Original Article

Narratives of a tourism
destination: Local particularities
and their implications for place
marketing and branding
Received (in revised form): 13th March 2010

Maria Lichrou
is a lecturer in the Department of Management and Marketing at the University of Limerick. She has recently completed her
PhD research on Marketing and Consumption of Place. Her research interests focus on the relationships between place
marketing and consumer culture and on the use of narrative methodologies in marketing and consumer research.

Lisa O’Malley
is a PhD and a senior lecturer in Marketing at the University of Limerick, where she teaches Marketing Theory, Relationship
Marketing and Marketing Management. Her research interests include the impact of marketing on society, alternative
marketing paradigms and consumption and identity. Lisa has published in the Journal of Business Research, the European
Journal of Marketing, the Journal of Marketing Management, Marketing Theory and the Journal of Strategic Marketing. She is
on the editorial board of Journal of Marketing Management and Marketing Theory.

Maurice Patterson
lectures on Advertising and Consumption at the University of Limerick. Much of his research is positioned at the intersection
of consumption, embodiment and identity. In particular, he is concerned with how naturalised ideas about gender become
written on the skin, and how consumption is both implicated in this process and may offer a critique of it. His publications
have appeared in Consumption, Markets and Culture, the European Journal of Marketing, the Journal of Marketing
Management, Marketing Theory and a variety of other scholarly outlets. He is on the editorial board of the Journal of Consumer
Behaviour.

ABSTRACT This article presents an investigation into local narratives of place and
their implications for place marketers and policymakers. It first examines the key
challenges involved in marketing places in general and tourism destinations in
particular. Following this, it presents, through a narrative methodology, the views
of local stakeholders of the island of Santorini, Greece, in relation to their experience
of the place’s rapid transformation into a tourism destination. Drawing on the local
narratives of place and their theorising of local particularities, the article discusses
important implications for place marketing, including the political challenges and
the role of place image in successful place branding.
Place Branding and Public Diplomacy (2010) 6, 134–144. doi:10.1057/pb.2010.10

Keywords: stakeholder narratives; place marketing and branding; local particularities

Correspondence:
Maria Lichrou
Department of Management and INTRODUCTION (2004), place marketing efforts of local,
Marketing, Kemmy Business
School, University of Limerick,
Tourism is not the only objective of place regional and national governments involve
Ireland marketing. According to Papadopoulos a variety of objectives such as country

© 2010 Macmillan Publishers Ltd. 1751-8040 Place Branding and Public Diplomacy Vol. 6, 2, 134–144
www.palgrave-journals.com/pb/

positioning in international relations,
enhancement of a place’s exports, protection
of domestic businesses from ‘foreign’
(including other regions in the same country)
competition, attraction or retention of
development factors and generally positioning
the place for advantage domestically and
internationally in economic, political and social
terms. However, tourism is intimately connected
to the place marketing process, because it is
used by local and national governments as a
vehicle for place positioning, development
and regeneration (Hall, 1997). Hence,
tourism is often used as a medium for the
achievement of a number of place marketing
objectives and the marketing of places is
turned into an increasingly ‘professionalised’,
highly organised and specialised industry that
encourages the growth of tourism (Gotham,
2002).
This expansion of marketing from the
corporate to the public domain entails
challenges for marketers. Marketers are
assuming new roles and responsibilities beyond
the domain of goods and services, for which,
according to Ashworth and Voogd (1990b),
marketing was originally developed. As a
result, place marketing requires an engagement
with public policy issues (Anholt, 2008). In
addition, place marketing requires a shift of
moral base (Crane and Desmond, 2002) and
the development of an appropriate ethos in
order to deal with matters of public interest
(Bovaird and Rubienska, 1996). In the case
of tourism destinations, this ethos involves a
consideration of the local element of places
(Hall, 2000).
