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The aim of the paper is to develop a conceptual model of the process by means of which the induced tourism image of a destination is created. The model focuses on the role tourism agents' relational networks play in this process and particularly on the effects of the links with external actors – i.e. tour‐operators – on the destination's induced image.

Based on Gartner's definition of image formation agents, it is assumed that there are tourism agents that use the tourism image as a pull factor to influence the buying behaviour of potential visitors. Basically, these agents are: internal actors, located within a particular tourism destination, and external agents – i.e. tour‐operators – which are not normally associated with any particular destination, but have stakes in the travel decision process of potential visitors. In parallel, it is assumed that the tourism destination is a web of relational networks where the agents are connected by means of collaborative links that facilitate the supply of a tourist product or experience to the visitors.

In this paper two potential gaps in the induced tourism destination image formation process are found, and that the position of relevant actors in the network and the structure of the network are two determinant factors of the emergence – or inhibition – of these gaps. It is also suggested that these gaps and the lack of collaborative links among internal and external actors would affect the coherence of the supplied tourist products and the satisfaction with the tourist experience.

The relevance of the paper lies in a new approach to the induced tourism image formation process focusing on the destination's relational network and, in particular, the network of relations with external agents (i.e. tour‐operators).

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the tourist landscape as represented in Turisme de Barcelona’s YouTube tourism promotional videos, looking at the landscape’s tangible locations, symbolic and tourist assets and the protagonists in an effort to interpret its storytelling in an overtourism context.

The mixed methodology is based on a visual content analysis of promotional videos posted on the official Barcelona tourism YouTube channel. Quantitative data analysis about the assets and their localization was completed with a qualitative assessment of the way these assets are displayed to unveil the narrative they convey.

The results highlight that Barcelona’s projected image is mainly based on tangible heritage (especially monuments), its recognizable cityscape and its eno-gastronomic assets. This rather conventional image is geographically concentrated on the neighborhoods perceived as tourist neighborhoods.

This analysis provides a critical reflection of the actual strategy of destination management organizations and the storytelling they transmit. The findings can help to orientate their future actions and provide a method of analysis that can be repeated for other destinations.

This paper sheds new light on the use of urban landscapes in nonstatic images both as a narrative subject and as a tangible tourist space in promotional discourse.