An Analysis of brand-building elements in the Official Mediterranean

Tourism Websites.
Paper presented in 40th EMAC Annual Conference, Ljubljana, Slovenia, 24-27 May, 2011.


Evgeniya Chernysheva
Technological Education Institute of Piraeus, Greece

George Skourtis
University of Piraeus, Greece

Ioannis Assiouras
Athens University of Economics and Business, Greece

Michalis Koniordos
Technological Education Institute of Piraeus, Greece


Abstract
To which extent electronic branding has shed light on the concept of the destination
marketing? This study seeks to fill the gap in the theoretical analysis of the 23 official tourism
websites of the Mediterranean countries. Based on the content analysis of the pages through
the slogans, graphic projections, verbal expressions and implied messages, this paper aims to
highlight unique marketing strategies in order to create a strong brand. Results of the study
point the wide diversity of the official websites. Some of them do not maximize their utility as
marketing tools (Tunisia, Palestine), on the contrary Monaco and Slovenia have elements of
innovation. Implications of the findings are discussed and directions for future research are
provided.

Keywords: Destination Branding, E-Marketing, Mediterranean Tourism

Track: Tourism Marketing

1. Introduction
Tourism destination all over the world spend millions of dollars so as to create a favorable
brand image. An important tool for creating destination brand image is e-marketing and
especially the websites of the tourism destinations, as emphasized by numerous researchers.
In line with previous research, we focus on Mediterranean official tourism destinations
websites and explore the brand identity building elements that have been used.

2. Literature Review
2.1 Destination Branding
The extension of the brand concept from products to service industries such as tourism, offers
implications for resort and travel destination management (Buhalis, 2000; Konecnik &
Gartner, 2007; Ritchie & Ritchie, 1998; Williams, Gill & Chura, 2004; Woodside,
Cruickshank, & Dehuang, 2007). The challenge of branding destinations lies within the
complexity of the decision process on the part of tourists. As the purchase of a destination
mix has an inherent uncertainty and is usually expensive, tourists are not able to try the
destinations before making a choice (Eby et al.1999; Gartner 1989). As a result, destination
image is a critical stimulus in motivating the tourist (Um & Crompton, 1990). Williams and
Palmer (1999) find that the diversity and complexity of tourism products make information
provision difficult for both national and regional tourism organizations. To advance
destination image to the level of branding, a link needs to be established. Kaplanidou and
Vogt (2003) indicated that a brand can further build upon other destination components after
establishing an image that differentiates a destination from its competitors. They suggested
that destination brands could be envisioned by identifying other dimensions in the construct.

2.2 Internet and Tourism Industry
Many studies argue that the Internet is a particularly effective communication (Gretzel &
Fesenmaier 2007; Kim & Fesenmaier 2007; Murphy et al. 2003; Xiang & Fesenmaier 2006).
According to Kim and Fesenmaier (2008) the process of information search for travel
planning using the Internet can be understood as comprising three distinct stages: (a) search,
(b) primacy, and (c) elaboration. Online travel planners often begin their trip planning by
using search engines (i.e., Excite, Google, Yahoo!, etc.) to find and choose useful information
sources (Marchionini 1995; Pan & Fesenmaier 2006; Wber 2006). Thus, according to
Levene (2006) when an online travel planner first evaluates the relevance and usefulness of a
Web site, he or she evaluates the Web site within a short period of time in an attempt to form
an overall impression of it. Likewise, Buda and Zhang (2000) and others (Haugtvedt &
Wegener 1994) stressed the effect of primacy in the areas of attitude formation, information
presentation, attractiveness, willingness to purchase, purchase behavior, as well as perceived
performance of an advertised product. This overview showed that the higher a links position
in a list of links, the greater the probability that information searchers online will click on that
link.

2.3 Optimize the Branding Tourism Destination building through Internet
Zach et al. (2007) demonstrated that most destination marketing Web sites focus primarily on
information provision and usability with the belief that this strategy will be sufficient to
attract the prospective visitor to the destination. Several studies are examined in the literature,
including (Hwang et al. 2006; Kim & Fesenmaier 2005, 2007; Tapscott & Williams 2006).
Collectively, these studies support showing that the Internet is indeed one of the most
persuasive media for destination marketing to influence tourists travel planning process.
Accordingly to Lee et al. (2006) the average consumer is increasingly interested in exploiting
the Internets unique features, such as graphical interactivity with the audience, low-cost
accessibility world-wide, hyperlinks with other travel suppliers and design flexibility, to
attract more tourists and better position their state in the intense competition for visitors.
Hence, brand image is a key component in the formation of a clear and recognizable brand
identity in the market (Williams & Palmer, 1999). As mentioned above, we arrive to the
conclusion that the brand identity of a country depends also on the structure of the official
tourism website.

