Mangaloglu (2001) ar- perceptual (cognitive) and affective compo-
gue that destinations mainly compete on nents create a destination’s overall image.
the basis of their perceived image relative Echtner and Ritchie (1993) made a sig-
to those of their competitors. Hence, the nificant contribution to the destination
identification of the image of a destination image literature by proposing a model of
held by its tourists is much more signifi- destination image that consists of attrib-
cant than the promoted image in under- ute-based and holistic components that are
standing the destinations’ attributes. made up of functional (the more tangible
Bramwell and Rawding (1996) discuss aspects of the destination) and psychologi-
the current projected and received place cal (the more intangible aspects) character-
images in the place marketing literature istics. These researchers argue that desti-
(Kotler, Haider & Irving, 1993) by using nation images can be arranged on a contin-
the destination image formation model uum ranging from traits which can be
proposed by Gunn (1972). This model con- commonly used to compare all destinations
sists of ‘organic’, ‘induced’ and ‘modified to those which are shared by very few des-
induced’ images. The organic image is tinations, and could include unique fea-
based primarily on information assimilated tures, events or ‘auras/atmospheres’ (e.g.
from non-touristic, non-commercial sources the aura of the Vatican, the mystique of
and the opinions of family and friends. The Nepal).
altered, induced image is formed through Since it is generally recognized that
accessing additional, more commercial tourists use both cognitive and affective
sources of information; whereas the mod- dimensions in the process of destination
ified induced image is based on first hand image formation (Baloglu & McCleary,
information and destination experience. 1999), marketing campaigns may have to
Bramwell and Rawding (1996) describe stress both the physical attributes of a
projected place images as the ideas and place, and the amalgam of emotions and
impressions of a place that are available for feelings that it is able to evoke in the tour-
people’s consideration. They may be created ist’s mind (Martin & Bosque, 2008). Fur-
deliberately as the result of marketing ef- thermore, recent studies (Pike, 2002;
forts (induced image) or they may emerge White, 2004) suggest that destination im-
without premeditated planning and from age research may also benefit from explor-
information sources not directly associated ing both the cognitive and affective dimen-
with the destination (organic images). They sions. Pike’s (2002) review of 142 destina-
suggest that the interaction between these tion image papers from 1973 to 2000 shows
projected images and the tourist’s own that only six studies took into consideration
needs, motivations, prior know- both the cognitive and the affective image
ledge/experience, preferences, and other components. Similarly, White (2004) finds
PASOS. Revista de Turismo y Patrimonio Cultural, 8(3) Special Issue. 2010 ISSN 1695-7121Iordanova-Krasteva et al. 69
that past studies have concentrated on whereas in an unstructured method, the
items that represented respondents’ per- participants are allowed to more freely
ceptions of the more physical characteris- describe their impressions about a destina-
tics of a destination rather than exploring tion. Both approaches have advantages and
both cognitive and affective dimensions (see shortcomings that have to be considered
for example, Baloglu & Mangaloglu, 2001; when designing a particular research pro-
Baloglu & McCleary 1999; MacKay & Fe- ject. For instance, structured methods are
senmaier, 2000). San Martín and Rodríguez easy to administer, simple to code and the
del Bosque (2008) emphasize that a tourist results can be analysed using sophisticated
destination image should be recognized as statistical techniques (Marks, 1976 cited in
a multi-dimensional phenomenon that in- Echtner & Ritchie, 1993). However, as
cludes not only beliefs or knowledge about structured methods focus their attention on
the place’s attributes, but also the individ- destination image attributes, where re-
ual’s feelings toward the destination. Emo- spondents are asked to evaluate a list of
tions, White (2004) points out, are better previously selected attributes, they fail to
predictors of destination visitation and capture the holistic and unique components
customer purchase intentions than the of a particular destination. This disadvan-
more commonly used cognitive component. tage is neutralized by the unstructured
In addition, San Martín and Rodríguez method, which allows the holistic compo-
del Bosque (2008) urge destination image nents of a destination image to be captured.
researchers to pay attention to the role of Nevertheless, capturing the image’s holistic
cultural values, as individuals’ perceptions components still depends on the partici-
could be filtered by the preconceptions en- pants’ verbal and writing skills, and their
gendered by the culture of their country of willingness to share their opinions and
origin. Cognitive and affective destination knowledge about a particular destination.
