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Construction of destination image is multifaceted and complex task of tourist destination marketers. Visual image creation manifests through visualizations of promotional material employing particular marketing strategies. Wisely promoted visual representations are effectual and forceful marketing instrument that through depiction of people in combination with certain environments establishes strong emotive associations about touristic destination in potential visitors’ brains. This way destination’s visual image becomes alive and emotional which leads to formation of strong visual identity projected through visualizations in consumers’ heads. Therefore, destination’s image and identity are interdependent. There are several researches made on general contribution of visual images in brand identity creation and impact on potential visitors’ behaviour, hence little to none investigated how promotional pictures generated by particular destination’s marketers assist in destination’s emotional image and identity creation in combination with leading marketing strategies of destination.

The aim of this study was to comprehend how visual image of destination is being created through representing people and touristic settings of destination in promotional photographs. Research also intended to examine how destination’s identity could be constructed through associative emotional image. Case study of unique Vienna case applied as it is the only destination employing neuromarketing that uses neuro science for marketing purposes as the lead marketing strategy. The photographs extracted from Vienna DMO’s main promotional website were the research object of content and discourse analysis. As neuro science and (neuro)marketing studies are tightly related with aims of affecting human’s brain, the critical evaluation of investigation products was made through psychological prism.

Main findings of the study revealed existing discrepancies between marketing strategies and visual representations, depicted inequities, intolerance and lack of distinctiveness intertwined into Vienna’s visual promotion. Destination’s identity can be defined by contradictive and unstable concepts caused by Vienna DMO marketers’ inner conflicts between theory and practice. It is noted that although a progress in constructing new influential destination image has been made, however, the results indicated the dominance in representation of stereotypical image formed long ago in a past. This means incoherent data usage from destination marketers. This study offered that Vienna destination marketers would firstly thoroughly synthesize data acquired from neuro science and then practically integrate it into all marketing tools such as visual representation wisely. That is with the correct messages and captivating narrations to construct coherent, emotionally effective and breaking clichéd perceptions destination image. Paradoxical image creates unstable identity. Strong image will eventually construct strong identity.

There is a broad space for the future research suggested, as to include more visual representation elements such as videos, sound tracks and texts into study and to examine the topic from the perspective of destination inhabitants and consumers. The comparative analysis advocated.