Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
SENSE OF PLACE AND COUNTRY BRANDING IDENTITY
According to Anholt (2007), the nation's brand is the combination of vari-
ous elements that make up the image of the country as a whole and includes
its culture, history, people, government, and business. National branding is
the practice of building a positive reputation of a particular country and its
people in the international community. Saunders (2008) claims that unlike
commercial brands, nation brands are unique and cannot be replicated.
Dinnie (2008) has identified that the most effective approach for building
a nation brand is 'cultural branding,' that involves the blending of cultural
and social aspects of the country for the creation of a brand image. Others
argue that the development of a country's brand should be done through
the development of various areas such as tourism and exports, and sig-
nificant attention should be paid to the natural resources and landscapes
(Kotler and Gertner, 2002; Porter, 1998).
Konecnik and Go (2008, p. 177) highlight that “place identity can con-
tribute importantly to the creation and sustenance of a distinctive com-
petitive edge.” When referring to Smith (1989) about the 'extraordinary'
part of the tourism experience visitors are in search for, Konecnik and
Go further mention that “raising awareness of the historical nature of the
concept of culture is relevant in the process of identity formation at both
global and local levels.” The Kazakhstani brand identity building should
thus not only be driven by the political side, but should also satisfy a broad
range of stakeholders implied in ecocultural tourism development in the
country. A supply side, governmental and managerial perspective on coun-
try branding is therefore justified as the concept of authenticity applied to
the Kazkahstani brand identity strategy involves community members and
a local insight.
As modern tourists want to experience 'a sense place' when visiting
a destination, therefore experiential and symbolic benefits play as func-
tional benefits in a destination brand's identity (Keller 1993). Kapferer
(1998, p. 71) additionally highlights that “before knowing how we are
perceived, we must know who we are.” Surveying 'the supply side' when
conceptualizing the country's branding strategy is thus particularly rel-
evant, in particular for a 'young' country like Kazakhstan who does not
have a clear brand image yet. Brand identity can also be conceptualized
by the country's culture (De Chernatony, 1999), which in turn “drive
Search WWH ::




Custom Search