Tourism destination brand identity: The case of Slovenia
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MAJA KONECNIK is Assistant Professor in the Marketing Department of the Faculty of Economics at the University of Ljubljana (Slovenia). Her research interest lies in the area of tourism marketing, especially destination branding.
FRANK GO is Professor of Tourism at the Erasmus University at Rotterdam (the Netherlands). His research interests include information and communication technology and tourism, networks, community, globalisation and branding.
Keywords
Abstract
brand identity; brand concept; Slovenia; tourism destination branding; perception
This paper explores the concept of tourism destination brand identity from the supply-side perspective, in contrast to those studies that have focused on the demand-driven, tourists’ perceived tourism destination brand image. Both researchers and practitioners have concluded that an analysis of the branding concept from both the identity and perceived-image perspective is essential and should be intertwined, where appropriate. This study, however, argues that investigations of tourism destination branding have primarily been conducted from a perceivedimage perspective. Therefore, the dearth of studies offering an insight into the supply-side perspective may lead to an unbalanced view, misunderstandings and oversights concerning the possibilities and limitations of tourism destination branding. It introduces a theoretical framework designed to analyse tourism destination identity, particularly for the case study of Slovenia.
Journal of Brand Management (2008) 15, 177–189. doi:10.1057/palgrave.bm.2550114; published online 10 August 2007
INTRODUCTION
Maja Konecnik Faculty of Economics, University of Ljubljana, Kardeljeva ploscad 17, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia Tel: + 386 1 5892522 Fax: + 386 1 5892698 E-mail: [email protected]
Unlike the many scientific contributions covering the theme of product brands (and rarely service and corporate brands), the research line of tourism destination brands is merely in its infancy.1,2 Despite earlier scepticism about transferring the brand concept to the tourism destination context,3 that concept has definitely attracted the interest of tourism destination researchers and practitioners of late.4–8 Although destination branding appears to be one of the newest research areas,9,10 the topic has been partly covered under the alternative label of destination image studies,11 which has been a subject of investigation for more than 30 years.12–17 Ritchie and Ritchie,18 however, stated that the development of a coherent and commonly accepted
framework is essential for using branding theory in a tourism destination context. Although a tourism destination can be branded, considerable care should be taken in the transfer of branding principles to a tourism destination context. Because its application without sensitive inclusion and consideration of the significance of public space may result in a commercial orientation, which runs the risk of spoiling the identity characteristics such as social relationships, history and geograph
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