Purpose: The aim of this study is to examine cruise destination branding as a new resource for a region to promote an area as a differentiated cruise destination. The authors specifically study how the perceived brand awareness of a destination moderates the relation between cruisers’ motivation and destination satisfaction and word-of-mouth (WoM). Design/methodology/approach: A statistical model was adapted from relevant literature and applied in the context of cruise destination branding. The model was tested by measuring Cronbach’s alpha coefficients and the fit of the model through confirmative factor analysis. Hierarchical regression analysis and moderated regression analysis were also conducted. The sample consisted of British cruisers (n = 182) visiting the city of Pori in Finland. Findings: The findings suggest that factors that impel people to take cruises (social recognition, self-esteem, discovery, socialization, convenience and value) have a significant impact on satisfaction with the destination, whereas brand awareness is recognized as a moderator in the relation between social recognition and destination satisfaction and WoM. Research findings provide a framework to discuss and analyze the cruise tourism business in a holistic way. Whereas the earlier studies have focused on onboard experiences, in this study, the focus of attention is on the onshore experiences of the cruisers. Research limitations/implications: The study is focused on one Baltic Sea cruise destination, the British Cruise Company and a limited segment of senior British passengers. Practical implications: By measuring cruisers’ internal travel motives and their perceptions of the brand awareness of the port-of-call during the cruise, or the destination, the results offer destination marketing organizations valuable information to develop their offerings to meet the needs of future travelers and visitors. Originality/value: The study contributes to the cruise destination literature by linking the perceived brand awareness of a destination to motivational factors of the tourist and further to destination satisfaction and WoM behavior specifically in the context of onshore experiences.

This study contributes to the stream of research investigating the influence of the creative sector on the development of cities and the importance of place branding to local development. Place branding increasingly influences the competitiveness and attractiveness of cities. We examined ten European cities as creative places and how integrating creative economy strategies, social inclusion, and sustainable practices into city branding contributes to differentiation and competitiveness. The current research contributes to the research area by examining certain cities in the context of the creative economy and investigating how, as creative brands, they can be differentiated from their competitors by utilizing inclusive planning of the image of the place.

The study explores how a cultural route supports the identity of a place. The study applies co-creative and identity-based place-branding theory and advances research on the significant role of culture when various actors identify with the brand of a place. Moreover, cultural sustainability is seen as a form of meta-narrative that frames the symbiosis of a place brand and its cultural values. Contributing to the previous research on branding a cultural route, this study discusses the value of a person (an architect) to the branding of a cultural route. The study also contributes to place-branding theory by linking the discourse on architectural heritage and branding an emerging cultural route. We used a single and critical case approach focusing on one of the sites representing a group of cities involved in the branding of the Alvar Aalto cultural route. Various qualitative research methods including interviews and publicly available material were utilized. The study presents empirical findings on branding an emergent cultural route. As a key theoretical contribution, the study shows how the culture and image of an individual site are expressed in the cohesive brand identity of that cultural route. Communication and co-creation are revealed to be prerequisites of efficient collaboration.

Purpose - Coastal and marine tourism, consolidated by national and local governments' aspirations to improve the vitality of the economy by developing the tourism sector, is considered one of the key contributors to the EU's blue growth. The challenge remains how to do this without compromising the sensitive nature and needs of local communities for environmental, social, economic and cultural sustainability. The aim of this research is to understand how to enhance sustainable coastal and marine tourism from the perspectives of green skills, value co-creation and multi-stakeholder engagement. Methodology - The applied methodology is mixed methods, including qualitative and quantitative approaches. Findings - The findings highlight the need to support stakeholders' capabilities, such as green skills, to be able to cooperate and engage in co-creating sustainable tourism with other stakeholders. Our case studies highlight the need for skills development at different levels to empower stakeholders to change their behaviour, engage in co-creation and acknowledge new technologies that support the transformation to sustainable tourism. Implications - Our study highlights the value of co-creation as a theoretical perspective in studying sustainable tourism, confirms the previous theoretical claim of a holistic, sustainable development view in coastal tourism and provides insights for its management

The present study reports on how creative and cultural micro-entrepreneurs experience belonging to the local creative economy or whether they identify more with the creative place brand. Furthermore, the study focuses on the micro-entrepreneurs' social embeddedness in the entrepreneurial process comprising social structures and entrepreneurial networks. We conducted phenomenological interviews with four entrepreneurs representing the areas of heritage, art, design, and creative services and utilized Wenger's community of practice approach as a lens in the narrative analysis. Theoretically, the study contributes to both place branding and entrepreneurship research. When analyzing how the entrepreneurs perceived their sense of belonging to the creative economy it was obvious that entrepreneurship as such was not the primary feature defining their identity. The micro-entrepreneurs did not associate themselves or their enterprises with the creative place brand. They did not refer to themselves as entrepreneurs but described themselves as artists or art lovers.