Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
concern about the type of segments that can be
attracted initially, with adverse comment being
passed on the number of British stag/hen week-
ends being attracted to Tallinn (Anon, 2004), rais-
ing the issue of the impact of these on the image
of Estonia. Overall, however, only a small per-
centage of total visitors to Estonia are on such
weekends and many bars in 2004 had started to
publicize that such groups were not welcome in
their establishments (as broadcast on the TV
series
Fast Track
, November 2004 (BBC World
Television)). Coles and Hall (2005), however,
warn of the potential long-term impact that such
segments may have on the branding and posi-
tioning of destinations.
The advantage for Estonia was that the EU
accession was a big enough story to encourage
a regular stream of reporters and feature writers
directly to the country. This pre-EU coverage
further built on the increased exposure Estonia
secured in the European media during the host-
ing of the Eurovision Song Contest in 2002. In
2004 alone, newspapers and magazines, such
as
Le Figaro, The Times, Newsweek, Wall
Street Journal, Elle, Time, The Economist, Le
Monde, Marie France, The Daily Telegraph,
Cote Est
published articles promoting a positive
image of Tallinn as a tourist destination
(Estonian Foreign Ministry, 2005). Importantly,
a positive image makes people more perceptive
to favourable word of mouth and it also helps
them screen information, making it easier for
the firm (or tourism board) to communicate
effectively (Grönroos, 2000). This positive pub-
licity can be equated to hundreds of thousands
of euros worth of promotion.
Imminent EU membership led to
increased media coverage of Estonia
both within and outside the EU:
stimulated demand
As the 2004 accession countries moved closer
to the EU, this stimulated substantial media
coverage (Coles and Hall, 2005). Media cover-
age is widely sought after in tourism marketing
as it is essentially free and is regarded by
consumers as far more believable than paid
advertising. Many countries, such as Australia,
have sponsored visiting journalist programmes
to encourage publicity of the destination
(Tourism Australia, 2005). An effective story in
a targeted magazine can be highly powerful,
especially if it can convey the desired brand
attributes. In Estonia's case, the latent or
dormant brand image may have in fact been
non-existent or at least extremely limited, thus
providing a unique opportunity for positioning
the brand. This fact was identified in the back-
ground on the development of 'Brand Estonia'
by the government in 2002.
Our re-emergence on the European stage has
given us a critical and rare opportunity to make
a first impression on millions of European
business people and potential tourists. For most
of them the name Estonia will be unfamiliar, or,
if they have any impressions at all they will
more likely than not be vague or even negative
regarding Estonia's occupied past or perceived
poor weather.
Future Implications
It can be seen that a number of factors asso-
ciated with Estonia's accession to the EU have
positively impacted on the tourism industry and
further accelerated its development. Dr Reinhard
Klein, Head of the European Commission's
tourism unit, was correct in March 2004 when
he predicted that due to the low levels of
existing demand all new EU countries would
experience remarkable growth (Coles and Hall,
2005). The challenge for the future of the indus-
try is to manage the growth to ensure that the
industry is sustainable. This was already
identified in the tourism development strategy
2002-2005 (Estonian Ministry of Economic
Affairs and Communications, 2005). Strategi-
cally, the Estonian industry needs to focus on a
number of points.
Initially, the focus must be placed on
attracting high-yield visitors and dispersing
tourists outside the capital. This can occur in a
couple of ways, initially by encouraging existing
visitors to stay longer. Generally, this can be
achieved by product development, and the
response of Finns and Swedes to spa holidays
in Estonia is a case in point. Additionally,
Estonia
(Enterprise Estonia, 2002, p. 46)
can
also
target
high-yielding
niche
