Sense of Place: Narrating Emotional Experiences of Malaysian Borneo through Western Travel Blogs

Siao Fui Wong, Balvinder Kaur Kler and Bamini KPD Balakrishnan
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Siao Fui Wong: MODUL School of Tourism and Hospitality Management Nanjing, Nanjing Tech University Pujiang Institute, Nanjing 211222, China
Balvinder Kaur Kler: Borneo Tourism Research Centre (BTRC), Faculty of Business, Economics and Accountancy, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Kota Kinabalu 88400, Malaysia
Bamini KPD Balakrishnan: Faculty of Business, Economics and Accountancy, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Kota Kinabalu 88400, Malaysia

Tourism and Hospitality, 2022, vol. 3, issue 3, 1-19

Abstract: Tourists’ sense of place or destination attachment could play an important role in destination branding. Yet, sense of place literature focuses on residents as the concept originates from a long-term residence in one place. This study explores the role of destination attachment based on tourist experience for branding based on a case study in Malaysian Borneo. A qualitative content analysis using QCAmap of 34 blogs extracted 116 blogposts with narratives containing emotional sentiments from international tourists. Findings uncovered six important attributes: namely nature, adventure, environment, culture, conservation, and education associated with destination attachment. Findings show that these attributes are interconnected as the main attribute, nature, produces other attributes. A tourists’ sense of place model for destination attachment is proposed to understand how tourists develop attachment to a place.

Keywords: sense of place; blog; Borneo; emotional experiences; QCAmap (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Z3 Z30 Z31 Z32 Z33 Z38 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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