The Tourism Focus of Place Marketing in the Mediterranean: Evidence ...

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Key words: Place Marketing, tourism, final provided good, Nea Ionia, Pafos ... expanded in several sectors such as tourism, sports, recreation, the arts and the media ... PEST analysis: Political, Economical, Social and Technological factors. ..... The use of advertising campaigns in the city but also at a regional, national.
Discussion Paper Series, 12(5): 83-100

The Tourism Focus of Place Marketing in the Mediterranean: Evidence from Nea Ionia, Magnesia, Greece And Pafos, Cyprus Alex Deffner Assistant Professor of Urban and Leisure Planning Department of Planning and Regional Development School of Engineering, University of Thessaly, Volos 383 34, Greece e-mail: [email protected]

Theodore Metaxas Adjunct Lecturer Department of Planning and Regional Development School of Engineering, University of Thessaly, Volos 383 34, Greece

Abstract European regions and cities have been, especially during the last twenty years, characterised by a plurality of efforts to define their vision, to construct their identity and to shape their images, in order to become more attractive (to visitors, new residents and businesses) and, consequently, competitive, and also to increase their market share in a globalised economy. The purpose of this paper is to present the importance of Place Marketing as a strategic procedure contributing to development and competitiveness. The international experience shows that Place Marketing can operate effectively, through the promotion and support of the image of a place as a ‘final provided good’, in order that it becomes attractive and competitive for the potential target markets. In addition, the majority of implemented place marketing policies relate to tourism and culture. The paper presents the planning process of Place Marketing in the Mediterranean, focusing on the cases of Nea Ionia, Magnesia Greece and Pafos, Cyprus. The paper, by taking into consideration the distinctive (‘branding’) characteristics of each place, constructs the ‘final provided good’ and proposes strategies, tactics and alternative scenarios for each place. The data are provided by the INTERREG IIIC CultMark (Cultural Heritage, Local Identity and Place Marketing for Sustainable Development) project, which has been in operation in five European places since the beginning of 2004: Nea Ionia/ Magnesia/ Greece (lead partner), Chester/ UK, Kainuu/ Finland, Rostock-TLM/ Germany and Pafos/ Cyprus. The main aim of the project is to construct, in a creative way, a final successful image for each place and for the study area as a whole. Key words: Place Marketing, tourism, final provided good, Nea Ionia, Pafos

June 2006 Department of Planning and Regional Development, School of Engineering, University of Thessaly Pedion Areos, 38334 Volos, Greece, Tel: +302421074462, e-mail: [email protected], http://www.prd.uth.gr Available online at: http://www.prd.uth.gr/research/DP/2005/uth-prd-dp-2006-5_en.pdf

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Introduction: Defining Place Marketing as a Strategic Process Place/city marketing constitutes one of the most interesting areas of research the last twenty years, since many cities, especially in Europe, use promotion policies in order to support their images and become competitive among other cities (Ashworth and Voogd, 1990; Kotler et al, 1993; 1999; Duffy, 1995; Ward, 1998; Avraham 2000, 2004; Urban, 2002). With reference to European regions and cities, Kotler et al. (1999) point out that the economic dynamism of a region/city also reflects on the development dynamics of that place, attributing an attractive or unattractive character to it. Regions/cities are characterised by their necessity to present, in their external environment, a positive image as far as their economic development is concerned, and for this reason they adopt promotional programmes and actions, which they subsequently implement (Hall, 1998/2001). In case of Place Marketing this product (Goodwin, 1993), or ‘good’ (Metaxas, 2003), is a place or a city or an island, especially when we talk about tourism destinations (Buhalis, 2000; Chaudhary, 2000) or tourism products (Meler and Ruzic, 1999; Morrison, 1999: 288), or destination products (Oppermann, 1996; Choi et al, 1999; Murphy et al, 2000). According to Kotler, et al (1999: 125), City/ Place Marketing

…refers to a place planning procedure concerning the satisfaction of the needs of target – markets. It could be successful when it satisfies two main parameters: a) the enterprises’ and the residents’ satisfaction from the purchase of goods and services that the place provides, b) the satisfaction of the expectations of potential target -markets (enterprises and visitors), as long as the goods and the services that the place provides to them are those that they wish to get.

