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| A STUDY ON DESTINATION IMAGE PLANNING FOR “GRAY AREA”——Also Tourist Image Planning for Qujing City |
| LI Guo-ping, YE Wen |
| The School of Tourism & Geography, Yunnan Normal University, Kunming 650092, China |
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Abstract Tourist destination image means the evaluation of an area made by the public as real or potential tourists. It is the belief, idea and impression of the tourists on the destination. Different images have different effects on the incentive and decision of the tourists. From the perspective of tourists' perception for destination, the author distinguishes the different tourist destinations and puts forward the concepts of "gray area" and "halo area". According to the author's definition, the former refers to the area of which the tourist image is vague, gray and dull. Up to now, it isn't the ideal tourist destination;the later refers to the ideal tourist destination of which the image is unique and attractive. How ever, the tourist image of "gray area" has not yet attracted enough attention. This paper mainly targets the "gray area" where the condition of tourist resources, market and reception facilities are better, but the effect of tourist image forming and transmission is not satisfactory. In order to improve the tourism development of the destination, the author analyzes the necessity and feasibility of tourist image planning of "gray area". Because tourists are limited, "halo area" is bound to create an effect of shadowing phenomenon" on "gray area". Meanwhile, "gray area" and "halo area" integrate with each other under certain condition. Viewed by the potential tourists, "gray area" is no more a concept of geography than a mark of the ideal tourist destination. The author thinks that the perception of the potential tourist for "gray area" stays in the phase of "organic perception" rather than in the phase of decision perception ". Therefore, it is difficult for tourists to create the motive to travel the "gray area". The integration of tourism product image is discussed as a model of tourist image in this paper. Moreover, the article studies the operational process and skill of the model aiming at its connotation. To be concrete, the integration model of tourism product image means:First, the planer should select some typical and valuable tourist resources after distinguishing the "place identity", then concluding corresponding tourist products image, promoting and integrating the tourist image of the destination in thoughts. At last, in order to express the whole tourist image of the place vividly, a slogan which is easy to be transmitted and can embody the typical place identity should be preferred.
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Received: 25 December 2000
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2002, Vol. 17 
