Testing of Inland Destinations Tourist Brand Design Model

Abstract

Distinguishing destination brand is one of the prerequisites of differentiated positioning in the global tourism market. The processes of creating a tourist brand are common in coastal (bathing tourism), and in winter tourist destinations. The Mediterranean countries primarily develop tourism in the coastal zone. The coastal area is spatially limited by the sea-line and the hinterland which is often characterized by untapped tourism. The diversity of potential tourist resources in hinterland, if connected with the coast, represents the perspective in shaping the competitive integrated tourism product. In this sense, it is advisable to brand hinterland destinations with promising tourism potential. Tourist destination brand is a marketing tool, and only indirectly a design challenge. Brand needs to effectively associate the resources and the offer of destinations.

Marketing analysis should determine the resources and destination icons that will ensure a clear differentiation in the perception of tourists. Creating a tourist destination brand connotes a systematic process that is preferably carried out under a given model. The model defines the brand variables that suggest the recommended categories of tourism resources and products that should be noted. Is the experiential model practiced in coastal destinations recommended for branding hinterland destinations? This dilemma was the basis of the research hypothesis. The authors conducted a survey on a sample of 200 visitors of Dalmatian hinterland.

The findings have been used to test the empirical model of coastal destinations brand creation. Accordingly, this paper presents an improved model for creation of the hinterland tourist destinations brand.

Keywords: brand, destination, creation, hinterland, mode

JEL Classification: L83