The application of place marketing policies as tools for urban economic development expanded in several sectors such as tourism, sports, recreation, the arts and the media (Bianchini, 1993: 29), creating, at the same time, powerful cultural industries, including a variety of activities such as fashion and design, architecture and townscape, heritage, local history, eating and entertainment, and generally a city’s identity and external image (Pratt, 1997; Deffner, 2000; Kong, 2000). Primarily, a City/ Place Marketing procedure should be evaluated under the philosophy of Urban Management (Ashworth and Voogd, 1990), in the same way that the promotion process is a basic part of Marketing (Sandhusen, 1993). The Strategic Planning process concerns the analysis of the internal and the external environment of cities (SWOT and

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PEST analyses)1, relating to the examination of the relationships, which developed inside the organization (city/ place)2. The most significant issue is that the vision of the city and the development objectives and strategies, depended on the local distinctive characteristics and the particularities of each place and the final strategic place marketing plan in order to become effective should based on these characteristics.

1. Place Marketing and Place Development in the Field of Tourism The investigation of the relationship between place marketing and place development and competitiveness, in most of the theoretical and empirical approaches tends to examine each of the above terms separately, presenting, mostly, place promotion (and not place marketing) procedure as something less interesting in the whole process of local economic development and place competitiveness, without any academic or empirical investigation of the impact of place marketing on place development (Bradley et al., 2002). Cheshire and Gordon (1996), suggest that there must be some evaluation of development policies between those territorially competitive policies that are pure zero sum and those territorially competitive policies that potentially offer net gains not only to the people who live in the territory but also to the wider community. These views are opposed to place marketing supporters (Ashworth and Voogd, 1990: 45; Kotler et al 1993, 1999; Short and Kim, 1998; van den Berg and Braun, 1999; Urban, 2002). The implementation of promotional activities and policies without strategic planning based on knowledge and “know-how”, are not useful and therefore could become waste strategies (Metaxas, 2002). The appropriate application of promotional efforts could cause positive influence on decisions concerning planning policies related to local economic development issues (Reese, 1992).

1

SWOT analysis: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats PEST analysis: Political, Economical, Social and Technological factors. 2 In the case of Place Marketing case, but also in Marketing generally, the analysis parameters are the following: a) Basic factors examining the identification of the relationships between the organisation and Strategic Planning in the past (where we were) b) Basic factors examining the identification of the relationships between the organisation and Strategic Planning in the present (where we are). c) Basic factors examining the identification of the relationships between the organisation and Strategic Planning in the future (where we would like to go) (Needham, et al, 1999: 17) UNIVERSITY OF THESSALY, Department of Planning and Regional Development

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The international experience indicates a focus on tourism and culture and shows an extensive variety of initiatives that concern urban and economic regeneration, by using particular strategies and tactics (i.e. the cases of Sheffield – Bramwell 1998, Apulia in Italy – Novelli 2003, of Bradford – Hope and Klemm 2001, of Pamplona and Holstebro in Spain – Kotler et al., 1999, of York – Snaith and Haley 1999, of Alonnisos and the National Marine Park of Northern Sporades in Greece (Loukissas et al., 2002). All these cases focus on tourism development and use as tools some particular actions in order to achieve their main goals. These tools are: a) identification of the city’s environment strengths and weaknesses, b) identification and evaluation of cities particularities and distinctive characteristics, c) use and implementation of market research analysis, d) development of promotional policies, and e) development of partnership between city’s actors. The existence of a sustainable and effective tourism and cultural economy is based on the capacity and knowledge of the places’ internal actors to create particular plans of action, by evaluating which fields of implementation of tourism and cultural policies could constitute a competitive advantage at a given time (Deffner and Metaxas, 2003). The contribution of tourism and culture must be related to the conformance and the implementation of urban policy actions, the focus on the satisfaction of the needs and demands of the potential target markets, the enforcement and promotion of the cultural identity and image of the place, the contribution of citizenship to achieving a better quality of life, and to the construction of a place competitive advantage.