This article stems from the theoretical
and empirical investigation of place marketing
from a local perspective. Through the use
of a narrative methodology, it looks into
local stakeholders’ narratives of the island
of Santorini. These involve key themes in
the local theorising in relation to present
challenges and future visions. The article
presents the key themes and discusses the
insights that can be drawn for place
branding.
© 2010 Macmillan Publishers Ltd. 1751-8040 Place Branding and Public Diplomacy Vol. 6, 2, 134–144
Narratives of a tourism destination
PLACE AS PRODUCT AND
BRAND: KEY CHALLENGES
Place marketing has been extensively concerned
with the complex nature of places as products
and brands. According to Ashworth and
Voogd, places can be seen as products as they
are ‘logically the point of consumption of the
complex of activities that comprises the tourism
experience and are ultimately what is sold by
place promotion agencies on the tourism
market’ (1990a, p. 7). Murphy et al (2000)
propose a conceptual model of the place-
product according to which the destination is
seen as the experience of (a) the place’s macro
environments and (b) the infrastructure sector
involving the products and services offered.
This combination of sectors, organisations and
individual experiences in the making of the
place-product generate marketing challenges.
First, places involve a high degree of
complexity and fragmentation. They are
complex entities, collections of ‘individuals
and communities’ (Goodwin, 1993, p. 149).
Consequently, the nature of place is
‘characterised by an “open system” of
interdependent, multiple stakeholders, where
the actions of one stakeholder impact on the
rest of the actors in the community’ (Jamal and
Getz, 1995, p. 193). The challenge here is that
place marketing and branding need to bring
together and negotiate the interests of the
various interdependent social actors. As a result,
place marketers have been interested in the
concept of stakeholders (Robson and Robson,
1996). Stakeholders’ wishes, views and interests
need to be considered (Robson and Robson,
1996; Yuksel et al, 1999; Buhalis, 2000) in
order for the policies to be appealing to the
various social actors involved (Burns, 2004)
and to achieve stakeholder collaboration (Jamal
and Getz, 1995; Sautter and Leisen, 1999;
Bramwell and Lane, 2000).
Second, in the case of place marketing, the
marketing concept may not always be the best
orientation. This is owing to a paradox
inherent in tourism marketing: destinations that
attempt to adapt their resources solely for the
satisfaction of the tourists’ needs, and neglecting
135
 Lichrou et al
the needs of the community, may sacrifice
what made them attractive and unique
originally (Haywood, 1990). In this light, place
marketing involves ‘not only an identification
of a market in terms of consumers and
competition, but also careful design of a
product that is consistent with the
environmental setting of the product’ (Ryan,
1991, p. 108). This has resulted in a growing
concern over the destination’s sustainability,
which involves preserving the local culture,
improving the quality of life of the host
community, providing a quality experience for
the visitors and maintaining the quality of the
environment of the destination (Ryan, 2002).
Finally, the product in the case of places is
largely intangible. In a discussion of city
marketing, Kavaratzis notes that ‘the object
of city marketing is not the city itself, but its
image’ (2004, p. 62). Furthermore, Hospers
(2009), drawing on the works of planner Kevin
Lynch and sociologist John Urry, suggests that
for place marketing to be successful, city
marketers need to capitalise on the built and
graphic images of their cities.
Owing to the complex, fragmented and
intangible nature of places, recent developments
within the place marketing literature propose
a shift from place marketing to place branding.
Brands as constructs are characterised by
intangibility and their understanding entails
multiple dimensions – involving the perceptions
of both organisations and consumers (De
Chernatony and Dall Olmo Riley, 1998).
Places are therefore increasingly conceptualised
as brands (Hankinson, 2004; Kavaratzis, 2004,
2005; Kerr, 2006), as the concept of brand
better addresses the complex nature of the
place-product. In the field of city marketing,
Kavaratzis (2004) argues that the shift from city
marketing to city branding suggests a change
of perspective on the whole marketing effort.