image components may also be distorted by It can, therefore, be argued that in order to
socio-cultural stereotypes caused by cul- explore all the components of a destination
tural and physical distance (Baloglu & image, both structured and unstructured
McCleary 1999; Tasci, Gartner & Cavusgil, methods need to be employed (Echtner &
2007). A study conducted by San Martín Ritchie, 2003; Iordanova-Krasteva & Wick-
and Rodríguez del Bosque (2008) partially ens, 2008).
supports the proposition that the shorter
the cultural distance between destination Linz: A Case Study
and tourist, the more favourable the cogni- The European Capital of Culture (ECC)
tive/affective image of the tourist destina- Initiative
tion. Hunt (1975) and Scott, Schewe and
Frederick, (1978) also find that destination The ECC initiative was launched in
image formation is determined partly by 1985 by Melina Mercouri. Its main aim is
geographical distance from the destination; to bring the member states closer together
people are more likely to have visited the through the “expression of a culture which,
places near their homes or gathered infor- in its historical emergence and contempo-
mation about particular destinations rary development, is characterized by hav-
through the mass media or from friends ing both common elements and a richness
and family. born of diversity” (European Commission,
Significant in destination image re- 1985). The ECC has earned itself a reputa-
search is the fact that the number of stud- tion as a platform for sharing the diverse
ies using structured methods (Baloglu & cultural wealth in Europe, attracting
McCleary, 1999) outweighs the number of enormous attention and public interest.
studies utilizing unstructured ones (Reilly, The competition for recognition as a capital
1990; Perdue, 2000; Jutla, 2000). Pike of culture is so intense that it compares to
(2002) reports that the majority of the 142 that of the Olympic Games nomination
papers he examined used structured tech- (Richards, 2000).
niques. In a structured method a variety of The majority of hosting cities use the
general image attributes are specified and ECC to improve the international profile of
integrated into a standardized instrument, the city and its region, attract visitors, en-
PASOS. Revista de Turismo y Patrimonio Cultural, 8(3) Special Issue. 2010 ISSN 1695-712170 The Ambiguous Image of Linz
hance pride and self-confidence, promote Linz09, argues that:
themselves and their countries as cultural “…Linz will be the most interesting city
centres, and occupy a solid place on the in Austria in 2015. That may sound uto-
cultural map of Europe (Palmer/Rae Asso- pian to many, yet it is also imaginable
ciates, 2004). However, Bologna (2000), within the logic of contemporary reality.
Bruges (2002), and Genoa (2004) used the For Linz is already an interesting city
ECC to transform their images; for exam- today. A city with a brisk pace, a city
ple, to move from superficial tourism to- that enables, an unconcernedly solution-
wards contemporary cultural tourism and oriented city, a social model city, a rural
to renew or regenerate their image. city, a wealthy city, a globally open-
minded city. And a city where culture,
Linz’s Bid industry and nature can enter into a
symbiosis like hardly anywhere else…”
Linz is Austria’s third largest city with a This ambitious mission statement is
population of 190,000. The intention to provoked by Linz’s image problems not only
develop Linz from an industrial city to a because of its association with Hitler, being
future-oriented cultural and technological the place where he grew up, but also be-
city was underpinned by a Cultural Devel- cause Linz, despite its diverse cultural life,
opment Plan in 2000. The consequent es- has always stood in the shadow of Vienna
tablishment of technology and new media and Salzburg. The objectives, however,
businesses, open spaces, the ‘Independent required to realise this ambitious vision are
Art Scene’1, “culture for all”, along with the two-fold: firstly, to give international audi-
lively, well developed cultural infrastruc- ences an idea of what Linz is all about and
ture provided an exceptional starting point secondly, to change the clichéd stereotype
for the city’s desire to host the ECC. Three of Linz as a blue-collar town of chimney
big hallmark events are considered as the stacks (Linz Europa Tour 2007 – 2009).
cultural trademarks of Linz and dot its
cultural calendar: the International Street Linz’s Nazi Past
Artist Festival, the Ars Electronica Festi-
val, and the Linz Cloud of Sound (Linz Cul- The panel evaluating Linz’s bid to host
ture, 2009). the ECC Event recommended that a dis-
The nomination of Linz (the capital of play of material relating to the city’s his-
the province Upper Austria) for the title of tory in the context of the Third Reich would
European Capital of Culture (Linz09) was be a real benefit and should be included as
submitted in 2004. The main focus of its part of the programme (The Selection Panel
presentation was on its attempts since for the European Capital of Culture, 2009).