2. The Vision, the Image and the Distinctiveness of a Place Shaping the vision concerns the identification of sustainable development objectives that each place sets up as part of its long-term vision. Furthermore, the vision is the first step in the strategic planning implementation that a place has to follow in order to construct its identity and to produce its image as a ‘final provided good’. The most important issue is that the vision of each place, as well as the development objectives and strategies, depend on its local distinctive characteristics and particularities. Also the Place Marketing Final Plan, in order to become effective, should be based on these characteristics (Metaxas, 2003; Deffner and Metaxas, 2006). The creation of a positive city image constitutes an extremely important part of economic regeneration (Hall, 1998/2001: 115). Cities are striving towards the creation of the most competitive and attractive image in order to increase their market share in a global economy. Cities like Rotterdam (as a marked and business centre) [JansenVerbeke and van Recom, 1996], Singapore (as an information city ‘intelligent island’) [Mahizhnan, 1999] and Bradford (as an industrial area) [Hope and Klemm, 2001] are seeking to develop culture, tourist and leisure policies in order attract potential target Discussion Paper Series, 2006, 12(5)

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markets and so enhance their economic development. The final provided good is the image of the place/city that is applied to the selected target markets. The production of this ‘good’ is not something random: it is a continuous process with particular development stages. The image of the city/ place is related to its distinctive characteristics. Each one of these characteristics constitutes a ‘distinctive good’. The image of a city/ place is more or less a puzzle of ‘distinctive characteristics’, each of which needs a different strategic approach (Metaxas, 2003), and the production of city/ place image as a ‘good’ is an integral part of Place Marketing.

3. The CULTMARK Project3 CultMark (Cultural Heritage, Local Identity and Place Marketing for Sustainable Development) is an INTERREG IIIC project. CultMark is applying a place marketing strategy with a cultural approach. This means that it emphasizes the cultural dimension of marketing, as well as the promotion of the cultural resources of each place both in connection with the planning of demonstration actions. The main aim of CultMark is to create a final successful image for each city/ region partner, as well as the study area as whole. The main objective is the development and implementation of innovative place marketing strategies, based on the elements of local identity and the cultural assets of the partner areas, in order to contribute to their sustainable economic and social development. Its secondary objectives include: the promotion of heritage as a significant factor in local and cultural development, the promotion and improvement of the investment climate of each area, the global promotion and support of the image of each area, the connection between place marketing and spatial development as an innovative approach to planning, the promotion and support of the representation of common developmental interests, the promotion and support of local knowledge and skills, the development of common and individual demonstration actions taking into account the particularities of each area, the support of the provision and diffusion of knowledge and know-how to actors, encouraging the development of entrepreneurial skills.

3 The scientific support of CultMark is provided by the Laboratory of Tourism Planning Research and Policy (LATOUPREP), Department of Planning and Regional Development, University of Thessaly. The director is Alex Deffner, Assistant Professor of Urban and Leisure Planning, and the members are Nick Bogiazides (Αdjunct Assistant Professor), Pashalis Arvanitidis (Adjunct Lecturer), Theodore Metaxas (Adjunct Lecturer), Christos Liouris, Penelope Melidou, and Christina Vlahopoulou. Sections 4.2 and 4.4. are based on the Cultural Data Report (2005) which was elaborated by P. Arvanitidis (mainly), C. Liouris and P. Melidou.