3. Methodology of research
The present research concerns the official websites of 23 Mediterranean countries.The overall
approach for the analysis is content analysis, an observational research method that is used
to systematically evaluate the symbolic content of all forms of recorded communications
(Kolbe & Burnett, 1991, p. 243). The data were grouped (Table 1) and variables were
categorized. In analyzing branding elements and evaluating each site in terms of efficiency
and market targeting, the key points of the content analysis are the slogans and the visual,
verbal, and graphic images projected on the official countries websites.

Table 1
Name of country &
URL
Slogan Appearance of the site Target group Promoted products and
services
Greece
http://www.visitgree
ce.gr/
the true
experience
Mostly blue colours,
pictures of Acropolis
Tourists who are interested in
ecology and culture
Nature, archeological
and cultural monuments
Turkey
http://www.tourismt
urkey.org/
Turkey
welcomes
you
Orange background, many
pictures, availability to
explore many monuments
and sights via 3-D video
Youth, tourists for sport
recreation, ecology,
monument and culture
interested tourists
Religiosity, diversity of
activities (ornithology,
adventure tourism,
conferences ) arts,
cuisine
Cyprus
http://www.visitcypr
us.com/wps/portal


Love
Cyprus
While entering the site the
presentation is in Greek,
changing manually the
language it changes the
welcome text
Everyone

Culture, food and
beverages, events, sun
and sea, sports and
conferences
Israel
http://www.goisrael.
com/tourism_eng

Wonders.
youll love
Israel from
the first
SHALOM
Presentation of upcoming
events, typical photos
associated with words and
phrases
Culture and religiosity
interested, fun seeking,
relaxation needed tourists

Natural differentiations
(from snowed picks to
sandy desserts+ the
saltiest sea in the world),
ancient Bible cities, open
air markets
Spain
http://www.spain.inf
o/us/tourspain

Welcome
to Spain
Many choices on viewing
the site
,in my opinion it is
complicated in use, not so
well organized
Families homosexuals, eco
seeking, fans of art and history
travelers
Cultural events, arts,
cuisine, nature, sports,
Wine trips, ecology
Portugal
http://www.visitport
ugal.com/Cultures/e
n-US/default.html

Portugal
light at its
most
seductive
Sounds of sea, photos of
famous Portugal people
presenting each their
country
Families, couples, tourists
seeking for sport activities,
lovers of art, culture and
nature
Nature, local events
(organizations of rally,
celebrations in Lisbon
etc) , activities like
snorkeling and diving
Egypt
http://www.egypt.tra
vel/?flashinstalled=2

The gift of
the sun
Traditional melody of the
country playing in the
background, photos of
desert and traditional
buildings
Family vacations, for fans of
cultural diversities and sport
events
Nature, archeological
sights,
Sports (golf), safari
Tunisia
http://www.tourismt
unisia.com/


Welcome
to the travel
and tourism
guide to
Tunisia
Shades of blue Sports and festivals lovers Giant coastline, special
cuisine, cultural heritage,
modern surroundings
Morocco
http://www.visitmor
occo.com/index.php
/eng

Travel for
real
Earthy colours, photos of
different sides of the
Morocco
Explorers of Morocco
(citizens of the country),
tourists looking for beautiful
nature, civilization, sport
activities and businessmen
Authentic experiences,
Relaxing vacations,
unusual scenery, lots of
activities, sun, beaches,
conferences
Malta
http://www.visitmalt
a.com/main

Welcome
to the heart
of the
Mediterrane
an
Simple structure of the web
site, photos of the
destination on white
background
Businessmen, nature, culture,
fan seeking tourists (bars,
clubs, casino)
Relaxing vacations,
nature, visit the islands
of Gozo and Comino,
wedding ceremonies and
honey moon trips,
traditional food and
beverage, sport events,
health centers, night life
Italy
http://www.italianto
urism.com/
Much
more
Successful promotional
video when entering the
web site, many pictures,
upcoming events and
festivals
Sanative tourists, art lovers,
businessmen
Cultural attractions, spa
springs, gastronomy,
beaches, conferences
Albania
http://www.albanian
tourism.com/

new
Mediterrane
an love
Colorful, playfully
designed logo, easy to
navigate in the site
For those who are interested in
archeological attractions and
relaxation
Short distance from other
Mediterranean countries,
beaches, cultural
activities
Montenegro
http://www.visit-
montenegro.com/
Breathtaki
ng beauty
Lessons of Serbian
language with sound, many
categories and references
to other pages
Tourists who explore nature
and culture
Eco-tourism, sports,
recreations related to sea,
mountains, rivers and
lakes
Syria
http://www.syriatour
ism.org/index.php?n
ewlang=eng


---------------
-------
The page seems to be
referring to businessmen
and investors than tourists
Businessmen also for those
who love nature and culture
Conferences, festivals,
museums, nature
Croatia
http://www.htz.hr/E
nglish/Home/Naslov
na.aspx

