RESPONSIBLE COMMUNICATION OF TOURISM BRAND DURING CRISES: THE CASE OF VILLA LA ANGOSTURA IN THE PUYEHUE VOLCANO ERUPTION

Abstract

The brand image of a tourist destination is a global perception that tourists possess on what they know, believes, and feel about it. The image of a brand is complex, especially for destinations. It is not static and can change depending on the communications during crises and disasters. In contrast, destinations can apply resilience as an adaptive capacity. The study’s methodology uses a qualitative-quantitative triangulation to analyze brand-imagen communications of the destination Villa la Angostura or VLA, Argentina, during the Puyehue volcano eruption in 2011. The research systematizes crisis communications on different media outlets, and brand-image resilience from marketing practitioners. As conclusion, the brand image of the destination VLA managed to recover from the volcanic crisis, seeming stronger today. In the resulting process of resilience, three elements are outlined: the active participation of all destination’s actors; an effective reconstruction of the brand-image; and the necessity of better preparedness measures from tourist destinations, such as crisis management plans that incorporate responsible communication.