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home for numerous cultures and ethnicities. Furthermore, Kazakhstan also
hosted the Asian Olympic Games in 2011 and applied to host the Winter
Olympic Games in 2014; all of these activities of being actively involved
in the hosting of international events have helped the process of establish-
ing the country's brand in the international market.
Kahn (2006) points out that the process of rebranding, as a mean to
gain a better global reputation, is a complicated process that needs chang-
es related to changing and reforming policies and legislation as well as
improving infrastructure, reducing unemployment and poverty rates. For
Crouch (2000, p. 65), as cultural and heritage places and spaces are always
“in the making” through the construction of meaning and participatory
activities, it is important to “generate a variety of personal, heritage and
identity relationships including sense of ownership or emotional attach-
ment, empowerment, value, and feeling” (Jamal and Hill, 2004, p. 25). As
Kazakhstan keeps defining the dynamic nature of its cultural heritage and
the potential of its ecocultural tourism practices to attract new visitors, it
is important to consider the notion of authenticity as a contributing factor
in the country's rebranding strategy (Tiberghien et al., 2012).
STAKEHOLDER'S PERCEPTIONS OF AUTHENTICITY TO EN-
HANCE SUSTAINABLE ECOCULTURAL PRODUCT DEVELOP-
MENT
RECENT TOURISM DEVELOPMENTS
Werner (2003, p. 142) details that tour operators' enduring work to develop
adequate tourist accommodations, create tourist itineraries, and influence
government institutions that support and regulate tourism in Central Asia
participates in cultivating a positive image of a new tourist destination
[…]. In this perspective, the role of tourism mediators became particularly
important as Kazakhstan is not very well known in the Western tourist-
generating countries.”
As stated by the delegation of the European Union in Kazakhstan
(2010), one of the potential types of tourism that deserve more develop-
ment is linked to the preservation of traditional cultures and environment
protection. Community-based tourism is regarded as a tool for natural
and cultural resource conservation and community development and is
closely associated with ecotourism (Davison et al., 2002). Furthermore,
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