This involves achieving not only competitive
advantage, but also ‘community development,
reinforcing local identity and identification of
the citizens with their city and activating all
social forces to avoid social exclusion and
unrest’ (2004, p. 70).
136 © 2010 Macmillan Publishers Ltd. 1751-8040 Place Branding and Public Diplomacy Vol. 6, 2, 134–144
INSIGHTS FROM A NARRATIVE
PERSPECTIVE
Narrative has attracted interest within
management and organisation studies (for
example, Boje, 1995; Czarniawska, 1998, 2004)
and marketing and consumer research (for
example, Stern et al, 1998; Hopkinson and
Hogarth-Scott, 2001; Shankar et al, 2001).
Increasingly, narrative is recognised as a
framework for the understanding of marketing
and consumption processes in general, and
especially in relation to brands. Brand
management has long been thought of as telling
a story that distinguishes companies from their
products and makes them attractive to the
marketplace (for example, Salzer-Mörling and
Strannegård, 2004). Furthermore, brands are
increasingly recognised as cultural stories, similar
to folktales (Twitchell, 2004). The usefulness of
a narrative perspective lies in its understanding
of brand meanings as they are negotiated by a
variety of diverse actors involved with a brand,
including marketers, consumers and other
stakeholders (for example, Patterson and
O’Malley, 2006).
In the case of places, narrative can be used
as a frame for appreciation of the dynamic and
multifaceted nature of places, which provides
additional insights for place marketers (Lichrou
et al, 2008). Meethan argues that the marketing
process assigns the material attributes of space
‘symbolic and aesthetic value’ and these
‘representations or narratives of people and place
assume an exchange value as the objects of
consumption’ (2001, p. 37, emphasis added).
In addition, according to Stokowski (2002),
language plays an important role in the
formation of a sense of place, and thus senses
of place are rooted in narration. Bendix argues
that narration is an important means to create
tourist attractions and notes how tourist
destinations receive visitors ‘through the
narrative morsels it plants itself or that are put
in circulation by others’ (2002, p. 476). Cary
Hom (2004) discusses how tourists’ experiences
can be treated as narratives, as the tourism
consumption is characterised by the creation
and sharing of stories. Meethan (1996) explains
 Narratives of a tourism destination

how the development of heritage attractions in Table 1: Participants’ pseudonyms and profiles
the promotion of post-industrial cities, as Pseudonym Age Occupation
tourism destinations, creates spatial narratives
Mr Kondaratos Early 50s Tourism entrepreneur
by assigning a certain set of values to the Mr Valvis Late 30s Oenologist
townscape. Finally, Santos (2004) analyses Mr Venieris Early 40s Politician, local authorities
Mr Tripolitis Mid-50s Senior manager,
travel articles as powerful narratives that are agricultural sector
involved in making sense of the various Mr Koronellos Early 50s Tourism entrepreneur
Mr Papadopoulos Early 40s Senior manager,
tourist destinations by the readers. Thus, agricultural sector
narrative is a useful conceptual tool for the Mr Kavadias Early 30s Tourism entrepreneur
Mr Argyros Early 40s Tradesman
diverse interpretations of place meanings, Mr Argyriou Late 30s Journalist
which are important to marketers, Mr Chryssos Early 50s Politician, local authorities
consumers and other social actors involved Mr Markozanis Mid-50s Politician, local authorities
Mrs Venetsanou Early 30s Manager, winemaking
in a place. sector
Mr Panayiotopoulos Late 40s Senior administrator,
public sector
Mr Petalas Late 40s Entrepreneur
METHODOLOGY Mr Karydis Late 40s Senior administrator,
public sector
The narrative perspective advocated here treats Mr Arvanitis Early 50s Entrepreneur
the interview as a narrative production site Mr Karras Late 60s Farmer
Mr Mavromatis Early 40s Oenologist
(Czarniawska, 2004). The research consisted of Mrs Danezi Late 60s Pensioner
22 phenomenological interviews (Thompson Mr Gavalas Mid-50s Retired politician, local
et al, 1989; Kvale, 1996) with local residents of authorities
Mr Varotsis Mid-50s Retired politician, local
the island of Santorini over a period of 4 weeks authorities
between June and September 2004. The Mrs Alexiou Late 30s Administrator, public
sector
participants included both ‘experts’ – such as
local authority and industry representatives –
and other residents, including the elderly.
