Marketing Mix and Tourism Destination Image: The Study of Destination Bled, Slovenia

Abstract

Background and Purpose: The aim of the research was to find out how business partners from the field of tourism estimate the dimensions of the image of Bled and the marketing mix used to promote Bled. Further on we were interested in evaluating the influence of image and marketing mix on the scope of sales measured in overnights. The following dimensions of image were explored: perceived uniqueness of image as a whole, perceived uniqueness of attractions and experiences, perceived quality of the environment (cleanness), perceived feeling of safety, as well as the dimensions of the marketing mix: perceived quality of products (accommodation, culinary offer, transfers, etc.), perceived price of services, perceived manner of sales for the promotion of Bled, perception of promotional channels, perception of residents (politeness, friendliness, multicultural and religious openness, etc.) and a positive experience of visiting Slovenia. Design/Methodology/Approach: The survey was dispensed among 400 incoming agencies, foreign tour operators, tourist agencies and associations that promote the product of Bled. 235 units were received, 164 of them were completed. The respondents come from 30 countries from all over the world. Results: The findings disclose how service quality, tourist provider competencies and environmental factors are estimated. Safety at Bled has the highest arithmetic mean and the lowest standard deviation. The lowest ranking is linked to traffic and tolerance towards other religions. It is alarming to find the service quality, as the core of tourism business, rated poorly during the main season. Conclusion: Having overviewed the available literature it might be concluded that the analysis can be regarded as the first research of the tourist destination Bled performed in this manner and scope.

Sustainable Event and Festival in Cirebon, Indonesia: in Islamic Marketing Perspective

“…On the other hand, service quality, the competence of tour providers, and environmental factors are at the core of the tourism business (Binter, Ferjan, & Neves, 2016 Although this effort is quite successful, the growing segment is currently detecting the demand for their products related to religious or spiritual tourism, and this segment can still be ignored.…”

Basic of Creative Tourism: Batik as a Creative Industry

“…A tourist destination can be epitomized as a managed tourist system with balanced relations among its participants and with a political consensus on a geographically defined area with sufficient natural and constructed tourist attractions, developed infrastructure, ability to create added value for its visitors and the ability to ensure sustainable tourism development. Tourist destination has the appearance of an independent and competitive product (Kotler et al, 1993; [8]). According [9] defines characteristic criteria of the destination, acknowledges that the limits of destinations in reality are hard to define.…”

The Effect of Marketing Mix Quality on Customer Perceived Values to the Images of Well-Known Recreational Destinations in Sukabumi Region

“…Due to the nature of tourism products, which are a combination of services and products or because of a mixture of physical products, services and natural or cultural goods a slightly changed marketing approach needs to be employed to achieve better results. Marketing in tourism is a voluntary exchange process between users and product / service providers / tourism experience where both parties must be satisfied [12].…”

“…A client satisfied with the services provided is an important element of tourism. Satisfaction can be interpreted as "the level of personal satisfaction when a client compares achievement with expected satisfaction by using a product or service" [12]. In addition to the two dimensions mentioned from the expected and experienced ones; service quality, related to the fact by whom, when and how this is achieved, is the most important element.…”