The
Mediterrane
an as it once
was
A tasteful site, functional,
many pictures
Families, youth, businessmen Many sport activities
(detailed descriptions
with photos), nature,
cultural heritage
Slovenia
http://www.slovenia
.info/
I feel
Slovenia
On- line game to about
exploring the country,
green and blue colours
Families, elderly, businessmen
and nature lovers
Spas and different
treatments with water,
sports, conferences,
entertainment, trips by
bicycle or car, means of
transport
Libya
http://www.libyan-
tourism.org/

Land of the
eternal
treasures
Earthy colours, not much
developed site
It isnt clear what is the target
group
Unique nature (Sahara,
beaches, mountains),
tradition
Algeria
http://www.algeria.c
om/

Explore
beautiful
Algeria
Separate guides for each
city, quite small pictures
Nature, culture and specificity
lovers
Areas protected by
UNESCO, nature, sports,
religion, cuisine
Lebanon
http://www.destinati
onlebanon.gov.lb/

Spend the
best
fall/spring/s
ummer/wint
er in
Lebanon
Traditional melody playing
when entering the site
Nature and civilization lovers Sea and mountain
activities, endless sunny
days, cultural heritage,
camping
France
http://us.franceguide
.com/

Rendez
vous en
France
Easy to navigate in the site,
references to all the
upcoming events of the
year
Homosexuals, youth, families,
elderly, nature lovers
Festival de Cannes,
regions of wine and
champagne
Monaco
http://www.visitmon
aco.com/
welcome
to Monaco
Pleasant site, blue colours Every type of traveler Festivals, parks, castles,
formula 1 grand prix
Jordan
http://www.visitjord
an.com/


---------------
-------
Modern and tasteful design
of the site
Adventurous tourists,
relaxation seeking,
businessmen
Sea, dessert valleys,
spas, culture,
conferences, ecology
Palestine
http://www.visit-
palestine.com/
---------------
-------
Ocher colours, very basic
design of the site
It isnt clear what is the target
market
Holy land, cultural
heritage, nature

4. Results
Table 1 shows five categories of the content analysis of the official Mediterranean websites:
name of country and web address, logo, appearance of the site, target group and promoted
products and services. In our study we found that some slogans focus on unique products
attributes. The three more attractive slogans were I feel Slovenia of Slovenia, new
Mediterranean love of Albania, Wonders. Youll love Israel from the first SHALOM of
Israel. The three less attractive slogans were: Welcome to Spain of Spain, Love Cyprus
of Cyprus and Turkey welcomes you of Turkey. Furthermore, Palestine. Jordan and Syria
didnt have a slogan. Regarding the appearance of the websites Monaco and Slovenia had
elements of innovation in contrast to Palestine and Tunisia which did not maximize their
utility as marketing tools. Israel and Albania slogans were the most relevant to the promoted
products and services. In contrary to Croatia and Tunisias slogans which did not respond to
the promoted products and services.

5. Discussion and Conclusion
To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to examine the gap in electronic brand of
the Mediterranean tourism official websites. The study has made a contribution to the Web-
based destination marketing in conjunction with destination branding strategy. It has analyzed
the 23 Mediterranean official tourism websites in terms of slogan, visuals, graphics, and
verbal expressions, and also the sites web-based brand-building systems. The present
research and the one of Lee et al. (2006) have many similarities. As we have already seen
(Lee et al. 2006) the support of the slogan through visual and verbal images, is sometimes
used too sparingly, or the graphic and verbal images are not consistent with the slogan. This
statement is also verified in this paper i.e. in the official websites of Croatia and Tunisia. One
explanation is that the marketing tourism plan is not well structured. Another plausible
explanation is that the slogan is not up to date. In addition, many of the websites do not
currently maximize their utility as marketing tools due to lack of consistency among their
elements. This would explain also the findings of Lee et al. (2006). As Lee et al. (2006)
indicated that the more clearly the tourism slogan of each official page reflects a brand, the
more efficient a message it tends to deliver, our findings verifying that. Monaco and Slovenia
presented the best examples of fully combined websites. Moreover, the slogans that create a
concrete image rather than an abstract or general statement about products and are supported
by matching graphical/verbal imagery are highly likely to project a relatively clearer brand
image.
Our main finding is that the upgrade of the websites is necessary in order to become more
competitive and more attractive in the market. The most general managerial implication
arising from this study is that the slogan has to promote the countrys products and services.
Except from the previous much attention has to be given to the verbal expressions and in
general to the content used for the design of the websites. Marketers need to know precisely
the target group each time, in order to accomplish successfully the brand image.

6. Limitations and Scope of Future Research
The most significant limitation faced in this study relates to the method of analysis. Content
analysis conducted in the current study primarily serves as a starting point for more
comprehensive empirical research. It should be considered an initial attempt for more
comprehensive multi-method studies, which may include focus groups, consumer surveys and
interviews with potential travellers who visit the tourism websites. In this way, the important
findings of this study can be confirmed and extended. In terms of future research, well-
designed replication studies that aim to overcome some of the limitations evident in prior
research are clearly required.

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