Tourism conversion and place branding: the case of the Olympic Park in Montreal

Abstract

Purpose

Many Olympic cities are faced with the challenge of converting various remaining infrastructures after the Games have been held. These infrastructures, often imposing and highly specialized, require local actors to innovate and engage in an urban renewal process that can be very complex and expensive when trying to give them a second life as tourism sites. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on an online survey administered to international travellers (n=5,553) and 36 semi-structured interviews with local stakeholders, this study shows that the Olympic Park, mainly through the stadium, has international recognition.

Findings

However, the sustainability and development of these attractions will need a major overhaul with its welcoming amenities and the integration of the surrounding neighbourhoods in the regeneration plan.

Originality/value

Among these facilities, we have the Montreal Olympic Stadium, which is often identified as the architectural jewel of the games and is used as an urban flagship in tourism development strategies. This situation raises several questions not only in the field of tourism, but also the fields of urban studies, leisure and sociology. This paper will examine the case of the Olympic Park in Montreal and its urban regeneration concepts and place branding that have been integrated into the tourism strategies since the early 2000s.

Citation

Roult, R., Adjizian, J.-M. and Auger, D. (2016), "Tourism conversion and place branding: the case of the Olympic Park in Montreal", International Journal of Tourism Cities, Vol. 2 No. 1, pp. 77-93. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJTC-08-2015-0020