IMPACT OF E-TECHNOLOGY ON DESTINATION BRAND AWARENESS

Abstract

Brand awareness is the strength of the brand’s presence in the mind of the target audience and is an integral part of the ConsumerBased Brand Equity (CBBE) model. In combination with the Brand Image, Quality, and Loyalty, Brand Awareness contributes to the overall destination competitiveness.

For addressing the intent, from the Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index (TTCI) of the World Economic Forum are selected pillars that evaluate online and digital performance of the destination and is assessed their relationship with the destination brand awareness. According to the conducted analysis is determined that e-technology, such as “Internet use for business-to-consumer transactions” is the major pillar from applicable TTCI sub-indexes which establishes destination brand awareness; therefore improving performance of this sub-index will have positive effect on the performance of the brand awareness.

It has been also determined that Georgia as a tourism destination performs significantly poorly in this pillar compared to direct regional competitors. In addition, findings indicate that Croatia is the strongest performer in the region and therefore is appropriate for Georgian tourism stakeholders to closer assess models and systems used by the Croatian tourism sector.