Narrative lock-in in destination brand governance: How destination stories become constraints on tourism futures

Destination narratives influence not only visitors' perceptions but also tourism governance. This article develops narrative lock-in as a conceptual lens for examining instances in which one or more narratives within a destination portfolio become authorization standards, making some futures appear more legitimate than others. The framework links destination-branding, place-governance, path-dependence, path-development, and tourism-adaptation literatures. It specifies a process through which narrative portfolios become connected to visitor scripts, material and route commitments, brand-authorization routines, legitimacy filters, and partial adaptations, failed exits, or genuine breaks. Santa tourism in Rovaniemi, Finland, is used. as an analytical illustration because a globally recognizable Santa/Christmas anchor intersects with winter expectations, aviation access, seasonal capacity, sustainability communication, diversification efforts, and cultural-authorization concerns. The Rovaniemi illustration shows that diversification, sustainability communication, and year-round positioning already exist alongside the Santa/Christmas anchor. However, publicly visible destination materials suggest that these alternatives remain less central than the iconic narrative. The analysis treats campaign emphasis, route development, seasonal capacity, investment narratives, and success indicators as observable signals of authorization rather than as evidence of internal decision-making. The principal finding is that partial adaptations can become failed exits when alternative futures are added to the narrative portfolio without being made institutionally central.