Furthermore, they were involved in diverse Aegean region, a primary destination of Greece
sectors of the island, including local authorities, (Terkenli, 2005), it is an iconic tourism
tourism trade, agriculture, public services and destination – emblematic of Greece on an
the local media (Table 1). In order to elicit international level – for both Greeks and
narratives, the discussions revolved around a foreigners. Furthermore, its economy is highly
temporal context, that is, earlier memories, dependent on tourism, which developed into
experience of change, current situation and the main activity on the island. Tourism has
visions of the future. The interviews were been a relatively recent phenomenon (the
analysed, first, individually, employing the development of tourism as an organised activity
content-holistic narrative analysis proposed by begun, according to the participants, in the
Lieblich et al (1998). The emergent themes 1970s) that has brought about rapid changes
were then used in order to analyse the within the time span of one generation. Since
individual themes into categories across the the beginning of the millennium, the island is
interviews, thus employing the categorical- facing a number of challenges because of its
content approach to narrative analysis (Lieblich rapid tourism development, which have
et al, 1998). This article presents the key triggered intense local theorising. Thus, it
themes that emerged in the local narratives in presents an excellent opportunity for the
relation to the present challenges and future investigation of place marketing challenges and
visions. prospects as experienced and viewed by local
The case of Santorini Island, Greece, was stakeholders. These issues and their implications
selected as an appropriate context for the for place marketing are presented in the
purpose of the study. First, located in the remainder of the article.

© 2010 Macmillan Publishers Ltd. 1751-8040 Place Branding and Public Diplomacy Vol. 6, 2, 134–144 137
 Lichrou et al
LOCAL NARRATIVES OF
SANTORINI: PRESENT
CHALLENGES AND FUTURE
VISIONS
Participants’ stories revealed a process of
theorising and self-reflection taking place within
the local community, regarding the present
situation of Santorini as a place and as a
tourism destination, amid the environmental,
entrepreneurial and social concerns. These are
associated with complex local particularities that
hinder the development and implementation
of strategic policy frameworks. Furthermore,
participants’ narratives revealed future visions
of Santorini, which revolve around notions of
preservation of the island character and
education, both professional and personal.
These themes revolve around and provide
insights into two sets of issues of interest to
place branding and their intersections. These
are the political challenges and the role of the
public sector (for example, Ryan and Zahra,
2002), and the role of the place image
(Hospers, 2009).
Lack of strategic policy
framework
A key theme in the participants’ narratives
involves the perceived lack of effective planning
and policymaking, which would provide a
strategic framework for the development of
Santorini. This entails grievances in relation to
the lack of adequate support by the public
sector in the form of appropriate policymaking,
concerns over the mode of development that
has been taking place on the island, and
dissatisfaction with the visual impact of this
on the island’s landscape.
Grievances in relation to the public
sector’s role
Participants’ narratives revealed criticisms of the
pubic sector for failing to provide adequate
support in the development of Santorini. This
involves the perceived absence of a strategic
framework of policies that would guide and
regulate the development of tourism and, in
addition, grievances in relation to lack of
138 © 2010 Macmillan Publishers Ltd. 1751-8040 Place Branding and Public Diplomacy Vol. 6, 2, 134–144
infrastructures provided by the public sector.
Following this, the development of the island
has largely been based on private initiatives.
Venieris: I believe that a framework for tourism
doesn’t exist and for this reason the choices in
the domain of tourism are made according to
how everyone judges that he should act. That
is, there is no strategy in the domain of tourism.