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In this paper two cases of CultMark partners are presented. The case of Nea Ionia municipality in Magnesia prefecture in Greece and the region of Pafos in Cyprus. The analysis focuses on the presentation of the vision, the image which represents the ‘final provided good’, the implemented promotional policies, and the proposed promotional strategies and tactics.

4. The Cases: Nea Ionia, Magnesia, Greece and Pafos, Cyprus 4.1 Profiles The Prefecture of Magnesia, having a central geographical position in Greece and being almost equidistant from the two major urban centres of Athens and Thessaloniki, constitutes a very important junction. By having one of the most significance harbours of Greece (Volos) it has a developed system of sea transports and a high level of communication infrastructures in the sectors of transports and energy. The urban agglomeration includes the municipalities of Volos, Nea Ionia and other smaller areas, and it has a population of about 130,000. Volos and the wider area have been developed as manufacturing and industrial centres, especially in the last three decades. The economy of the city is based on the industrial and the service sector. An important advantage in the attempt for Nea Ionia’s tourist development is the construction of a modern, organized and large (in size and possibilities) sport centre around Panthessalikon Stadium sports centre, and the gratis international promotion of the city. This constitutes a comparative advantage against other cities that, like Nea Ionia, don’t have a classic tourist destination profile to promote. The elements that could lead to tourist development should be focused on: •

The staging of special sport events after the Olympics (this is actually happening: European Gymnastics and Volley Championship)



The promotion the great arched Mycenaean tomb in ‘Kazanaki’ area that could become the ‘heart’ of a visited archaeological site



The promotion of the local cuisine.

Pafos is located to the west of Cyprus. The whole city of Pafos is included in the official UNESCO list of cultural and natural treasures of the World Heritage. For the last fifteen years tourism has been major source of income in Pafos. Tourist development has been increasing but well controlled. The environmental protection measures, the special morphology and the many ancient sites provided Pafos with the opportunity to become one of the most popular tourist destinations in Cyprus. The Pafos area has beautiful

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mountain villages where life has remained unchanged over the years, and where the customs and traditions of Cyprus have been kept alive. Pafos has recently experienced a rapid growth in commercial and business activity; with the development of a number of well-designed shopping centres in the tourist area, Kato Pafos (lower part), and in the city centre. Pafos is well provided for in the fields of banking, financial and consulting services. All the important enterprises have a branch in the city and the area of Pafos, which gives an indication of the importance of the area, especially after the recent boom in tourism.

4.2 Vision and determinants that satisfy the vision of the two places

This section looks at the vision cities/places have in terms of their position and development prospects in the near future. It starts identifying how respondents envisage their city/place, then it moves to discuss what they think are the chances this to come true in the near future, and it concludes exploring the contribution of a number of factors to the accomplishment of this vision. More particularly: According the evidence of the ‘Cultural Data Report’ (2005), experts and decision makers in Nea Ionia envisage a city that is economically robust, socially balanced and pays due respect to both the natural and the cultural environment. On these grounds, they regard that a well planned development, which takes care of the environmental problems (including traffic) and provides the necessary cultural infrastructure (museums, theatres, galleries or other spaces to house culture), will support the further development of the city as a tourist destination and attraction pole. The local cultural characteristics of the people (mainly refugees for Asia Minor), the beauty of the natural environment of the wider area, and the available sport infrastructure (developed for the 2004 Olympics), constitute some of the main assets of the place. The vast majority of the respondents (about 84%) argue that such a vision is quite possible to become a reality in the future. The vision of Pafos is for a cultural and nature heritage area able to attract high quality tourism all year round, improving, at the same time, the quality of life of the locals. It is argued that what is required is the development of appropriate cultural infrastructure (e.g. new theatre, galleries, etc.), the maintenance and protection of archaeological areas, the improvement of the Archaeological and other Museums and the organization of events of worldwide range (such as European Capital of Culture). It is generally agreed that such a vision is not difficult to be accomplished. Actually, about 60% of the experts surveyed believe that the vision is very possible to come true. In regard to the factors that contribute to the accomplishment of the city/place vision, those that score high are two: the participation in European development programmes in UNIVERSITY OF THESSALY, Department of Planning and Regional Development

