Ola Thufvesson
Universitetslektor
Geographies of fear – communicating safety in urban destinations
Författare
Summary, in English
The study focuses on 10 Swedish urban destinations. Sweden is an interesting case in point due to high levels of media coverage, which is characterised by polarised narratives concerning the country as a utopia respectively dystopia (see e.g. Rapacioli, 2018). The research questions we seek to answer concern 1) how perceptions of safety are influenced by the image of Sweden conveyed on online news and social media (Instagram and Twitter) platforms, and 2) the relation between visitors’ overall image of the destinations and their experiences of safety. The research questions are addressed by a mixed methods approach using survey methods and media analysis to capture the role of place image for visitors’ perceptions and experiences of safety.
The findings demonstrate that the mediatisation of the country of Sweden follows narratives of safety respectively unsafety, which influence the way Swedish cities are perceived. Furthermore, findings indicate a correlation between positive city image and high levels of perceived safety among visitors. The paper discusses these findings in relation to social sustainability and proposes communicative strategies to handle and counter fears in urban destinations.
References
Avraham, E. and Ketter, E. (2008), “Will we be safe there? Analysing strategies for altering unsafe place images”, Place Branding and Public Diplomacy, Vol. 4 No. 3, pp. 196-204.
Avraham, E. (2009), “Marketing and managing nation branding during prolonged crisis: The case of Israel”, Place Branding and Public Diplomacy, Vol. 5 No. 3, pp. 202-212.
Coaffee, J., & Rogers, P. (2008), “Reputational risk and resiliency: The branding of security in place-making”, Place Branding and Public Diplomacy, Vol. 4 No. 3, pp. 205-217.
Coaffee, J., & Van Ham, P. (2008), “‘Security branding’: The role of security in marketing the city, region or state”, Place Branding and Public Diplomacy, Vol. 4 No. 3, pp. 191-195.
Couldry, N. and Hepp, A. (2018), “The continuing lure of the mediated centre in times of deep mediatization: Media Events and its enduring legacy”, Media, Culture & Society, Vol. 40 No. 1, pp. 114–117.
Rapacioli, P. (2018), Good Sweden, Bad Sweden: The use and abuse of Swedish values in a post-truth world. Stockholm: Volante.
Avdelning/ar
- Institutionen för strategisk kommunikation
- Institutionen för tjänstevetenskap
Publiceringsår
2019
Språk
Engelska
Dokumenttyp
Konferensbidrag: abstract
Ämne
- Social Sciences Interdisciplinary
Nyckelord
- place branding
- strategic communication
- safety
- social sustainability
- urban destinations
Conference name
The 4th Annual Conference of the International Place Branding Association
Conference date
2019-11-27 - 2019-11-29
Conference place
Volos, Greece
Aktiv
Published
Projekt
- The geography of fear: the tourist destination in the shadow of conceptions of terror