[…] It [the state] did not create a framework –
they [the local authorities] did not ask for one
here – but neither did it [the state] create a
framework of regulations, ok. Imagine that a
zoning study started in ‘93 and the zoning for
the land uses is still [2004] not implemented, ok?
Arvanitis: I believe that tourism started
somehow anarchically in Santorini. Some things
should have been in order. Of course, a lot of
significant things have taken place in the last
years, but these are because of private initiative.
That is, there are proper lodgings, proper
enterprises on the island on the part of the
private individual. Now I believe that the state
hasn’t cared for us enough, because the island
lacks basic infrastructures, such as the problem
with the water, such as the road network, such
as I told you with the ports, important things
are lacking.
Concerns over the current mode of
development
In their discussion of the current state of
Santorini, participants frequently used the term
‘anarchic’. According to the participants,
individual goals and individual judgement
have, therefore, provided the basis for the
development of tourism, without an adequate
system in place to guide and coordinate
individual efforts. Furthermore, this type of
‘unruly’ development, without sufficient
strategic planning and coordination of efforts,
was described by participants as a characteristic
of Greece. Such notions demarcate Greece
from other western economies, in terms of
planning mentalities, portraying Greece as
senseless and irrational in terms of planning
against a rational West. For instance, in the

words of one participant, the development of
Santorini portrays a ‘third world character’
(Valvis).
Karydis: Because, here in Santorini, there has
been, I would say, an anarchic capitalism. That is,
the development of the island took place without
rhythm and control. And this has left a lot of
things in a problematic condition, that is narrow
roads, non-existent town plans, and even where
they existed they didn’t have the appropriate
outcome and uhm … at the same time we very
often lose our sense of proportion, because the
rapid profit-making doesn’t really help us towards
thinking about where we will end up …
Another concern in relation to the lack of
strategic planning and policymaking is the
unbalanced development between tourism and
other sectors. Agriculture and viniculture in
particular – traditional activities on the island –
have experienced a decrease since the
development of tourism and efforts have been
taking place for their preservation and growth
(Kafouros, 2001). One participant explained
that ‘the young generation does not continue
farming, exactly because there is this sweat
involved’ (Venetsanou).
Markozanis: This little island that you see today
and it has an abandoned land, in the 1960, 64
that I was 14 years old – in 64 I experienced
closely some things – all this plain that you
see around, all of it used to be cultivated. It
produced the little tomato, the very beautiful,
and even today hard to find, ok? It produced
barley, it produced wheat, it produced
vegetables, today all these things have been
abandoned, why? Because people put priority
on the easy solution of tourism – and I can’t
blame them.
Visual impact
A theme that was particularly strong in the
participants’ narratives is the visual impact
associated with the aforementioned issues. The
current landscape image embodies the lack of
effort coordination and long-term planning. It
is heavily affected by the decrease in
© 2010 Macmillan Publishers Ltd. 1751-8040 Place Branding and Public Diplomacy Vol. 6, 2, 134–144
Narratives of a tourism destination
agriculture, and specifically by the rapid
increase in building. This has lead to the
distortion of traditional architecture and the
expansion of the spatial boundaries of
settlements. Participants used terms such as
‘optical pollution’ (Alexiou) and ‘building
pollution’ (Mavromatis). In addition,
participants expressed sustainability concerns in
relation to the building practices taking place.
Gavalas: … if you take a walk and have a
look around Santorini, you will see that new
buildings continuously crop up, new shops
are continuously built, and monstrosities are
continuously constructed, without any control.
This is the great misfortune of Santorini.
