The impact of branding on the growth of tourist attraction (in Karbala Governorate)
Hadi Razzaq Karim
Supervised by Lect. Ahmed Naji Hussein
The branding of a tourist destination is defined as the way through which a unique identity for the destination can be reached that distinguishes it from its competitors (Morrison & Anderson, 2002). The branding of a tourist destination refers to a location or space that acquires a special meaning, whether personal, social or cultural, and this meaning does not have to be acquired as a result of direct interaction only. In recent years, the era of digital communication and globalization has become effective and has taken the lead as a source of information among its previous sources, and imposed its rules on brands. The mental image of the brand that the tourist obtains has become formed through virtual communication sites.
The brand represents what is in the minds of consumers and not what the marketer intends to provide through the brand. )2009 (Pereira et al., 2012; Jacober In this regard, there is agreement among studies related to the brand that the brand is a name or mark for a specific product associated with a mental image that evokes an emotional association formed in the customer’s mind as a result of his perception of the psychological meanings of an idea or a set of consistent features, images, or feelings that he will remember when he thinks of a specific symbol, product, service, institution, or place.
