Research Article
METHODS OF DETERMINATION OF TOURISM BRAND COMPETITIVENESS
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The scientific article contains a comparative analysis of the national brands of 6 countries based on the methods as brand elements classification, the quality of the proposal constituent slogan, regional brand strategy and national brand ranking results. Developed proposals to achieve sustainable competitiveness of the national brand of Uzbekistan.
Keywords: Destination, Brand, Logo, Slogan, Online image, Digital demand, Sustainable competiveness.
In the framework of the Decree PF-5611 “On additional measures for the accelerated development of tourism in the Republic of Uzbekistan”, the “Concept for the development of tourism in the Republic of Uzbekistan in 2019-2025” was adopted. Institutional reforms aimed at creating a solid legal framework for development, modernization of infrastructure and promotion of the country's brand and “creation of a single national tourism brand and the creation of a regional tourism brand based on the specifics of each region”. Creating a brand of national and local tourism regions and promoting them in places that attract long and short tourists is a guarantee of success in global markets, as well as regular monitoring of the effectiveness of regional brand strategies, identification of appropriate measures to achieve sustainable competitiveness of the country's tourism industry. That is, knowledge of the global reputation of the national brand is important in determining strategies for its sustainable development, and the study of international standards and methodologies for determining the competitiveness of the brand in the tourism region is a very important issue today. According to a report by Google Traveler, about 70% of people who want to relax in the process of choosing a destination use the Internet as a reliable source of information. According to the same survey, 64% of travelers choose tourist destinations through search sites. Millions of potential tourists around the world are so inspired by what they see on search sites that they choose their travel destinations based on its online image.
LITERATURE REVIEW
Scientists such as Wong & Teoh (2015) have substantiated the problem of the impact of consumer-based brand value on the competitiveness of the tourism region, (Beritelli & Laesser, 2018) ways to reduce costs for branding by national tourism management organizations, Russian researcher Alexandrova (2015) the principles of regional co-branding in the organization of festivals, (Richardson & Cohen, 1993) described the hierarchy of basic requirements for the formation of a tourist area slogan based on the concept of a unique commercial proposition, (Pike, 2004; Pike, 2004) has developed a seven-level methodology for assessing the quality of slogans within the tourism area brand.
From Uzbek scientists H.N. Abdulazizova, 2016, explores national and regional brand concepts, emphasizing that a national brand development strategy reflects the value of a brand, target audiences, internal and external relationships, as well as the emblems and characters that represent a national brand. Richardson and Cohen (1993) studied the image of U.S. cities and states and developed a hierarchy of basic requirements for the formation of a tourist area slogan based on the concept of a unique commercial proposal: the slogan should contain an offer; the offer should be limited to one or more positions; it is expedient that the offer should arouse the interest of tourists and express the advantages of the tourist area; and the advantages are unique, concluding that the tourist area must be able to differentiate itself from competitors.
Pike (2004) analyzed 100 tourist area slogans and concluded that many tourist areas are almost unforgettable. Emphasizing the lack of creative ideas and the fact that advocacy work is often based on temporary differences, it identifies 14 key themes used in the process of positioning the market and consumer consciousness. They are: 1) leadership; 2) discovery; 3) nature; 4) geographical location; 5) people; 6) water; 7) expression of personality; 8) avoidance of daily life, diving; 9) enjoyment; 10) the treasury; 11) peculiar to kings; 12) energetic, meaningful life; 13) climate; 14) cooking. The author's approach to the country's image from the point of view of supply and demand, market and consumer awareness is scientifically based (Ibragimov, 2018). The methodology is scientifically based.
ANALYSIS
In this study, a comparative analysis of the national tourism brands of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan (one of the most actively promoted brands), Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan were carried out, which used the following methodologies:
-According to the brand composition previously developed by the author (Logo + Tourist zone name + Slogan (slogan), Logo + Tourist zone portal web address + Slogan (slogan), Logo-converted tourist zone name + Slogan (slogan); Logo-converted tourist zone name + Web address of the portal of the tourist area) method of classification (Ibragimov, 2018);
-The quality of the slogan of the selected national tourism brands Pike S. 7-level evaluation system developed by;
-The results of Bloom Consulting regional brand rating, which is calculated and regularly published based on variables such as 1) cost-effectiveness, 2) digital demand, 3) regional brand strategy rating and 4) online efficiency in determining the ranking of regional brands (10. Bloom Consulting Country Brand Ranking. 2014-2015).
