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developers regarding the question of authenticity and ecocultural tours in
Central Kazakhstan. On particular relevance of this study is that tourism
stakeholders shouldn't distort the reality but provide a depiction of the true
social and economic situation in the destination (Britton, 1979; Silver, 1993)
that redefines the social meanings of places, though creating an image of the
country that would be exposed to the international arena. As Milne, Grekin,
and Wolley (1998, pp. 102-103) highlight, “cultural landscapes are viewed
and shaped as commodities that can be consumed by potentially malleable
consumers. The construction of tourist landscapes in peripheral regions and
areas where indigenous peoples live has focused on the fact that this com-
modification process involves the elaborate creation of 'fantasy'.”
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Kazakhstan, as a new state,
has faced a need to identify itself in the eyes of the world community and
to differentiate itself. Saunders (2008, p. 67) states that the Kazakhstani
government has put much effort into creating a “unique, recognizable, and
credible national brand” and has indeed approached the process of form-
ing a national brand strategically. According to Marat (2009) the country's
government has so far monopolized the process by limiting the participa-
tion of the domestic audiences in the development of its country brand
image. The government chose to position the country as a resourceful,
stable and multiethnic country located in a fairly unstable region of the
world, which also serves as a crossroad between West and East, combin-
ing diverse cultures and beliefs (Marat, 2009; Saunders, 2008). In order
to promote this image, Kazakhstani government has adapted the message
“Kazakhstan—the Heart of Eurasia” that highlights the country's favor-
able geographical location and the efforts of the government to be recog-
nized for its vast territories, rich natural resources and political stability
(Marat, 2009).
A NEED FOR REBRANDING THE COUNTRY'S IMAGE
According to Saunders (2008), the Kazakhstani government plans to
change the target audience of the advertising campaign and try to attract
a younger public by focusing more on cultural and tourism aspects rather
than political issues. One example is the OSCE chairmanship, which Ka-
zakhstan obtained in 2010 and the reason for applying for chairmanship,
as Marat (2009) claims, was to prove that Kazakhstan managed to be the
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