Liping Cai & William C. Gartner 
Tourism Branding [PDF ebook] 
Communities in Action

Academic studies have predominantly treated destination branding as a marketing phenomenon that happens to involve tourists as customers in a marketplace. "Tourism Branding: Communities in Action", the first volume in a new and exciting book series, considers a traditional marketing subject from multidisciplinary perspectives. Refreshingly this book attempts to free branding research and practice in tourism fields from the shackles of marketing that are dominated by the conventional approach of product, price, place, and promotion. Considering tourism branding as a community affair, this collection is distinguished from other publications by adopting a global and more multidisciplinary approach, and brings the subject of tourism branding outside of the conventional domains of marketing and destination. Special attention is given to the role and expectations of main tourism stakeholders, particularly residents, business, and government in the hosting community. Built on theoretical foundations with both empirical findings and practical cases, this book brings together different perspectives and offers an intellectual and open dialogue among academics and practitioners of the field.