Title: 'It's a funny thing that they were all bad men': cultural conflict and integrated tourism policy in Shetland, UK

Authors: Adam Grydehoj

Addresses: Island Dynamics, Whitstable, Kent, CT5 1HD, UK

Abstract: The municipal authority of Shetland (Scotland) uses tourism promotion as a carrier for holistic brand messages and as a tool of paradiplomacy. This comes into conflict with Shetland|s local identity concept, which discourages community engagement with certain types of tourism and heritage development and clashes with the tourism promotion|s wider aim attracting immigrants. Although the increasing sophistication of place branding offers genuine opportunities for sub-national island jurisdictions in particular, concerns can be raised regarding the effectiveness and appropriateness of moving tourism promotion too far in the direction of paradiplomacy without real focus on the desires of the local community.

Keywords: Shetland; islands; place branding; local identity; immigration; cultural conflict; tourism policy; brand messages; heritage development; paradiplomacy; local communities.

DOI: 10.1504/IJTA.2011.040430

International Journal of Tourism Anthropology, 2011 Vol.1 No.2, pp.125 - 140

Published online: 31 Jan 2015 *

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