The Creation of a Swedish Heritage Destination: An Insider's View of Entrepreneurial Marketing

This case study describes how a heritage destination was created in 1998 through entrepreneurial marketing by Anja Praesto, a marketing staff person at the Västergötland Museum. She initiated the destination named “In Arn's Footsteps” (I Arns Fotspår). Her insider's account is used as a data collection device to illustrate the development of this destination in the Västra Götaland region in Sweden based on the fictitious story of the knight Arn in the 12th century from the best‐selling novels by Jan Guillou. The success in mobilizing local opinion and the general public around locations where historical events occurred made it possible to create a stable, expanding heritage destination in collaboration with private parties, the church and various authorities.