ABSTRACT
The aim of this chapter is to explore destination branding strategies (DBS) for hospitality and tourism engagement (HTE) in an intelligent rural community. Bario, a village in the heart of Borneo in Malaysia is the study context. An exploratory study was adopted that involved 32 in-depth interviews and complemented by documentary evidence. Findings indicate that there are five constructs for DBS for HTE in an intelligent rural community. These include rationales for rural hospitality and tourism destination branding, roles of attractions, strategic stages, challenges, and critical success factors for hospitality and tourism destination branding. Implications for the theory, practice and host community’s well-being are discussed further.
