AUXILIARY ISSUES OF BRANDING TOURISM DESTINATIONS: A CASE OF GAUTENG, SOUTH AFRICA

Abstract

Studies show very little evidence to support the concept that slogans and logos are not the only issues destination marketing companies should focus on in their branding efforts. Therefore, this study aims to figure out auxiliary critical issues of branding tourism destinations using Gauteng province as the study area. A mono quantitative survey method was used to validate and factor several issues which were identified in literature. A principal component factor analysis with Varimax rotation method was also conducted to identify the factors which were addressed by the destination managing authority. Five critical factors were identified, namely: destination image, market analysis, political stability, interior configuration and investment potentials. The results of this study therefore substantiated the supposition that branding is a useful marketing factor which succeeds if various aspects are taken into consideration. Establishing auxiliary critical issues is therefore vital for Tourism Destination Marketing Organisations (TDMO) as it can contribute knowledge towards the systematic and comprehensive brand implementation. Given that “product” includes a variety of things, among others provinces, towns, countries and organisations, application of the study results to a wide array of merchandises cannot be underplayed.

Keywords

• tourism destination
• destination branding
• critical issues
• stakeholders
• gauteng