Qingdao Fragrant Hills Tourism Summit 2018
Qingdao Fragrant Hills Tourism Summit 2018; September 2018
Brand Building of Tourism Cities
The summit was jointly hosted by WTCF and the Qingdao Municipal People’s Government. About 400 representatives from 59 countries, 112 tourism cities and more than 200 tourism-related enterprises and international organizations and more than 50 national tourism ministers and tourism city mayors attended the summit.
Amongst 5 experts, Gerhard Hrebicek discussed the impact and value of Brand building for Tourism Cities.
Tourism as one of the fastest growing economic sectors in the world continues to contribute to the socio-economic progress at a global level. Tourism has turned out to be a culture and a way of life for more and more people. Today, 10% of the world’s GDP, 10% of global employment and 7 % of the world’s total exports are all generated by the tourism sector.
Given the factors related to the changes in the marketplace, consumption patterns, innovation and technology, the tourism sector is facing with new consumer trends.
In recent years, while mass tourism is booming, consumers tend to experience personalized products. In this regard, the brand of a destination is one of the decisive factors that affect consumer preference. “It is quite essential that the brand of an urban destination is clearly understood and managed” stated Gerhard Hrebicek. The brand of a city should highlight a unique competitive identity and a distinctive personality so that it can be differentiated from its competitors as a tourist destination. Furthermore, this brand not only consolidates the international reputation of the city in terms of its economic positioning and competitiveness at global level, but also it creates a value system which requires a continuous conceptual innovation.