The role of functional associations in building destination brand personality: When official websites do the talking

Destinations ‘talk’ about themselves via online media to build strong brand personalities. However, previous research points to the influence of other associations linked to the destination in determining the credibility of the aforementioned personality. This research aims to identify the potential of certain types of functional associations ―attractions― in strengthening projected personality through discourse. With this aim in mind, we analyze the content of twelve official European urban destination websites. The results expand on previous research by identifying how different aspects of what a destination has to offer help portray personality traits. There is huge potential to use attractions to better project desired personality traits, which leads to a better fit between the personality and the overall projected image. The findings have significant implications both for brand managers to enable them to optimize their communication, and for future research. The projected personality of destinations should not be studied independently from the functional dimension of brand image.