APPROACHES TO STORYTELLING AND NARRATIVE STRUCTURES IN DESTINATION MARKETING

Abstract

Purpose – Storytelling is a very actual trend in destinations´ promotion. Travel narratives are renowned for the ability to arouse interest in the reader. The stories can be told in a written form, visual form, or in a form of movements (dances, theatre, etc.). Travel narratives can include more detailed information, they evoke emotions and empathy. Empathy has then a positive relation to behavioral intentions. Therefore, storytelling as a concept is more and more adopted by destination marketing organisations (DMOs). The approach and use of the concept can be different. The aim of the paper is to identify the approaches, and structures used by DMOs and to reveal the level of readers´ or tourists´ involvement in the narratives. Methodology – The main purpose of research is reached by conducting an empirical study using the qualitative methods of analysis - content analysis, deconstruction of the stories, analyzing the story structure, and comparison of the identified structures with the theory. Quantitative analysis, descriptive statistics and contingency tables are used to analyse the frequency and combinations of storytelling structures and approaches of the DMOs. Findings – A narrative is the central theme of the communication in 65.12% of analyzed campaigns. The most used structures are Petal and Hero´s Journey. The tourists are the main characters in 55.81% of the analyzed campaigns. They are also involved in the story creation in 46.51%. The most used communication channel is YouTube; this is valid on all levels of destinations. Contribution – Storytelling is an important part of destinations´ marketing, however, the research usually brings insight from a narrow or specific point of view (e.g., analysis of one platform or in a form of a case study). This research brings a comprehensive view of the narrative structures used for destinations based on empirical research from several destinations and a deep analysis of the content.