​

Despite this trip being part of a module at Uni, Reykjavik has always been on my list of places to visit. But what is it about Iceland that makes it so intriguing to see? Any destination must seek a competitive advantage to compel travellers to visit and destination branding seems to be the best way of doing that (Murphy et al, 2007). Iceland has it's own brand, an extremely compelling one too, and Ekinci (2003) says it may even have its own personality that links itself to the tourists. Designed to encourage all of us explorers, Sirgy and Su (2000), suggest that a greater match between our self-image and the destination, then the more likely we are to visit that place. Maybe it's the dramatic and mysterious spirit of it all or the creative and theatrical aspects I relate to myself that invite me to the city. Or maybe it's just incredibly well marketed with stunning photo filters that fool us craving an insta worthy holiday. The destination image is described as a representation of the tourist place in the individual’s mind (Del Bosque and San Martin, 2008) and plays a big factor in the expectations that we create before embarking on our holiday. The research that I have done to gain a real perspective on what Iceland is really like, has formed a great deal of what I expect to see when I arrive. The millions of photos online have made me even more excited to go as I have huge expectations about its beautiful scenery and intriguing personality. Understanding our expectations is really important to destination managers as how satisfied we are when we leave, determines how successful their marketing really is (Aksu et al, 2010).