Commercial Image Within Tourism Development Essay

The brand image is the brand's total personality impression in the consumer’s mind (real and imaginary qualities and shortcomings). It is developed through advertising campaigns over time with a consistent theme. Talbot and his team conducted social media research and there objective was to: -

As Keller (1993, p. 3) argues, “[…] perceptions about a brand as reflected by the brand associations held in consumer memory”. Keller (1998) also suggests that there are three categories that constitute the overall brand perception: attributes; benefits and attitudes. A study conducted by Simms and Trott (2006) explores the brand perception of the MINI stakeholders. Based on their findings researchers established a model that gives a “perspective on a product brand by linking specific brand associations to the image that is developed in the mind of the consumer or stakeholder, and finally linking this to how the image appeals to key stakeholders” (Simms and Trott, 2006) . The application of their model to the MINI brand is presented in Appendix 2. .

Brand identity and brand image are two distinct yet interrelated dimensions of brand building. Brand identity entails the strategic efforts of firms to assign a brand with unique characteristics in a bid to achieve positive perceptions by target consumers (Nandan, 2005).

Other journals on destination branding have also related to the theory of self-congruity. Similar to the branding of a product, destination branding is also seen to have both functional and symbolic congruity. They are also included as important elements that contribute towards the traveller’s congruity towards a destination (Sergy & Su, 2000, p.341).

In such a volatile and complex industry as tourism, marketing research, an integral part of marketing planning process, plays a crucial role in shaping a framework that guides Destination Management Organisations’ (DMOs) decisions, be it public or private. At operational level, market intelligence would help DMOs gain market insights, bridge the gap between tourism products and visitors and potentially explore new markets. Without market data, goal and objectives would be unrealistic thus resulting in inefficient marketing programmes. The report discusses attempts to promote San Juan Islands - an archipelago part of the U.S. state of Washington, through their marketing plan. Drawing on the marketing process proposed by Middleton et al. (2009) and relevant literatures, what emerges from the plan is the lack of market data, lack of measurable objectives and lack of sustainable management practice. As a result, the report recommends a comprehensive marketing research and sustainable management practice.

47). The challenge is so great and the stakes so high that governments need to work in concern with business interests and academic researchers to maximize the chances for success. Gertner and Kotler (2004) investigated how notions about a place are formed in the consumer’s mind. The authors affirm: “Country images, or knowledge structures related to places, or place schemata, are commonly used as short-cuts for information processing and consumer decision heuristics” (Kotler & Gertner, 2002, p. 251). Govers and Go (2003) argue that the image of a tourist destination is composed of distinct attributes; it is these that tourists consider while evaluating a destination. More than 80% of the destination image studies conducted from 1973 to 2000 used lists of attributes, in structured questionnaires, to operationalize destination image (Pike, 2003). In general, scholars believe that people’s image toward a destination is the result of a combination of particular beliefs or attributes. Thus, scholars have tried to conceptualize destination branding with more accuracy by using structured and unstructured research methods to measure destination image. Unstructured research methods include the use of photos and/or open-ended questions, while structured methods used self-response questionnaires with lists of destination attributes. Two types of attributes surfaced in earlier studies about destination image: those that were generally

It is defined by award-winning advertising as well as by the god-awful ads that have somehow slipped through the cracks, got approved, and, not surprisingly, sank into oblivion. It is defined by the accomplishments of your best employee-the shining star in the company who can do no wrong-as well as the mishaps of the worst hire that you ever made. It is also defined by your receptionist and the music your customers are subjected to when placed on hold. For every grand and finely worded public statement by the CEO, the brand is also defined by derisory consumer comments overheard in the hallway or in a chat room on the Internet. Brands are sponges for content, for images, for fleeting feelings. They become psychological concepts held in the minds of the public, where they may stay forever. As such you can 't entirely control a brand. At best; you only guide and influence it.”

