Branding cities as tourist destinations; the case of Slavonski Brod, Croatia

The research problem – Despite the fact that the visual identity of Slavonski Brod is created in early 2011th, it is still not sufficiently recognizable among tourists. Research objectives – It is necessary to determine activities that have to be undertaken as components of an action plan for tourism development of Slavonski Brod within the branding strategy to make the city more recognizable in tourist markets. The purpose – The purpose of this paper is to support the thesis that tourist destinations branding is lengthy process that includes an evaluation of the image by the visitors, but also by the target market groups we aim at. Design – The special focus is given to review the issue of the process of determing the logo, slogan and visual identity of a destination. Methodology – The methodology of the research includes the examples of good practice, analysis of the existing strategic documents in the segment of tourist destinations branding and activities on branding Croatia and Slavonia, as well as Slavonski Brod as a tourist destination. It also includes primary research conducted by the Tourist Board of Slavonski Brod among the tourists and the locals, as well as the Tourist Board web visitors, city public institutions and tourism and hospitality sector. Approach – Synthesizing distinguishing elements on which one should build a long-term market recognition of Slavonski Brod, the Zagreb Institute for Tourism, during the development of tourism master plan, found that the tourist image of Slavonski Brod should be based on history and culture, friendly people, a characteristic atmosphere and natural features space. That was the starting point for the research of the Tourist Board of Slavonski Brod. Findings – In the past activities on the branding of the city of Slavonski Brod neither tourists nor the local population were dominated by negative associations. However, studies that were conducted among the various target groups during January and February 2014th showed that the practical application of the new visual identity of Slavonski Brod in tourism and hospitality sector was more or less absent, what is the reason why the city brand was not recognized by a sufficient number of tourists as well as users of services in this sector which resides outside the city. The originality – The paper defines the steps that should be undertaken to create the new logo and slogan in a tourist destination. The model of branding of the city of Slavonski Brod can be applied in surroundings.