In a more concentrated study, Altin, Uysal and Prebensen explore and test what affects the visitors’

length of stay (LOS). A major issue in the tourism business sector is to motivate the tourist to stay longer
while visiting. Not only would a longer LOS help the firms to become more economically sustainable, it is
also expected to affect directly on economic value of businesses and destinations and to ensure
environmental sustainability through less pollution. By combining socio-demographic and travel
behavior, Altin et al. aim to examine the determinants of LOS for northern Norway as a vacation
destination. The study indicates that gender of visitors and income influenced LOS. Motivation,
perception of the destination (brand personality) and perceived experience value also exerted varying
degrees of influence on LOS. Visitors perceiving northern Norway as wholesome, cheerful, charming and
sporty/outdoorsy stayed longer in Northern Norway. Furthermore, those with strong social motivations
and experiences also stayed longer. How much time the visitor will spend in a given destination could
affect the entire structure and design of the destination, businesses and policies. Short-term visitors and
long-term visitors might require different types of products and services. For the tourism firms and
destination to become more economically and environmentally sustainable then, they may build on
these results to head for the right tourists who are inclined to stay longer.

Brand personality is moreover the main issue of the next articles by Seljeseth and Korneliussen in their
article “Experience-based brand personality as a source of value creation: The case of Lofoten”. In this
article, the tourist destination's brand personality is measured by asking tourists which personality traits
they associate with the destination. Based on the work of Sirgy and Su (2000) claiming that a perceived
destination's brand personality that is in congruence with the tourist's self-image will favor the tourist
destination. The results show that the studied destination consists of four dimensions: ruggedness,
sophistication, naturalness and activeness. The study thus validates an instrument to measure
destination brand personality using a sample consisting exclusively of tourists who are on holiday at the
investigated destination. Finally, the authors suggest that attractive personality traits can be
implemented and advertising can highlight tourist activities and guests promoting the intended tourist
destination's brand personality, and thus decrease risk and increase transparency and experience value
through co-creation.