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cooperation with other cities/places, and the acceptance of the vision by the local community (Table 1). The diagnosis and the evaluation of the distinctive characteristics of each development sector for Nea Ionia is a crucial factor that could contribute to accomplishment of the vision. Also the significance of partnerships development between local authorities with the universities and with citizens, in the frame of a co-operative marketing strategy, is very crucial in order the vision of the city to be satisfied. At the end the ability of local authorities to adopt and implement innovative activities presents a quite high degree of importance for the vision of the city. All others are seen as of medium importance, apart from the analysis of the internal and external environment, which is regarded as of low importance. Nea Ionia seems to acknowledge the role and the value of those factors that could contribute effectively in order the vision of the city to become real. Of course, all these factors could operate successfully when all the internal actors and forces of the city, represent common interests and develop common activities, taking into consideration that the vision of the city concerns equally all groups. In Pafos, as far as the factors that contribute to the accomplishment of its vision are concerned, respondents unanimously place at the top of the scale the development of partnerships between local authorities and the business community, as well as the acceptance of the vision by the local community. Other factors that score very high (but not unanimously) are the existence of development goals, the participation of the community in the development of Pafos’ vision, and the level of capacity and knowledge of local authorities to plan and implement development policies. All the rest are deemed to contribute to a high degree to the accomplishment of the vision. These include the existence/provision of a development plan, the analysis of the internal and external environment (e.g. SWOT analysis), the identification of the distinctive characteristics, the development of partnerships between local authorities, research centres and the citizens, the participation in European development programmes in cooperation with other places, and the systematic collection of data and information required for comprehensive decision making. The total average is consequently very high (4.4). This fact leads to the conclusion that in Pafos, a well-organised effort of developing corporative actions in order to satisfy its vision has already been implemented by the relevant actors and decision makers.

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The planning and the implementation of particular city development plan The identification of particular main development goals The analysis of city internal and external environment (based on particular methods, such as SWOT analysis) The diagnosis and the evaluation of city distinctive characteristics in each development sector The planning and the development of partnerships between the local authorities and the business community The planning and the development of partnerships between the local authorities and the and the academic or research centres The planning and the development of partnerships between the local authorities and the citizens The participation to specific European development programmes in co-operation to other cities The development of a systematic collection of data and information supporting the decision making process The adaptation and the implementation of new innovative promotional policies by local public authorities The representation of common interests for city development by the local authorities, the enterprises and the community The level of capacity and the level of knowledge of the local public authorities to plan and to implement development policies The understanding of the community that the vision of the city is a common interest average

PAFOS

Factors

NEA IONIA

Table 1: Factors that contribute to the accomplishment of vision (1: min, 5: max)

2,8

4,6

2,5 2,0

4,8 4,2

3,0

4,2

2,5

5,0

3,0

3,8

3,3

4,0

3,8

4,0

2,8

4,4

3,2

4,6

3,0

4,6

3,0

4,6

3,5

5,0

3,0

4,4

Source: Cultural Data Report-CultMark project (December, 2005)

The two places share the same wider objective, looking forward to economic prosperity, social cohesion and high quality of life for their citizens. The development of the cultural sector can substantially contribute towards this end. It can improve the quality of life and enhance the overall attractiveness of the place, advancing tourism. As expected, however, this general objective is tailored differently by each city/place in the attempt to form a vision that suits better its specificities, conditions, needs and history. Nea Ionia and Pafos, have a clear orientation towards leisure and tourism and, in a rather narrow perspective, seek to develop the cultural sector (mainly infrastructure) and use it as a vehicle for the enhancement of their position as tourist destinations.