Payk (2004), in order to analyze the slogans of the brands of tourist areas in New Zealand, he developed a seven-level methodology of slogan quality, describing them as follows:
- Level 0 - there is no clear offer in the slope;
- Level 1 - offer “Buy our product”;
- Level 2 – “We have a good product” offer;
- Level 3A - offer corresponding to the desired tourist area;
- Level 3B - offer specific to many other regions;
- Level 4A - an offer based on a unique feature, but of no benefit to the tourist;
- Level 4B- is a slogan with a unique commercial offer.
Based on the methodology developed by Bloom Consulting (Bloom Consulting, 2014-2015), it is engaged in determining the rating of brands of different countries, regions and cities, and annually publishes the rating of national brands of 180 countries. In general, the creation of regional brands and continuous improvement of its efficiency has 5 goals, namely: 1) increase exports, 2) attract investment, 3) development of tourism, 4) attract foreign experts to the region as a workforce, 5) the country's popularity further increase. These 5 goals have benefits with different needs, i.e. 1) producers, 2) investors, 3) tourists, 4) labor market, 5) the general public.
Stakeholders have specific needs, namely 1) the entrepreneur wants to produce a unique product, 2) the investor wants to have an advantage, 3) the tourist wants to have a new and memorable experience, 4) the specialist wants to be recognized internationally, 5) the general public wants to impress others.
Bloom Consulting uses variables such as 1) cost-effectiveness, 2) digital demand, 3) region brand strategy rating, and 4) online efficiency in determining regional brand rankings. In order to determine economic efficiency, based on UNWTO statistics, an average 5-year indicator of the country’s tourism revenue is obtained, and its average growth rate is determined. In order to calculate the digital demand variable, online tourism searches are analyzed by 40 brand tags divided into 5 groups (Table 1), keywords related to attractions and types of travel in the tourist area. Typically, 3,818,000 keywords are analyzed in 9 language sections, including English, French, Italian, Spanish, Russian, German, Portuguese, Japanese, and Chinese.
According to the Regional Brand Strategy (RBS) rating variable, the effectiveness of the tourism brand strategy of the National Tourism Organizations of the 180 countries identified will be assessed. That is, for the purpose of calculating the Digital Demand Variable, the most popular and most searched Internet brands of a particular tourist area are compared with keywords widely promoted by the National Tourism Organization (Tourism Development Committee of Uzbekistan).
The more relevant the keywords searched by potential tourists through search sites with brands targeted by the National Tourism Organization, the higher the Region brand strategy is rated and the following rating system is applied: very strong (AAA), strong (AA), partially strong (A), very good (BBB), good (BB), partly good (BB), partly weak (CCC), weak (CC), very weak (C).
Recently, to calculate the Online Performance Variable, Bloom Consulting, an international organization, manages to determine the number of visitors to a travel portal created and managed by the National Tourism Organization of the country under study and the duration of site use using web analytics software. In addition, activity on social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus, and Instagram is determined based on the number of regular commenters relative to their members and news.
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DISCUSSION
Competitiveness of national tourism brands of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, classification of the above-mentioned tourist area by brand composition, quality of slogans of tourism brands Pike S. was determined using 7-level evaluation methods developed by the results are shown in Table 2.
According to the results of the analysis, according to the composition of all national tourism brands surveyed, it corresponds to the category LOGO + TURKISH REGION NAME + SLOGAN. In other words, the national brands of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan are fully compatible in terms of composition.
According to the 7-level methodology for determining the quality of the slogan, the slogans of Armenia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan corresponded to the 3B level, and it was concluded that the phrase chosen as a slogan is a proposal specific to many other regions. It was found that the phrases in the slogans of the Azerbaijani and Kyrgyz brands correspond to level 3A and are an offer that corresponds to the desired tourist area. Only the Kazakh national tourism brand slogan was found to have a grade 0 quality and there was no clear offer in the slogan.
