This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Hall, D. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                   What's this?

Destination branding, niche marketing and national image projection in Central and Eastern Europe

Leisure and Tourism Management Department at the Scottish Agricultural College, d.hall{at}au.sac.ac.uk

The dynamism of the structure and scale of international tourism in post-communist Central and Eastern Europe both reflects and is part of economic, political and social restructuring processes in the region. Tourism activity has significantly increased across the post-communist world in terms of tourist movements, yet Central and Eastern Europe has lagged far behind the rest of Europe and global averages in the level of per capita tourism income generated. Further, while in regional terms tourism activity has increased, in the sub-region of Southeastern Europe it has stagnated, because of regional instability and conflict, the nature of the tourism product, and infrastructural and service level shortcomings.

Relatively few tourism marketing studies from Central and Eastern Europe have been undertaken and little work on branding has been published. As something of a pioneering study therefore, this paper examines the relationship between tourism destination branding, niche marketing and national image projection in the region, and concludes that coordination between government action and tourism industry promotion is vital if destinations are to project a clear national and tourism image which contextualises and emphasises the quality of the visitor experience.

Key Words: branding • niche marketing • image • Central and Eastern Europe

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				C. Young and S. Kaczmarek The Socialist Past and Postsocialist Urban Identity in Central and Eastern Europe: The Case of Lodz, Poland European Urban and Regional Studies, January 1, 2008; 15(1): 53 - 70. [Abstract] [PDF]

				G. Hankinson Relational network brands: Towards a conceptual model of place brands Journal of Vacation Marketing, April 1, 2004; 10(2): 109 - 121. [Abstract] [PDF]