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4.3 The image of the two places as ‘final provided good’ The image of Nea Ionia comprises two elements, the traditional and the modern. On the one hand it is a city that seeks to keep its links with its distinctive traditions and cultural heritage, and on the other it strives to become modern and economic robust, confronting the same problems of urbanisation that most Greek cities face (i.e. congestion, pollution, etc.). The image of Nea Ionia is a multiple tourism good based on heritage, sport and food’, a combination of distinctive characteristics that characterised the city. This combination is a very difficult one since it requires particular promotional actions and consequently particular sub-promotional maps. Of course the combination of the final provided good, offers the opportunity to the selected target markets to receive a multidimensional final goods, combining several activities. On this case the creation of specific promotional packages that include all the aforementioned forms, will be one very good action. Of course this is something that depends on the identification of the particular target markets that the city of Nea Ionia wants to attract. Local experts support that the factors that are related strongly with city’s image effective promotion are the high level of natural environment quality (77,8%, i.e. the added percentages of columns 4 and 5), the local community hospitality (66,7%) and of provision of open and green spaces (55,5%) [Table 2]. Pafos is a well-known resort and tourist destination with rich historical heritage and environmental quality. The city is included in the official UNESCO list of cultural and natural treasures of the world’s heritage. More specifically the particular elements of this image highlight the city as: Well-known tourist resort, a city rich in historical and archaeological sites, a city with beautiful scenery and high standards of hospitality and a city of low crime and high quality environment. For Pafos the creation of the ‘final provided good’ based on the analysis and evaluation of based on the analysis of culture and tourism sectors. The main development axis is the enforcement of the ‘mega event’ area and the creation of special goods and services deriving from culture and tourism mix composition. It’s very obvious that Pafos needs to penetrate in international event tourism. With main axis of development and competitiveness the Aphrodite festival, seeks to improve its ‘event image’ and to become attractive among other cities. A slightly different view emerges in the ‘Final Provided Good Report’ (2004). As Table 2 indicates, and according to local experts opinion, the city’s capacity to satisfy the needs and requirements of tourists is medium in terms of urban aesthetic and the provision of open and green space, and low in terms of ability to keep the public spaces clean. A more positive city image is supported by high levels of hospitality and an attractive natural environment, all of which have been identified above.

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Table 2: Factors related to the image of Nea Ionia and Pafos (1: lowest, 5: highest) Factors Nea Ionia Quality of urban aesthetic The attractiveness of the natural environment Capacity of the city to provide open and green spaces Capacity of the city to have clean public spaces Local people hospitality Pafos Quality of urban aesthetic The attractiveness of the natural environment Capacity of the city to provide open and green spaces Capacity of the city to have clean public spaces Local people hospitality

1

2

3

4

5

Total

0,0 0,0

22,2 11,1

33,3 11,1

33,3 55,6

11,1 22,2

100 100

0,0

0,0

44,4

44,4

11,1

100

0,0

44,4

11,1

33,3

11,1

100

0,0

11,1

22,2

66,7

0,0

100

0% 0%

40% 20%

20% 20%

40% 60%

0% 0%

100% 100%

0%

20%

60%

20%

0%

100%

20%

40%

20%

20%

0%

100%

0%

0%

0%

80%

20%

100%

Source: Final Provided Good Report – CultMark project (June, 2004)

4.4 Promotional policies related to the city/ place image As regards promotional policies, local experts in Nea Ionia agree that none is implemented at a high degree. Of the six with medium implementation the one that scores higher is the creation of a website for a specific event that takes place in the city (although there is quite a divergence of opinion among the respondents on this issue). The other five are the creation of a website for the city, the creation of city image guides, the creation of particular actions and promotional packages for specific target markets, the participation of the city to European culture-related networks, and the promotion of city image through links with other cities and countries. The policies that are marginally implemented are development of sponsorships, the existence of strategic marketing or public relation plans, and active participation of city actors in the development of city image promotional process. In the case of Pafos, promotional policies show an above average degree of implementation. Those score high are five: the creation of a city website and city image guides (both of which are unanimously at the top of the list), the development of promotional packages for specific target markets, the creation of strategic image marketing plans, and the participation to European/international exhibitions, fairs, etc. (which shows considerable divergence of agreement). All the rest are regarded medium in their implementation, apart from the existence of information centres and the creation of promotional CD-ROMs, DVDs and Videos, which, surprisingly for a tourist destination city, score low (actually they get the lowest score). UNIVERSITY OF THESSALY, Department of Planning and Regional Development