1985 to change itself from an industrial to a Adolf Hitler was born in the outlying vil-
high-tech cultural city. Linz’s representa- lage of Braunau and only grew up in Linz.
tives, thus, presented the Austrian town as Linz is ‘Hitler’s town’ in the same way that
a creative, cultural and dynamic one, hav- Salzburg is Mozart’s. During the Nazi pe-
ing worldwide significance (The Selection riod Linz was transformed from a small
Panel for the European Capital of Culture town into an industrial city with a potential
2009). Linz’s authorities think of the ECC to become a cultural metropolis on the Da-
as a project that: nube as Hitler had planned. After 1945 the
“is endowing its [Linz’s] image with in- main concern of the Linz’s authority was to
teresting new contours ...offers a big distance the city from Nazi culture and
chance – already during the lead-in to Hitler, highlighting traditionally humanist
the big year but especially during the cultural values (Linz Cultural Development
time thereafter … for an ambitious cul- Plan 2000). Traces of the Nazi’s past, how-
tural program and for tourism market- ever, are still part of everyday life in Linz –
ing. Linz09 has the potential to signifi- in the appearance of the so-called ‘Hitler-
cantly increase international awareness bauten’2 and in the materials used for
for this city….” (www.linz09.at). buildings - Mauthausen granite was paid
Developing this line of thought, Martin for with the lives of concentration camp
Heller (2008), the artistic director of prisoners (Mission Statement, 2009).
PASOS. Revista de Turismo y Patrimonio Cultural, 8(3) Special Issue. 2010 ISSN 1695-7121Iordanova-Krasteva et al. 71
Linz’s policy makers have decided to ac- elicit the respondent’s spontaneous associa-
cept the challenge to exploit, rather than tions with Linz, prompted similar re-
ignore, the most disgraceful associations of sponses from the three groups. They all
the town. For many people Adolf Hitler is firstly associated Linz with its tourist
one of the last names that would be ex- sights (most frequently, Poestlingberg, the
pected to be incorporated into a destination main square, the old town); secondly with
promotion campaign. Visitors to Linz can its cultural life (most frequently, the
explore Nazi remnants in the town, for Brucknerhaus /Anton Bruckner/Bruckner
example, by watching footage of survivors Festival, the Ars Electronica Centre, the
being led through a residential area or by Cloud of Sounds, the Lentos Museum, the
visiting a former underground aircraft fac- Pflasterspektakel and even the ECC); and
tory that was part of the Mauthausen thirdly with its shopping facilities.
/Gusen concentration camp complex. Ulrich Another question was designed to find
Fuchs, the deputy manager of Linz09, the attributes of Linz, and was phrased
states with regard to the Hitler issue: thus: “I will read out several attributes and
"..whenever you come to Linz in the your task is to say which attributes fit
coming year, you will find something re- which city - Linz, Innsbruck, Graz or Kla-
lated to this topic. We are not sweeping genfurt. One attribute can be applied to
Hitler under the carpet." one, several or none of the cities.” Respon-
The point of view of Martin Heller, the dents described Linz as an industrial city
artistic director of Linz 2009, is similar to (89 respondents), modern (65), with attrac-
that of Fuchs. He stated that: “…the only tive cultural range (61), friendly city (60),
way of dealing with Hitler is to be com- high-tech oriented city (59), famous for
pletely honest…” digital art in Europe (56), dynamic (56),
The director of the Upper Austrian State and an interesting city (53).
Museums, Peter Assmann, recognized that Being closed in structure, the pre-
an exhibition about Linz’s Hitler past selected sets of answers to these two ques-
might be seen as going too far, because tions predetermined the answers. The re-
Hitler's legacy is still a very difficult and sulting responses, therefore, represent “vox
sensitive topic. However, he elaborates: "I auctoritas” rather than “vox populi” and
don't see any glorification of Hitler in the reveal the image of Linz through the eyes
exhibition. Hitler is fact, so we just face of its authorities. The survey missed the
this fact and we face it with many argu- opportunity to expose a more comprehen-
ments…” (Pierce, 2009). sive and nuanced account of the image of
Linz which might have been held by these
Linz’s Projected Image respondents. Of more concern is the fact
that, even though Linz’s authorities are
The organizers of Linz09 conducted aware that “Linz09 has the potential to
Linz’s image monitoring survey and pre- significantly increase international aware-
sented the results approximately six ness for this city….” (www.linz09.at) and
months before the official start of Linz09. aim to make Linz “….the most interesting
This survey had several objectives: to iden- city in Austria in 2015” (Martin Heller,
tify the position of Linz amongst its direct 2008), international tourists were not in-
competitors – Graz, Innsbruck and Klagen- cluded in this image monitoring survey.
