РОЛЬ БРЕНДУ В ПІДВИЩЕННІ ПРИВАБЛИВОСТІ ТУРИСТИЧНИХ ДЕСТИНАЦІЙ

Abstract

The article examines the role of the brand in increasing the attractiveness of tourist destinations. Branding has been found to provide many benefits to a destination, including reducing risk for the consumer, creating awareness, encouraging repeat visits through maintaining loyalty, and associating the area with something unique. Brand functions and brand hierarchies of tourist destinations are analyzed. It is emphasized that the brand of a tourist destination acts as a complex phenomenon for stimulating the tourist flow. A brand provides many benefits to a tourist destination, including reducing risk for the consumer, creating awareness, encouraging repeat visits through maintaining loyalty, and associating the area with something unique. As a management process aimed at forming a positive image and promoting the destination on the market, the brand contributes to attracting potential tourists, increasing the effectiveness of tourism enterprises, increasing the number of jobs, and providing additional funding to the economy of the destination. For tourist destinations, a brand is not just a name, it is a reflection of the nature of the destination and the "promise" of certain sensations – the beauty of natural landscapes, cultural wealth of local residents, special types of activity, intriguing spirit. For tourists, a destination brand is both an invitation to visit a place and an essential representation of the unique experiences that a tourist can get after arrival. It is important that the destination brand is not only a presented set of key characteristics of the destination (attractions, infrastructure, etc.), it is a representation of sensations, experiences, emotions that await the tourist, a representation of the possibility of satisfying the need for self-expression and recognition, a promise of emotional benefits. It is necessary to remember that tourists buy the feeling itself. First of all, a successful brand must be credible. The established brand identity must correspond to the real characteristics of the destination. The discrepancy between the brand and the reality of the destination leads to significant negative consequences. The discrepancy between the promise of the brand and what the tourist will receive in reality not only guarantees that the tourist will not return, but also assumes that he informs his surroundings about a negative experience.