Petalas: Unfortunately we will be accused for
this, at least us parents, for these things that we
are leaving to our children. We will be accused,
and very much, for this downfall that we have
left, either because we build rooms illegally or
because of this shameless building …
Complex local particularities
The lack of adequate policy framework is a
prevalent discourse in Greece, recently reflected
in tourism research. For example, according to
Buhalis (2001), it is a major challenge in
relation to Greece’s competitiveness as a
tourism destination. This, he argues, calls for
the development of strategic planning to ensure
the place’s competitiveness (Buhalis, 2001).
However, in order to develop effective policies
and strategies, place marketers and policymakers
need to take into account the local
particularities that shape the current realities of
each place (for example, Galani-Moutafi, 2004).
Participants’ narratives revealed not only
considerable local theorising in relation to the
current challenges of Santorini, but also
reflection in relation to the particular socio-
political contexts that shaped the current
situation. These involve notions of the ‘Greek
Mentality’, stemming from a fundamental luck
of trust towards the authorities and from past
practices following the needs of the locals at
the beginning of tourism development.
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 Lichrou et al
Petty politics and the ‘Greek
mentality’
In a discussion of the ‘Greek mentality’, a
complex combination of short-termism and lack
of trust to policies and regulations proposed and
implemented by the authorities – and ultimately
rule-bending practices, one participant
sarcastically noted: ‘This needs research by a
psychologist and by a sociologist too most
likely … ’ (Venieris). ‘Petty politics’ is at the
heart of this theme. Following this, petty
politics have always been an obstacle in the
development and the implementation of
policies.
Varotsis: There never, there never was in reality
tourism policy, and even if GNTO1 wanted to
create – or some people in GNTO – one, this
has always been infringed by the uhm … petty
politics, that is, not to offend now a class [of
people] or certain people whom if we offend
today we won’t be getting their votes tomorrow
or we will create discontents etc. and so it didn’t
happen. That is, tourism policy never depended
on some programme which would be enforced
and controlled etc.
Tripolitis: This is a shame. This is a shame. This
is the State’s fault. Because of politics it does not
move forwards, because those who are senseless
[…] are pressurising the government not to
move forward.
Furthermore, the authorities are perceived as
untrustworthy and this impacts the locals’
commitment to the regulations and policies that
they attempt to put forward. For instance, a
participant mentioned how an ex-minister built
a house on the island without complying with
certain building regulations (Markozanis). This
is particularly critical from a place marketing
point of view, as the policies proposed by the
local authorities and the national government
are treated with suspicion.
Kondaratos: They see it with suspicion
[the proposed scheme for upgrading rental
apartments], ‘they want to take from us again’,
uhm, ‘they need money and they seek to get it’.
140 © 2010 Macmillan Publishers Ltd. 1751-8040 Place Branding and Public Diplomacy Vol. 6, 2, 134–144
However this is not the purpose, the purpose of
the state – and it is right and my personal view
is that it was even late to issue this, this should
had taken place 5 years ago – is that it forces us
to upgrade our services.
Past choices, pressurising needs and
lasting practices
The issue of the ‘Greek Mentality’ was recently
identified by Papageorgiou (2008) in his
investigation of the interactions between British
tour operators, Greek hoteliers and GNTO
officials. This mentality creates a negative image
of Greece as a backward and unreliable business
environment (Papageorgiou, 2008). In the case
of Santorini, participants’ stories provide
associations of the ‘Greek mentality’ with the
rural past of the island, a small agricultural
community, which rapidly developed into a
tourism destination.
Panayiotopoulos: … uhm … in such a place
that was a very poor place – we are not talking
about the 5 families [who were] the ruling
class, all the others were under the pressures
of poverty […] What we call institution and
conscience, legislation, principles, did not exist.
What existed was the informal bond within the
social structure let’s say, the relation, the friend,
giving one’s word and that was it. Now the law
says that you need to get a permit […] or ‘this
construction is ugly’. The law says this, because
some experts have looked at this. ‘To hell with
the law’ he says [the local], ‘the law is there in
order to strangle me, the law is something bad’.
