The importance of storytelling in a regional drive tourism context: A comparison of two small South Australian country towns

In a tourism context, successful storytelling is a key element in arousing interest in a destination. A well-articulated story may help elevate a destination to a tourist's 'must consider' list; however, a poorly articulated story may lead to the destination being overlooked. For this reason, an understanding of the various forms that storytelling can take and how these forms may be employed is important for destination marketing organisations. This paper compares and contrasts the quite different approaches used by two small rural towns to build their overnight tourist base. Findings demonstrate the importance of using four story-telling media across pre-, during- and post-tour phases of the touristic lifecycle.