Destination Brand Communication during COVID-19 Pandemic - The Case of Iceland

Abstract

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The existing literature indicates that the COVID-19 pandemic has been disastrous for tourism across the globe and much of the focus now is on tourism recovery. WTTC estimates that destinations would take an average of 21.3 months to recover from a pandemic. Various market reports and research on the impact of COVID-19 on tourism have issued bleak forecasts regarding the future of global tourism but Iceland has disregarded this prediction. The European island nation has received much acclaim for its ability to control the spread of the virus without the need for an aggressive lockdown. Iceland holds the distinction of becoming the first European country to open its doors to tourists amid the outbreak when a vast majority of destinations worldwide are still on lockdown. The country has decided to allow tourists from the Schengen area to visit from June 15, 2020 and proposes to allow other tourists to visit from July 1, 2020. In the current scenario, where the state of public health is a barometer of destination attractiveness, a COVID free environment would be alluring to tourists who had postponed their travel plans due to the crisis. The Iceland DMO (Destination Marketing Organization) provides prospective tourists with general travel-related information, links to government notifications and also has an official website for Iceland and COVID-19. It has also established its social media presence on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube and Pinterest. We propose to evaluate the brand communication strategy of Iceland tourism using the PESO (Paid, Earned, Owned and Shared) framework. This evaluation will yield insights into platforms and types of media employed by the DMO with the intention of addressing the concerns of tourists. The strategies implemented by Iceland may be adopted by other destination DMOs to restart their tourism industry.

Keywords: COVID-19 Pandemic, Tourism Recovery, Destination Brand Communication, PESO Framework, Iceland Tourism

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