Construire l’image touristique d’une région à travers les réseaux sociaux : le cas de l’Émilie-Romagne en Italie

Abstract

The pictures provided by official touristic offices are supposed to have an effect on social representations and the relationship between a region and people who wants to visit it. This paper presents the evolution of communication strategies chosen by the regional authority of Emilia-Romagna (Italy) to promote the entire region and enhance its attractiveness to tourists. The study relies on an image analysis which takes into account both the content of the pictures and the geographical location of the places which have been chosen to embody the region. Those pictures come from sources representative of the place with two different promotion practice periods: the regional internet site dedicated to tourism promotion, and the official Facebook account of the Emilia-Romagna Region Tourism Board. The outcomes highlight a new way to present the region, much more focused on urban areas and local ways of life. This change can be explained by many factors: the evolution of the communication medias which give an active role to the local population, but also the evolution of local development strategies or the broader territorial dynamics such as metropolization.

Keywords

• tourism
• image
• social representation
• social network
• Emilia-Romagna
• Bologna