furt; to uncover the image held by the re- Nor did the survey design allow respon-
spondents; and to find out how strongly dents to express their feelings, opinions
Austrians support Linz hosting the ECC. and perceptions of Linz. It is also of note
The sample consisted of three groups – that the predetermined responses did not
500 non-local Austrians, 500 people living allow respondents to express a view about
in the Province of Upper Austria, and 513 Linz’s recent historical past, despite the
citizens of Linz. For the purposes of this recommendation of the ECC evaluation
paper, however, only the responses to those panel and Linz authorities’ response to that
questions related to the image of Linz are recommendation.
considered.
One survey question which sought to
PASOS. Revista de Turismo y Patrimonio Cultural, 8(3) Special Issue. 2010 ISSN 1695-712172 The Ambiguous Image of Linz
Methodology age groups mentioned in the demographic
questions.
As the first stage of a broader study, an The first question focused on the re-
online survey was conducted (January to spondents’ spontaneous associations with
March 09) consisting of three open-ended Linz, in an attempt to capture as many
questions. The main aim of this survey was aspects as possible of the image of Linz as a
to acquire an exploratory knowledge of tourist destination. This question was an-
Linz’s cognitive and affective image compo- swered by the majority (59) of the respon-
nents as held by its potential visitors, and dents. Only two Austrians left the question
gain a better understanding of the multi- unanswered. For 13 international respon-
dimensionality of this image. A link to the dents, however, Linz did not evoke any
online survey was posted on the homepage particular association; neither knowledge
of Linz09 and on several online platforms or beliefs nor feelings or emotions.
for travellers. The outcome of this first The majority of the respondents were
stage of the study is to inform the design of aware that Linz is in Austria and near the
a comprehensive, structured questionnaire River Danube. This may suggest that Linz,
to be administered in the field as part of on the one hand, benefits from its “um-
the second stage of the study conducted in brella mark”, Austria, as being a popular
the summer months of 2009 in Linz in the and favourite destination for many people;
context of the ECC. and, on the other hand, suffers from being
The open ended questions design al- overshadowed by the “big names” in Aus-
lowed respondents to share their feelings, tria - Vienna and Salzburg. For example, a
perceptions and knowledge of Linz; thus Bulgarian respondent wrote: “I associate
acknowledging San Martín and Rodríguez Linz mainly with music and with the New
del Bosque’s (2008) suggestion that desti- Year concert of the Vienna philharmonic
nation image should be analysed as a orchestra”. Other respondents from Swit-
multi-faceted phenomenon that includes zerland and Austria concurred: “... Linz is
not only beliefs or knowledge about the in Austria, usually they have lots of
place’s attributes, but also the individual’s monuments and museums, therefore, I
feelings about the destination This ap- associate it with cultural and historical
proach also eliminates the likelihood of a heritage and of course traditions!”; “I asso-
particular type of research bias that can ciate it with nothing else but with Aus-
arise with predefined sets of answers (Jen- tria...”. This coin has a reverse side, how-
kins, 1999). The online survey was aimed ever, as a German respondent wrote: “Linz
at both repeat and first-time domestic and is small, old-fashioned Austrian town, noth-
international tourists with no geographical ing else”. Linz’s richness of monuments and
limitations, in an attempt to capture some museums, Pöstlingberg (a mountain), cul-
of the multi-faceted aspects of the image of ture, history and traditions also emerged as
Linz. This allows the various socio-cultural spontaneous associations with Linz in re-
stereotypes caused by cultural and physical spondents’ minds. They, however, failed to
distance to be reflected in the responses name any particular museum or monu-
(Baloglu & McCleary 1999; Tasci et al., ment. Traditional cuisine as part of Linz’s
2007) culture found its place in the responses: “I
associate it with delicious chocolate and
Analysis and Discussion Austrian traditions, and probably with
provincial lifestyle...” (a Cypriot respon-
The total number of responses was 88, of dent) and “with its symbol – the Linzer
which 74 were completely filled in and ana- Cake” (a German respondent). Only two
lyzed. The majority of the respondents (55) respondents (Austrians) wrote that the
were international potential tourists of European Capital of Europe 2009 repre-
Linz from, Great Britain, Germany, Swit- sents their association with Linz.