Overlooking regulations was once deemed
appropriate in order to help families earn a
living. Such practices, however, not only
survived, but also shaped a lasting mentality and
conscience in the minds of the locals. Tourism
opened up opportunities for people to return to
the island, after having emigrated to Athens and
other centres, to make a good living. In the
words of one participant discussing those
involved in the tourism industry, ‘for the most
part these are families that make their living’
(Koronellos). In addition, such practices (such
as rule-bending behaviours in terms of building

regulations) are encouraged by the pressurising
everyday needs that people deem as their
priorities.
Mavromatis: Unfortunately the needs of the
people are always irreconcilable with the
forthcoming future and are usually attuned with
the present.
Future visions
Participants’ narratives revealed future visions
of, and strategies for, Santorini. This section
will present the two most important themes
that emerged in a discussion of the way
forward. These involve a shift towards
education and preservation of the island
character. These two themes present the
twofold objective of developing innovative
expertise, while engaging with traditional
culture. These, as participants noted, need to
take place within a strategic framework, which
will contribute in the achievement of collective
long-term goals. This, however, necessitates the
‘consent’ of the social actors in order to
succeed (Burns, 2004).
Venieris: … I would like a framework to be in
place and to be implemented. Social consent
should also exist, it should be presented so as to
achieve social consent, because measures that do
not have a minimum of social consent are not
easy to be implemented …
Shift towards education
Participants’ discussion of the need to turn
to education involved two themes. First, they
emphasised the need – especially for the
young people- for education as a way of
personal development of each individual and
further to this the local community’s ‘cultural
capital’. Participants mentioned that locals
should be more engaged with the culture and
history of their place. According to a
participant, ‘[i]f people don’t get connected to
this grandness of civilization, there is no way
that they will understand that it is their thing
and they should be proud of it’ (Markozanis).
Furthermore, education is essential for the
© 2010 Macmillan Publishers Ltd. 1751-8040 Place Branding and Public Diplomacy Vol. 6, 2, 134–144
Narratives of a tourism destination
development of expertise and innovative
thinking on the island, so that necessary
changes can take place.
Karydis: I believe that … our education in general
is essential, not education, but also edification,
because it is a tool that will help us very much, so
that we will assign more value to life …
Kavadias: I grew up here, I am a true
Santorinian. However, I am among those
Santorinians who had the fortune to have open-
minded parents who sent me abroad in order to
open my mind and to see more things, to see
how certain things are done […] to be one or
two steps – in the case of Santorini, even four or
five steps – ahead of the others.
Preservation of the ‘island character’
Following the rapid transformations of
Santorini’s landscape, participants’ stories
expressed a wish that the place is preserved
and protected. In the words of one participant,
Santorini should remain a place ‘with island
characteristics’ (Markozanis). Another expressed
the view that Santorini should be considered a
‘protected species’ (Kavadias). Participants’
stories revealed a rediscovery of tradition.
They look at traditional culture, including
traditional trades, architecture and customs
and shift their focus heavily on agriculture
as the means towards the preservation of
Santorini’s ‘island characteristics’. For example,
a participant argued that traditional
trades should be preserved ‘even at a cost’
(Chryssos). Furthermore, a permanent
exhibition entitled ‘Vanishing Santorini’,
which attempts a re-enactment of
traditional life, is hosted in the space
of an old Canava.2
On the other hand, agriculture is
rediscovered as a way to preserve the ‘rural’
character of the island, its landscape and to
provide the means for a balanced development
of the place. Thus, there are efforts to preserve
the ‘authentic elements of Santorini, […]
namely the wine, fava bean and the cherry
tomato’ (Venetsanou). Viniculture in particular,
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 Lichrou et al
has a long history and is strongly linked to the
image of the island.
Papadopoulos: It [viniculture] is the future of
tourism and the future of the preservation of the
environment, and the development of tourism
and the quality improvement of tourism, it is
directly linked to viniculture, because either
way … Santorini is a viniculture area and its
basic cultivation is the vineyard. These go
together.
