Destination images projected in the sport event website: A case of Ironman 70.3 Qujing

In the recent decades, many cities have attempted to promote destination images by holding sport events. However, little scholarly attention has been paid to the destination images communicated to the public through event promotion. This research aims to bridge the gap through a case study of the triathlon event, Ironman 70.3 Qujing. Data were collected from the official website of Ironman. Deductive thematic analyses disclose that the website projects an event image, which has some similarities and differences with the destination image. The projected images are event-bound; and this feature leaves out some critical components of destination images, such as cultural landscape and experience quality. The study results have implications for the marketing of event destinations, especially the emerging and small destinations.