Current research in destination branding has placed significant focus on the crucial role of resident involvement and engagement throughout all phases of the branding process. This approach to destination branding aims to create a brand that is consistent with the place’s existing identity, thereby reducing the likelihood of the destination brand being met with resistance from the local community and fostering a more profound sense of brand ownership. Nevertheless, most destination branding practices still reflect a top-down approach to destination branding, wherein resident input is mostly solicited during the initial phase while their involvement in the subsequent stages of brand development, implementation, and communication remains limited or non-existent. This frequently leads to an oversimplification of the destination’s complexity, which locals may perceive as erroneous or lacking authenticity. Consequently, scholars have advocated for a more participatory, bottom-up approach to destination branding that actively engages and incorporates all relevant stakeholders, particularly residents. While several scholars have called for more inclusive approaches to destination branding that incorporate the perspectives of different stakeholders, especially residents, empirical research on the role of local stakeholders in destination branding is still in its infancy, and studies exploring participatory approaches that encourage and facilitate local participation in destination branding are still scarce. To address this gap, this research aims to investigate residents’ inclusion in the development and implementation of the destination brand. Notably, it seeks to advance the theory and practices of participatory destination branding by proposing an approach that can communicate the destination’s unique identity, encourage co-creation of brand meaning, and foster a sense of brand ownership. Drawing on empirical insights from a local stakeholders’ perspective of their inclusion in the development and implementation of a destination brand, this research evaluates the case of Jamaica’s “Get All Right” brand, specifically the recent ‘Join Me in Jamaica’ marketing campaign. Underpinned by a social constructivism paradigm, relativist ontology, and subjectivist epistemology, this research employed a qualitative research design. The research objective is achieved through three separate but related manuscripts. Manuscript One explores the projected destination image as conveyed through the marketing and branding initiatives that include resident voices. To do this, their most recent digital marketing campaign, ‘Join me in Jamaica’, is examined through an analysis of the videos produced for the campaign to identify the cognitive, affective, and conative components of the projected destination image. The findings revealed nine major themes associated with the three components of the destination image. Based on these findings, it was determined that the DMO’s attempt to include local voices in the campaign resulted in three specific dimensions of Jamaica’s marketed destination image: local character, sense of community, and local support and home. These dimensions indicate a deliberate shift away from the conventional sun, sea, and sand image traditionally associated with Jamaica. Manuscript Two investigates how residents perceive the destination brand as communicated by the destination marketing organisation (DMO) and their feelings towards destination branding practices. Using Jamaica’s destination brand as the research context, video elicitation interviews were conducted with 26 Jamaican residents to understand their perceptions of the ‘Join me in Jamaica’ digital marketing campaign. The results showed that residents' perceptions of the brand message's authenticity, the variety of representations used to convey the destination's image, and their self-congruence with the brand representation all influenced how they felt about the marketing campaign. Furthermore, residents’ feelings towards current destination marketing and branding practices were reflected in two overall themes: lack of brand awareness and knowledge and cynical attitudes towards involvement. The study concluded that though the inclusion of residents and their testimonials in the destination marketing campaign was a good step towards stakeholder engagement and involvement, the DMO should be moving towards ‘participatory branding', in which residents would have a more active role in the branding process. Based on the empirical findings presented in Manuscripts One and Two, Manuscript Three proposes an approach to destination branding that encourages and facilitates local participation. This is done by drawing on local experiential knowledge (stories) and involving, engaging, and empowering local actors, particularly the underprivileged stakeholders (residents), in the destination branding process. A preliminary conceptual framework is presented in which residents’ stories are recognised, interwoven, and employed in developing and positioning the destination brand through four interconnected processes: expressing, reflecting, impressing, and mirroring. This paper concludes by proposing an agenda for future research that can assist in developing resident storytelling as a research area and provide practical directions for destination marketers and branding practitioners. This thesis contributes to the emerging body of literature relating to participatory destination branding, particularly residents’ involvement in destination brand development and communication. Furthermore, as residents remain an underrepresented stakeholder in tourism research, particularly regarding their brand meanings and perceptions, this thesis adds to these understandings by identifying three antecedents to residents’ positive evaluation of the projected destination brand image and areas for consideration that may affect the outcome of branding initiatives, both of which have implications for current and future destination marketing practices.