Assessing roles and strategies of public sector stakeholders in an evolving (lifestyle) migration industry : The case of the Dutch Emigration Expo
Eimermann, Marco (Umeå University)
Hochedez, Camille (University of Rouen Normandy)
Kordel, Stefan (University of Erlangen-Nuremberg)
Morén Alegret, Ricard (Universitat de Barcelona. Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals)
Nijhoff, Karijn (The Hague University of Applied Sciences)
Tomazeiu, Daniel (University of London)
Torkington, Kate (University of Algarv)
Weidinger, Tobias (University of Erlangen-Nuremberg)

Date:	2024
Description:	22 pàg.
Abstract:	This study focuses on local and regional governments using place-branding strategies to attract intra-EU inward migration for demographic and/or economic purposes. This forms an important aspect of contemporary migration industries, whereby the interlinking of lifestyle, work and economic investment is pivotal. Taking the case of the Emigration Expo event in the Netherlands, it draws on interviews with the organizer and with public sector exhibitors to assess their purposes, roles and strategies when participating in the event. In addition, this paper examines to what extent public sector agents perceive this Expo as a viable physical event, contributing to a lifestyle migration industry. Findings suggest a shift in public sector strategies from attracting residents to recruiting skilled workers or lifestyle entrepreneurs and businesses. Exhibitors that maintain a recurring presence at the Expo over several years can build meaningful relations with each other and with prospective migrant visitors, providing practical information and integrated 'packages' to promote their destination as an attractive place to work and live. This supports the idea that (e)migration expos remain relevant physical sites of an evolving branch of the migration industry, including public-private partnerships involved in place and relocation branding as part of spatial planning strategies beyond growth.
Note:	Unidad de excelencia María de Maeztu CEX2019-000940-M
Rights:	Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial, la distribució, la comunicació pública de l'obra i la creació d'obres derivades, fins i tot amb finalitats comercials, sempre i quan es reconegui l'autoria de l'obra original.
Language:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió publicada
Subject:	Emigration Expo ; Lifestyle migration ; Migration industry ; Place branding ; Public sector stakeholders ; Relocation branding ; SDG 10 - Reduced Inequalities
Published in:	Geografiska Annaler, Series B: Human Geography, (September 2024) , ISSN 1468-0467

DOI: 10.1080/04353684.2024.2405671

22 p, 1.1 MB

The record appears in these collections:
Research literature > UAB research groups literature > Research Centres and Groups (research output) > Experimental sciences > Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals (ICTA)
Articles > Research articles
Articles > Published articles