IMPLICATIONS AND
CONCLUSIONS
In the introduction to the first issue of Place
Branding, Simon Anholt argues that place
branding ‘is not something you add on top:
it is something that goes underneath’ (2005,
p. 121, emphasis added). Following this, place
branding is not simply about designing
attractive logos and catchy slogans, but it is
more about the public sector embracing culture
and society with economics and politics
(Anholt, 2005). Local narratives provide useful
insights in relation to the complex realities
‘underneath’ a place. In other words, they
reveal aspects of the contested and dynamic
processes and local particularities involved in
the multifaceted reality of place. Such processes
are the sources of challenges and opportunities
for place marketers and brand managers.
A first theme that emerged from local
stakeholder narratives concerns the political
challenge inherent in place marketing. The
perceived lack of adequate, and/or appropriate,
government involvement results in grievances
in relation to what participants described as
uncoordinated and ‘out of control’
development. If, following Anholt’s (2008)
argument, place branding is about a places
engegement with the outside world in a clear,
coordinated and communicative way, the
political challenges of place need to be
addressed. Furthermore, participants perceived
this to be reflected in the changes that are
taking place with regard to the island’s image.
This is particularly problematic from the
perspective of place branding, which capitalises
142 © 2010 Macmillan Publishers Ltd. 1751-8040 Place Branding and Public Diplomacy Vol. 6, 2, 134–144
on the imageable and scenic aspects of a place,
the absence of which make it difficult to brand
(Hospers, 2009).
Second, the narratives revolved around the
theme of local particularities. This revealed
concerns in relation to the ‘Greek mentality’,
a long established way in which people relate
to the local and national authorities. This
involves a lack of trust towards the government
and the unwillingness to conform to the
policies and regulations introduced by
policymakers, as they are seen to be in contrast
with ‘pressurising peoples’ needs’. Participants
theorised this mentality as being rooted in the
socio-historical circumstances of Santorini. The
issue of ‘Greek mentality’ with its negative
associations is again problematic, as it is often
the basis for negative associations of Greeks
abroad (for example, Papageorgiou, 2008). As
Freire suggests, perceptions of local people are an
important dimension of the image of place brands
(Freire, 2009). Furthermore, such mentalities are
also implicated in the undesirable effects on the
built image of the island discussed earlier.
Third, participants’ future visions of Santorini
reveal their wishes for appropriate public sector
intervention and for ‘social consent’ so that
the policies can succeed. Pike has argued that
community consensus is an important issue in
place branding, as a top-down approach is
likely to fail (Pike, 2005).
Finally, participants’ future visions
encompassed the twin objective of looking
forward through abandoning problematic
mentalities and attitudes from the past (what
participants termed the ‘Greek mentality’) and
developing innovative expertise while
rediscovering the island’s rural past, that is local
forms of knowledge and practice (for example,
in the form of traditional customs and trades)
that they wish to preserve. The latter was
expressed through a renewed interest in
traditional culture and customs. Pickering and
Keightley (2006) discuss the critical role that a
progressive nostalgia can play in the relationship
between the past and the future. They see
progressive nostalgia as a tool that allows
productive and active uses of the past and its

engagement in the present and future. Hence,
progressive nostalgia can be a useful concept
for place marketers, who usually have to use
existing elements and historical identities of
place (for example, Hall, 2008), in their place
branding efforts.
NOTES
1 Greek National Tourism Organisation.
2 Canava is a family’s group of installations,
housing mainly the wine-making activities.
Normally it was dug into the workable Thiran
rock, then built up with stone and mud, with
at least two wine presses, for black or white
grapes and built-in benches to support barrels
(afoures) holding around 1400 litres. A further
area, the ‘rakidio’, was set aside for preparing
‘tsikoudia’ and distilling, and another space
for producing tomato paste (http://www
.canavaroussos.gr/uk/company.html).
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