According to Aaker (1991), Kapferer (2004) and Keller (2003), “Building strong brands is one of the most important goals of product and brand management. Strong brands result in higher revenue streams, both short term and long term”. “Therefore, the stated goal of strategic brand management is to build brands that last for decades and can be leveraged in different product categories and markets” Aaker (1996). To understand how branding effects the purchasing decision of consumers, many theories emerged in which according to Aaker (1991) has framed a model called Brand equity model and Keller (1993) has identified a model called the customer based brand equity model. Both the frameworks have profoundly focused on how consumers recognize and appraise brands by studying certain information structures (Keller, 1993; Aaker, 1991, 1997).

Following this perspective, Ballantyne et al (2006), define brand image as the consumers’ perception about the brand. As such, it will guide a future development of a possible bound between consumers and organisations that have its highest expression through consumer loyalty, and the willingness of the consumer in paying a premium price.

For this task the author will be discussing the factors which influence the travel and tourism industry and defining the marketing mix.

Several researchers (Jiang, 2004) have found brand awareness to be an important element that plays a vital role in consumer’s choice of brands. Lin and Chang (2003) established in their study that brand awareness has the most powerful influence on consumers’ purchase decisions and ultimately leads to consumer brand loyalty. Keller (2009) argues that in order to gain customer-based brand equity, the consumer must be aware of, and be familiar with the offering and hold brand associations that are strong, favorable and unique in comparison with other brands offered in the same category. Similarly, Esch et al.(2006) assert that customer- based brand equity occurs when the consumer is aware and familiar with the brand and holds positive associations about the brand in memory. In discussing the concept of brand awareness, Keller (2009) refers to it as the strength of the brand node in memory, which explains how easy it is for the consumer to remember the brand. Hence, the first task of advertising is to build brand awareness and expose the brand to all

Many people who travel are attracted to an authentic experience often portrayed by the media that can create an opportunity to learn about different cultures. Gaining tourism knowledge about foreign cultures is now an easy task through the development of globalization. Stroma Cole, an activist researcher on tourism development, suggests that growth in tourism should be thought of as a “cause and consequence of globalization” (Chambers, 2010 p, 21) and that the development of high technology in the media has been very influential on promoting tourism. The media has become a main source for travel information that has direct effect on decisions people make on where to travel, tourist trends, and on their expectations of their experience (Leung, Law Hoof, & Buhalis 2013). I chose to research advertisements of Thailand, a popular tourist country, because of its recent dramatic increase in the number of tourists since the start of the new millennium, and because it has appealed to me as a tourist attraction. Through my analysis of advertisements of multiple media sources I have found examples of advertisements that promote the branding of cultural and indigenous tourism in Thailand. I relate to Erve Chambers, the author of Native Tours (2010) research on the “authentic image” that is used in many ads to catch the attention of tourists and I discuss how people do not always experience what was promoted in the media.

In today’s competitive economies and with growth of tourism as a source of revenue managing destinations is an important and integral part of controlling tourism’s environmental impacts and promoting sustainable tourism in the region. Destination management includes planned business permits to organizations, land use planning, environmental and other regulations and various other methods for the development and operations of activities related to tourism. According to UNWTO “The programme for "Destination Management" is committed to respond positively to the growing need for systematic, multidisciplinary and intersectoral strategies for tourism at local, regional and national level and in particular to provide strategic guidance in destination management which is a recent conceptualization of a micro-level activity at national, regional and/or local level in which the tourism stakeholders carry out their individual and organizational responsibilities in a coordinated manner aiming to achieve the macro-level policies.” (United Nations World Tourism Organization)

“Future tourism success for most destinations is closely tied to NOT being labeled as ‘too touristy’... unless a place’s appeal is actually derived from its deliberate reputation for ‘excess’ (e.g. Las Vegas, Cancun, theme parks). This is the real message from many travelers’

It is an international phenomenon that travelling is more and more popular due to the high speed development of economy and conveniences of transportation. People choose to travel as a way to relax, to improve life quality and to broaden their horizon. The government encourages the development of tourism because it is not only provides employment opportunities but also promote local economy. The global scale of interests in travel leads tourism becomes one of the most prosperous industry in the world. Therefore, this essay will give an introduction to tourism management in hospitality management and will focus on aspects of accommodation and marketing in tourism management.