zerland, Portugal, Italy, Cyprus, France, Music also contributed to the spontane-
Poland, Bulgaria and the USA. There were ous associations with Linz: one Bulgarian
as many male as female respondents, and respondent said that Linz is “…a centre of
the age distribution corresponded to all the live music and arts...”, and an Austrian
PASOS. Revista de Turismo y Patrimonio Cultural, 8(3) Special Issue. 2010 ISSN 1695-7121Iordanova-Krasteva et al. 73
respondent associated Linz mainly with being boring, cold, unpleasant, and even, in
Anton Bruckner3 and Dennis Russel Da- the words of a German respondent,
vies4. “…darkness and poverty like in the books
Indications that Linz is still struggling of Dickens...”. The assumption that Linz
to shed its industrial image in favour of a either benefits or suffers from the conse-
high-tech cultural one were found in some quences of its association with the “um-
of the answers: “unfortunately my first brella” of Austria was further evidenced by
association with Linz is with the steel in- some respondents: “...Austrian order, there-
dustry in the town...”. It is also interesting fore unpleasant feelings”, “unpleasant emo-
to note that only Austrian respondents tions, order and discipline”, and “I cannot
mentioned the steel industry. really say...probably Austrian order?”. It is
Two domestic and two international re- interesting to note that respondents who
spondents (from France and Bulgaria) mentioned Hitler as a spontaneous associa-
mentioned Hitler as the first association tion had more positive than negative feel-
with Linz and its dark history - a woman ings about Linz. However, respondents who
from France wrote: “the first word that did not have any other associations with
comes to my mind is Hitler?”, and a man Linz apart from being an Austrian town
from Austria added: “I think, I associate near the Danube, projected negative feel-
this town mainly with Hitler and his ‘view’ ings and emotions such as, boring, dark,
of the world...” and unpleasant.
The next question sought to elicit infor- The third question was designed to elicit
mation about the feelings and emotions some of the attractions of Linz, based on
evoked by Linz as a tourist destination. the respondents’ knowledge about Linz.
There were two main reasons for this ques- Half of the international respondents
tion. Firstly, the authors’ concern that the stated that they did not have any particu-
physical characteristics of a place are lar knowledge about Linz, and some of
evoked and instilled into an individual’s them have never been there; nevertheless,
mind more easily than affective associa- one Austrian wrote: “nothing particular in
tions (Echtner and Ritchie, 1993) and fact”. For others, the ancient origin of Linz,
therefore would probably prevail in the Hitler, and its culture are linked, as one
answers to the first question and distort Austrian wrote: “…originated in the place
the paper’s findings. Secondly, emotions, as of the ancient Rome town Lencia, it should
White (2004) suggests, are better predictors become Hitler’s capital city” and
of tourists’ pre and post-behaviour and also “…Austria, Hitler and rich in cultural
form an indivisible part of marketing cam- events”.
paigns (San Martín & Rodríguez del Twenty one international respondents
Bosque, 2008). mentioned different cultural events in Linz
For 22 of the respondents (9 Austrians (Bruckner festival, Cloud of Sound, Inter-
and 13 international), Linz does not arouse national Street Artist Festival), museums
any feelings or emotions and the answers (Lentos, Ars Electronica Center). Fre-
were neutral at best: “…nothing, even quently used words/phrases included: cul-
though I live in Austria I do not know much tural life, cultural heritage and/or histori-
about Linz”. However, to the majority of cal heritage and traditions. Seven respon-
respondents, Linz brings to mind more dents (only one was Austrian, the rest were
positive than negative feelings or emotions. from Portugal, Germany and Bulgaria)
Linz evokes feelings and emotions in tonal- mentioned Hitler, thus lending support to
ity: “…beautiful, modern and enjoyable”; the assumption that knowledge of Linz’s
“one single word – home, sweet home...”; association with Hitler is not necessarily a
“….love, happiness, party”; “…nostalgia for negative factor in the formation of the
my childhood”; “day-dreaming”; “joy, pleas- overall image of the city. Two respondents
ure”, and even “curiosity” and “wish to visit (one from Switzerland and one from Aus-
it”. tria) mentioned the European Capital of
On the other hand, more negatively ori- Culture 2009; the Austrian respondent
ented answers were given by a few respon- wrote: “Linz is the European Capital of
dents, who sketched a profile of Linz as Culture 2009 and I am sure they will show
PASOS. Revista de Turismo y Patrimonio Cultural, 8(3) Special Issue. 2010 ISSN 1695-712174 The Ambiguous Image of Linz
the beauty of Linz!”. The River Danube also that better understanding of destination
found a place in the answers; one Austrian image can be reached by listening to the
described it as: “...perfect for chilling out in “vox populi” rather than relying on a prede-
the sun at the Danube...”, and “the old Da- fined set of answers that reduce respon-
nube, playing with the sunset”, mentioned dents’ opinions to several ticks. It also
by a Swiss. shows that destination image research
Although the sample was small, the should not underestimate the unstructured
open-ended questions, even online and with method (Echtner & Ritchie, 2003), as it
limited space for answering, offered the allows participants to more freely describe
researchers more than a glimpse of the their impressions about a destination.
