BY Georgina Condell

 what does it mean?  Examining destination imagery that is produced by government bodies such as tourism Ireland to market Ireland abroad to international prospective tourists in order to assess how atmosphere and emotion is perceived by those prospective tourists at which it is aimed.

 Imagery can have a profound effect on a visitor's initial evaluation of a destinaton (Pritchard & Morgan, 2001, Echtner & Ritchie, 2003, Garrod, 2008, Garlick, 2002, Sirgy & Su, 2000) - Researchers such as O'Leary and Deegan (2005), Quinn (1993), and Browne (1994) suggest that Ireland's pictorial destination images of small towns, interesting people, availability of outdoor activities and pleasant climate are contributing to an emotional experience for the visitor - Yet, there has been little investigation into how these images are being perceived by prospective tourists as both emotional and atmospheric.

 Gartner (1996) Components of destination imagery - cognitive - affective - Conative - Gunn (1972) the image formation process - organic - Induced

 Jenkins (1999), Echtner and Ritchie (2003)  The multidimensional factors of destination imagery, structured and unstructured

 Functional Characteristics  Psychological Characteristics  Attributes  Holistic

 Uses Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs to illustrate how prospective tourists may be ‘triggered’ or attracted to certain destination images

 Whilst the research has implied that there is a holistic, more psychological aspect to the interpretation of pictorial destination imagery, the majority of research has focused on the quantitative analysis of attributes rather than the qualitative analysis of individual perceptions

 Chen and Hsu (2000) - effects of a destination’s attributes on a consumers’ perception of destination imagery  quantitative more than qualitative analysis  Very little insight into consumer perception

1. To assess how Ireland's induced pictorial destination imagery is evaluated by prospective tourists 2. To gain a greater understanding as to how foreign prospective tourists recognize atmosphere and emotion in destination imagery 3. To provide an open, uninhibited discussion on atmosphere and emotion in destination imagery through qualitative analysis.

Two qualitative semi-structured focus group interviews aided by 3 differing promotional advertisement videos created by Tourism Ireland and Fáilte Ireland video 1 - Tourism Ireland Galway advertisement ('Go where Ireland takes you' campaign) Video 2 - Tourism Ireland Online promotional video (used to emphasize the 'characters' of Ireland) Video 3 - Fáilte Ireland advertisement ('The fun starts here' campaign')

 Two Groups of international students from Metropolitan University College, London Between the ages of 20 and 30  Between the ages of 20 and 30 From numerous continents around the world (America, Europe, Great Britain, Asia)  20 Tourism Marketing Masters Students and 32 Tourism Marketing undergraduates

1. What video would you find to be the most interesting/appealing? 2. Would you be able to identify a certain atmosphere within these videos? 3. Would you agree that when an individual purchases a holiday, they are essentially purchasing an experience? 4. Would the images of differing colourful sights and scenes within these video clips seduce you in any way? 5. Are the images within these promotional videos giving you a certain sense of Ireland and what it's about? 6. Does looking at these video clips make you feel a certain way? Can you give an example? 7. What messages are you getting from these promotional clips? 8. What do you like/dislike about these promotional clips?

I. Active' versus 'Natural' Ireland II. Sentimental Value and Emotional Association with Imagery III. Ireland Lacks distinction

 The 'natural' Ireland was reflected in the Tourism Ireland video clips  Emotionally sentimental  Feelings of peace, tranquillity and relaxation

 The 'active' Ireland was reflected within the Fáilte Ireland advertisements - a land of 'possibility' and 'fun' Emotionally exciting

 Essentially, the ‘natural’ Ireland portrayed within the Tourism Ireland advertisements (for distribution abroad) was not favoured by all participants as it lacked ‘activity’ and ‘fun’.  The Fáilte Ireland advertisements (for domestic distribution only) where favoured by the majority of those interviewed as they were ‘active’ and light hearted.

 Ultimately, those interviewed have demonstrated their interpretation of both the 'structured' and 'unstructured' elements of Ireland's destination image  They are influenced by associations:  People  Relationships  television programs and films

 Whilst the participants perceived differing forms of emotions and atmospheres within each one of the advertisements, they suggested that Ireland was still no different from any other European destination

 This research has found that atmosphere and emotion is perceived in Ireland’s induced pictorial destination imagery.  that it is through the visual stimulus of colour, nature and activity that individuals perceive Ireland’s pictorial image as being both emotional and atmospheric.  However, the study has also suggested that Ireland lacks that aspect of distinction  Advertisements created by Tourism Ireland failed to appeal to the majority of those interviewed whilst advertisements created by Fáilte Ireland for domestic purposes only, were viewed as being highly effective