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Table 3: Degree of implementation of promotional policies in relation to the city/ place

Promotional Policies

NEA IONIA

PAFOS

image (1: min, 5: max)

Creation of a website with particular links to the cultural sector of the city, or other sectors (business environment, services etc) Existence of a particular website of special events that your city is known of, with a variety of information for the visitors Creation of city image guides, focus to the culture, tourism and business environment of the city The existence of a newsletter which is published from a local authority organization and it is distribute to the city community groups (citizens, enterprises, hotels, restaurants etc) The existence of information centres with specialized staff The creation of CD-ROMs, DVDs and Videos, which provides information to the potential target markets The use of advertising campaigns in the city but also at a regional, national or European level The use of advertising in magazines or newspapers in local level or national level The participation of the city to European or international exhibitions, fairs, festivals, musicals or theatrical performances etc The creation of particular actions and promotional packages for specific target markets (visitors with special interests, disability groups, students etc) The participation of the city to European networks that promote and support the image of the cities, with special reference to culture The existence of particular package of sponsorships The promotion of city image through links with tourist and culture organizations and agents in other cities and countries The creation of a strategic image management and marketing plan The active participation of city actors and organizations (museums, theatres, tourist agents etc), to establish common strategies and tactics for the city image promotional process The development of cultural business activities, through the production and the promotion of products, which characterize the image and identity of the city The creation of a strategic public relation plan, aiming at the most effective distribution of the image of the city as ‘good’ The creation of a specialized working group which will evaluate, organize and implement all the aforementioned actions above average

2,8

4,0

3,2

3,4

2,7

4,0

2,3

3,4

2,0 2,2

2,4 2,4

2,0

3,2

2,0

3,4

2,3

3,6

2,5

3,8

2,5

3,2

1,8 2,7

3,0 3,4

1,8 1,8

3,8 3,2

2,2

3,2

1,8

3,2

2,2

3,2

2,3

3,3

Source: Cultural Data Report - CultMark project (December, 2005)

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The two places have certain similarities in terms of the wider image they strive to develop. This is perhaps due to the fact that they have the same problems, needs and objectives. The basis of their image can be found on the local distinctive characteristics, whereas their development can be seen as an attempt to reconcile history, traditions, industrial past, etc. (the ‘old’) with modern requirements and way of life (the ‘new’), in order to achieve sustainability. Although Nea Ionia realises the importance of a well developed and promoted city image, it seems hesitant to take appropriate action. Pafos tries to build on its well-known advantage (natural environment, history, tourism, etc.) and experience further growth and prosperity.

4.5 Proposed marketing strategies for the two places The identification of the marketing strategies should satisfy the development objectives of each place. Kotler et al (1993, 1999), point out two crucial questions concerning strategies: what advantages do we possess which suggest that we can succeed with the strategy? and do we have the resources required for successful implementation of the strategy? Porter (1980) proposes two basic strategies that could be implemented in the case of Place Marketing: differentiation and focus strategy. The first strategy is related to the awareness of the competitive advantages and the uniqueness of the place, while the second one focuses on a specific target market in which the place should cover and satisfy particular needs. Deffner and Metaxas (2006) propose penetration and cooperative marketing strategy. In the first one, the place image penetrates a new target market promoting and supporting the local goods that already exist, while the second strategy requires the planning and implementation of promotional actions, through the representation of common interests of the internal actors. More particularly: In the case of Nea Ionia, the study proposes the implementation of focus strategy, by taking into account that Nea Ionia wants to promote three main types of tourism (cultural, sports and food), should choose the appropriate strategies for each type and per each target market. Based on its distinctive characteristics and the advantage of an Olympic Municipality, Nea Ionia tries to acquire a strong position in the area of sport and cultural tourism. Taking into consideration that the vision of Nea Ionia is based on the identification of distinctive characteristics and the strong cultural identity, the focus strategy could satisfy the vision and the development objectives for the following reasons: •

