The Welsh government is keen to promote Welsh tourism because tourism contributes directly £2.7 billion (8%) to the Welsh economy and 12.7% of employment in Wales. Acknowledging the strategic importance of tourism, Welsh government is constantly seeking advice and consultation on relevant issues, such as how to best promote Wales to international tourists and whether local authorities should be allowed to enact a visitor tax.
Our research speaks directly to the Welsh government’s call to boost tourism. We suggest the Welsh government and relevant stakeholders in the tourism sector brand Wales as the land of dragons and legends in order to maximize its appeal to international tourists. This will help Wales tap into its unique cultural and historical heritage, while capitalise on being one of the only two countries in the world that has a dragon on its national flag. At a company level, it will help individual tourism and hospitality businesses to increase their business revenues from tourists.
Our work has been received and published by the Welsh Select Committee and we gave evidence to Parliament in July 2022. Watch it here.
Read more
Meet the Principal Investigator(s) for the project
Dorothy Yen - Professor Dorothy A. Yen is a Professor in Marketing.
Leading the Marketing Division at Brunel Business School, Brunel University London, I take a consumer-centric approach to understand and discuss marketing, branding, and tourism matters. I study how culture affects human behaviour, in both B2B and B2C domains. In particualr, I looks at cross-cultural business relationships, with a particular focus on understanding how cultural-specific factors affect business relationships and collaborations. I also study consumer acculturation, tourist, sojourners and migrants' consumption practices as well as social media activities in relation to their cultural identity.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, I explored how migrants in the UK attempted to cope with the life-threatening disease while dealing with institutional uncertainty and a hostile host environment. My proposal on branding Wales as the land of dragons and legends triggered numerous discussions and debates, following my giving evidence to the Welsh Affairs Committee and interview by BBC Radio Wales.
I am a member of the Marketing and Corporate Brand Research Group at Brunel Business School and the research centre of Substantiality and Entrepreneurship.
I run office hours on Wednesdays from 2pm to 4pm. Students can also email me to book an appointment at a mutually convenient time. This can be either on campus or via Microsoft TEAM upon mutual agreement.
Partnering with confidence
Organisations interested in our research can partner with us with confidence backed by an external and independent benchmark: The Knowledge Exchange Framework. Read more.
Project last modified 12/10/2023