Exploring the Narrative Design Strategies of Intangible Cultural Heritage Tourism Brands: The Case of Linzhou Boat-Dwelling Culture

In recent years, the development model that integrates intangible cultural heritage with tourism has been strongly emphasized in national cultural policy, especially in villages and towns with intangible cultural heritage. These areas have enhanced their market attractiveness and competitiveness by developing tourism branding. However, tourism branding projects in China often face issues such as fragmented brand images and inadequate exploration of local culture. The study addresses the brand image of intangible heritage tourism from the perspective of narrative design. Focusing on Lianzhou Township in Guangdong Province, China, it explores the composition and design application strategies of tourism brand imagery by examining a narrative design framework that includes the narrative theme, structure, channels and visual expression of cultural and tourism brands. Through literature and field investigation, the study found that boat-dwelling culture -rooted in historical changes, traditional skills and local customs-serves as an important narrative element in shaping the cultural tourism brand of the town. Based on this finding, the study validates a narrative design strategy for brand development. Unlike conventional branding approaches that focus on visual image, this study aims to propose a new narrative design approach to tourism brand construction in intangible cultural heritage villages, offering meaningful insights for advancing rural revitalization.