According to the ranking of regional brands published by Bloom Consulting in 2015, Armenia ranks 35th out of 44 countries in Asia and 121st out of 180 countries in the world. Azerbaijan ranked 30th and 101st, Kyrgyzstan 40th and 147th, Kazakhstan 26th and 85th, and Tajikistan 44th and 177th, respectively. According to the region's brand strategy, Armenia is “very good,” Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan are “good,” and Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan are “partially good.” Uzbekistan is not included in the ranking of 180 regional brands, and Bloom Consulting will not determine the country's ranking if it does not regularly submit tourism statistics to the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) or does not have an official National Tourism website.
CONCLUSION
A comparative analysis was carried out on the classification of national tourism brands of 5 neighboring countries by brand composition, methods for determining the quality of offer in the phrase used in the slogan, regional brand strategy and the results of the national brand rating. The following conclusions and proposals have been made to sustainably increase the competitiveness of the national brand of Uzbekistan:
- Slogan (Symbol of the magic East, Symbol of magic East, and symbol of the Magic East) promoted in different languages through the website of the State Committee for Tourism Development (uzbektourism.uz). It is a medium-quality phrase in terms of its methodology, which is similar to the definition given to Uzbekistan, without a clear proposition. However, it is advisable that the slogan is not in the form of a description of the state, but in the form of a creative promise to a potential visitor that other regions have not offered. The word “Sharq” means a very wide geographical area that distracts potential tourists. That is, the word "east" used in the slogan of the national brand does not allow a potential visitor to imagine the place of Uzbekistan on the world map. In our opinion, using the phrase “Silk crossroads” in the slogan of our country, we can point out that Uzbekistan is a geographical area where the main intersections of the Great Silk Road are located.
- In fact, the slogan is not just a combination of words expressing the geographical location, characteristics and competitive advantages of the country, but the PROMISE of the country, which wants to give to potential tourists, investors and others in order to implement the strategy of positioning in the market and consumer consciousness! The clearer this promise is based on the competitive advantages of tourism, a country that other regions of the world cannot offer, the faster and more efficient it will be in the minds of consumers. In other words, in exchange for adding the word INSPIRATION to the above-mentioned phrase, we offer a new slogan of the national tourism brand of Uzbekistan, INSPIRING SILK CROSSROAD.
- Promoting Uzbekistan to the world at the crossroads of the Great Silk Road, “the country and its travels will lead to creativity, new ideas for scientists, inventions for innovators, new works of art, interest in living in depressed people.” It is recommended to carry out a complex of advocacy work based on the same strategic brand tags (#).
As a result, Uzbekistan as a tourist destination in the minds of world markets and the population, in return for inculcating the belief that travel to this country “inspires, inspires to live, create, create, invent, creativity” in 2019-2025. I am confident that we will achieve the stability of tourism competitiveness by implementing all the tasks related to the national brand strategy, which provides for the “Concept of tourism development in the Republic of Uzbekistan.”
- Abdulazizova, X.N. (2016). Development of national brands of goods and services. Scientific electronic journal. Economy and Innovative Technologies 5.
- Aleksandrova, A. (2015) Integration of events in the promotion of tourist destinations on the principles of co-branding. Vestn. Moscow un-that. Ser. 6. Economy 6.
- Beritelli, P. & Laesser, C. (2018). Destination logo recognition and implications for intentional destination branding by DMOs: A case for saving money. Journal of Destination Marketing and Management 8, 1-13.
- Bloom Consulting Country Brand Ranking. 2014-2015, contact@bloom-consulting.com.
- Ibragimov N.S. (2018). Scientific basis of the brand and image of a competitive tourist area scientific electronic journal. Economy and Innovative Technologies 5.
- Pike, S. (2004). Destination marketing organizations. Elsevier 122.
- Pike, S. (2004). Destination Positioning Slogans–Analysis of Themes used by New Zealand Regional Tourism Organisations//Proceedings of the Australian and New Zealand Marketing Academy Conference, Victoria University, New Zealand.
- Richardson, J. & Cohen, J. (1993). State slogans: the case of the missing USP. Journal of Travel &Tourism Marketing 2(2/3), 91-109(70).
- Thinkwithgoogle (2020) Available online at: https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/
- Wong, P.P.W. & Teoh, K. (2015). The influence of destination competitiveness on customer-based Brand equity. Journal of Destination Marketing & Management 4(2015), 206-212.
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Table 2