unadulterated Linz through the eyes of its It can also be argued that the official
potential tourists. Through these re- image monitoring survey failed to identify
sponses, the authors were able to elicit the strengths and weaknesses of Linz’s
some of Linz’s unique characteristics and image, as the list of attributes used by the
understand aspects of its individuality. officials did not include, for example, sensi-
Following from Echtner and Ritchie’s tive issues such as the Hitler’s “heritage”.
(1993) suggestion that destination image As a consequence, it is difficult to see how
includes unique features, events or Linz’s authorities intend to improve Linz’s
‘auras/atmospheres’; Linz’s personality is image if they choose to remain unaware of
seen to have been formed through a myriad it’s’ weak attributes as perceived by its
of the controversial Hitler’s heritage, the tourists.
steel industry (whose roots can be traced The authorities’ survey also failed to
back to the Nazi’s period); the amazing capture the uniqueness of Linz, its “soul”,
architecture and the well-preserved old mainly because Linz’s officials did not con-
town; the new face of Linz presented by the sider the multi-dimensionality of its image.
Ars Electronica Centre, the Lentos museum The constituents of such image encompass
and Brucknerhaus; the natural and eternal not only beliefs or knowledge about the
beauty of Postingberg, the River Danube, destination but also individuals’ feelings
as well as its ancient origin and cultural towards the destination. The refusal to
and historical heritage. These unique char- consider the multidimensional aspects of
acteristics of Linz appear to have influ- Linz’s image is surprising, as the literature
enced Linz’s affective image components, broadly acknowledges that tourists use
making it for the majority of respondents, a both cognitive and affective image compo-
pleasurable, enjoyable and modern place. nents to form a destination’s image (Ba-
loglu & McCleary, 1999, White, 2004).
Conclusion These gaps in the authorities’ knowledge,
expressed mainly in the lack of understand-
The study, though exploratory, makes ing of the tourists, might militate against
an important contribution to the under- reaping the full benefit of the ECC, particu-
standing of projected and perceived images larly, as the latter is designed to change the
in the context of tourism destination pro- chosen destination’s (Linz) image. It might
motion; Baloglu and Mangaloglu (2001) also lead to inconclusive results of a short-
argue that destinations mainly compete on term nature and misleading conclusions, as
the basis of their perceived image relative marketing campaigns should emphasize
to those of their competitors. What emerged both the physical attributes of a place, and
from this study also suggests that there is a the amalgam of emotions and feelings that
difference between the projected image of it evokes in the tourist’s mind (San Martín
Linz as promoted by the city’s authorities & Rodríguez del Bosque, 2008).
and its perceived image as viewed by the Another critical shortcoming of the offi-
respondents. This tentative finding com- cial image monitoring survey is the fact
plements Bramwell and Rawding (1996) that the officials of Linz did not include
who argue that projected images may be international tourists in their sample and
created deliberately by marketers, while relied on Austrians only. This is of concern,
perceived images reflect tourists’ views of as there is evidence to suggest that the
the destination. The finding also suggests shorter the cultural distance between des-
PASOS. Revista de Turismo y Patrimonio Cultural, 8(3) Special Issue. 2010 ISSN 1695-7121Iordanova-Krasteva et al. 75
tination and tourist, the more favourable search, 23:201–221.
the cognitive/affective image of the tourist Chon, Kaye-Sung
destination will be (San Martín & 1990 “The Role of Destination Image in
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NOTES
1
Independent Art Scene consists of alternative
cultural initiatives (initiatives that are not inte-
grated in public institutions) as well as small, inde-
pendently working artistic teams.
2
Cheap homes that Hitler built for industrial work-
ers
3
Anton Bruckner is a famous composer born in
Linz
4
Dennis Russel Davies is an American conductor
and pianist currently working in the Bruckner-
haus in Linz.
Recibido: 15/09/2009
Reenviado: 20/12/2009
Aceptado: 23/02/2010
Sometido a evaluación por pares anónimos
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