Presentation of a special issue of the "Catalan Journal of Communication & Cultural Studies"

A special issue of the "Catalan Journal of Communication & Cultural Studies" (CJCS) has been presented at the URV. This is a scientific journal created by the Department of Communication of the URV and this particular issue discusses research into tourist destination brands under the title "Tourism & communication: place brands, identities and new trends".

The special issue was presented at the Catalunya Campus on 5 October during the inauguration of the Department’s 2011-12 Master’s Degree in Political, Institutional and Corporate Communication in Crisis and Risk Environments.

The journal was presented by Professor Nigel Morgan (University of Wales Institute, Cardiff), who gave a talk entitled ‘Destination brands: meeting the digital challenge’. He was accompanied by the URV professors Assumpció Huertas and Enric Castelló.

In the tourism sector, 2011 has already become known as the “year of Russian tourism”. 70% of Russian tourists who visit Spain come to Catalonia, and the Costa Daurada has become one their favourite destinations. It is clear that resolving practical issues surrounding visas and flights has a significant impact on the success of the tourism industry, but perhaps it is even more important for a destination to have a good brand, a good international reputation and a name that links the place to perceptions of excellence, quality and culture.

The special issue of the CJCS is entirely given over to the study of tourist brands and image reputation, two factors of primordial importance for achieving success in a globalized market.The issue will consist of ten articles on tourist brands by international specialists from Argentina, Spain, Wales, Hungary and China.

In the preliminary article, the guest editors, Nigel Morgan and Assumpció Huertas, give a general introduction to concepts such as place brand and reputation and assess the state of research into this area, which is often approached from perspectives as diverse and cultural studies, anthropology and marketing.

The issue also features articles dedicated to Catalan brands such as Barcelona and the Costa Brava. In the former, Professor Estela Mariné-Roig (URV) studies the image of the Catalan capital in terms of the souvenirs that are sold there and relates this to aspects of identity and culture. In the second article, the researcher Katia Yago (UAB) studies tourism on the Costa Brava in terms its language mix and linguistic practices.

The impact of new technologies on how tourists use information is dealt with by Professors Manuela López and Maria Sicilia (University of Murcia), whereas Natàlia Lozano (URV) and María Isabel Míguez (University of Vigo) analyze the websites of Spain’s autonomous regions and Galicia, respectively. Professors Marina Zanfardini, Lucía Tamagni and Andrea Gatauscas (Universidad de Comahue) present research into the tourist brand of Argentina’s Patagonia.

The issue also contains more qualitative studies of specific events. For example, Mariana Gómez and Claudia Alejandra Troncoso (University of Buenos Aires) study how the Argentine authorities promote the tourist brand of Buenos Aires and link this to the concept of the “cultural capital of Latin America”, whereas Bertalan Pusztai (University of Szeged) investigates how a festival dedicated to fish soup has become a tourism phenomenon in Baja (Hungary).

The issue starts with a reflection by the Chinese analysts Binqi Feng, Bing Dong, Taolong Xu and Ruofei Feng on how places communicate their image and the role played by the media and public relations in establishing brands.

You can find the publication at www.intellectbooks.co.uk/journals/view-Journal,id=162/