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will be a continuum of error and hence can lead to a possible alteration of consumers' choice of
brands. Mitchell and Papavassiliou (1999) also add that confusion arises from stimulus overload,
stimulus similarity and confl icting, misleading, ambiguous or even inadequate information.
They explain that when consumers are exposed to excessive choice and excessive product-
related information, they can become confused and react with feelings of stress, frustration and
sub-optimal decision-making (Mitchell and Papavassiliou 1999).
The main factors that have been identifi ed to impact on brand confusion are: product
category related factors, consumer characteristics and message characteristics (Christou 2009;
Brengman
et al
. 2001; Poiesz and Verhallen 1989). Leek and Kun (2006) state that consumer
confusion is a mental state characterized by a lack of clear and orderly thought and behaviour.
Thus, there is the possibility that confusion is not purely caused by an information overload, but
also confusion may be due to consumers' lack of information about the product/destination.
Matzler
et al
. (2007) concur that consumers who have little product-related knowledge will get
confused more easily than consumers with extensive product knowledge.
Brand confusion can then lead to sales loss, as confused consumers are more likely to abandon
or postpone the purchase of a product/a tourist destination, or switch to another destination
(Mitchell and Papavassiliou 1999). Furthermore, increased levels of dissatisfaction and decreased
tendency to purchase have been found to be a consequence of confusion (Foxman
et al
. 1990;
Mitchell and Papavassiliou 1999). Shukla
et al
. (2008) have claimed that confusion has a direct
impact on satisfaction and fi nal purchase decision. Confused consumers also fi nd it diffi cult
to select, interpret and evaluate stimuli (Mitchell
et al
. 2005) and so potential tourists may
unintentionally choose to visit one place instead of the one intended.
Taking into account that tourism destinations are considered as brands, this study investigated
the problem of brand confusion amongst travellers. Many scholars concur that, by the use of a
place-branding strategy, promotional materials are used in order to establish, reinforce, or even
change the image of a destination (Reilly 1990; Mackay and Fesenmaier 1997; Young 1999).
Mackay and Fesenmaier (1997) claim that, due to the intangible nature of tourism products,
promotional materials become much more important when they represent the tourism product,
the destination under consideration, up until an actual visit, as they assist in creating awareness,
generating interest, and stimulating desire which results in action (Selby and Morgan 1996).
Moreover, tourist destinations have to recognize the importance of consumers' perceptions,
which are not only based on visual or verbal information. Those perceptions include biases,
histories, assumptions, fantasies, prejudices, and factual stories as well as socio-demographic and
culture characteristics. These affect needs, preferences, interests, and motivations which in turn
determine what they select to see, hear, read, think and pay attention to, and importantly how
they interpret a destination (Tasci and Gartner 2007).
Research methodology
The purpose of this study was to explore the issue of brand confusion in tourism destination
branding and images, specifi cally in the early consideration stage of tourists' image formation
processes. The chosen context for this study was Thailand and its recent marketing brand
campaign 'Amazing Thailand'. Thailand is a suitable location for this study because it offers a
broad variety of interests to visitors from cultural and historical to fun and entertainment venues,
while it has repeatedly attracted media attention in contentious positive and negative issues such
as political riots, sex tourism and Buddhism festivals. Also, the competition in the region is quite
fi erce due to a region-emphasis on tourism development as a driver of economic moderni-
zation and some quite generic aspects of tourism product and service, particularly in countries