The city tries to increase its market share to specific tourist markets at national level and to penetrate in the same markets at European and international level. So, the enforcement of its tourism economy based on the effective attraction of these target markets and the total satisfaction of their needs and perceptions.



The creation of a competitive advantage based on the analysis and the evaluation of these target markets. Nea Ionia should focus on their particularities in order to plan

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and implement the appropriate actions that secure the successful development of its promotional policy. •

The vision of Nea Ionia is to become an attraction pole, promoting to the potential target markets a multi-dimensional image. The implementation of a focus strategy provides the opportunity to the city, to get knowledge and experience through this process that allows to satisfy its development objectives



The implementation of a focus strategy is closer to the vision and the objectives of the city, since it is a strategy that is proposed for small cities, with low level of reputation, low ability to implement a variety of promotional policies and also an internal weakness in developing effective partnerships between the internal actors.

In the case of Pafos, the study proposes the implementation of a combined strategy. Concerning the cultural sector, Pafos has to follow a focus strategy based on the promotion of special events (as the main development axes) and also the penetration to specific target markets. More particularly: •

The worldwide cultural reputation will be stronger through the organisation of these events. At present, a considerable effort is taking place for the Aphrodite Festival. A tourist marketing office exists, but it is necessary to apply a place marketing perspective, for the planning and implementation of particular place promotion strategies and tactics. The implementation of this strategy aims at those organisations that accept to participate in special events that the city has the capacity to organise.



The creation of competitive advantage is also crucial. The implementation of this strategy needs the existence of qualified staff, a good Public Relations Plan, and the development of alternative methods such as the brainstorming.

In the area of tourism, the region, in accordance with the general national tourism strategy, has to follow a penetration strategy, investing to a variety of special tourist products aiming to become an attraction tourist destination for a large market. Based on the promotion of distinctive characteristics and the provision of high-level customer services, this strategy is related with the satisfaction of the vision and the development goals of Pafos, for the following reasons: •

The creation of branding based on the provision of services and tourist facilities. Pafos has the capacity to follow the international tourism trends and to create new tourist products and services, combining the sectors of tourism and culture.



this leads to the awareness of Pafos as a top tourist destination, at European and international level, for developing mass tourism activities.

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5. Conclusions Place marketing is a strategic process contributing to place development and place competitiveness. To this end place marketing can operate effectively mainly through the promotion and support of the image of a place as a ‘final provided good’. This image relates both to the vision and the local distinctive (‘branding’) characteristics of each place. The paper, using two examples from Mediterranean countries (Nea Ionia, Magnesia Greece and Pafos, Cyprus) and the data of the INTERREGIIIc CultMark project, and argues that Place Marketing should have a focus on tourism, while, at the same time, tourism (and/or destination) marketing should have a focus on place marketing. The two places have certain similarities in terms of the wider image they strive to develop. Their development can be seen as an attempt to reconcile history, traditions, industrial past, etc. (the ‘old’) with modern requirements and way of life (the ‘new’), in order to achieve sustainability. An additional common point is the proposal of a focus strategy.

Acknowledgements

Paper presented to the Hellenic Open University International Conference of Trends, Impacts and Policies on Tourism Development Amoudara, Heraklion, Crete, GREECE 15-18 June 2006 We would like to express our thanks to the JTS INTERREG IIIC East and to the partners for the use of the delivered material.

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