Island branding as a tool for reinforcing local island identities: The case of HVaR

Abstract

The paper sheds light on the relations between the main tourism hotspots and the peripheral areas on the island of Hvar by analysing the process of destination image formation through the past and present promotional activities. It critically analyses identities of island towns and villages in order to provide the basis for the first stage of the four-stage destination branding process. The study reviews the literature on tourism destination branding, branding of islands and adopts diachronic approach, historical method and descriptive analysis. The findings show that the image of the island is focused primarily on the town of Hvar. The island of Hvar has a fragmented destination image that is not based on actual and local island particularities. The authors propose branding as a tool for creating a coherent destination image built upon the island’s uniqueness and consequently reinforce local island identities in order to provide diverse tourism offer.