Destination Image - Do Berlin´s tourist authorities have to consider cultural segmentation when developing marketing strategies relating to the place´s image in an era that refers to the global tourist?

MA-Thesis / Master von Wassim El Kadhi

Abstract:

Destination image is considered as the key in attracting tourists. This thesis purported to scrutinise whether Berlin’s tourist authorities have to consider cultural segmentation when developing marketing strategies relating to the place’s image. As an exploratory study, it examined Berlin’s image among youths from Arab-Islamic and Protestant European countries and confronted them. In an era that is subjected to globalisation and refers to the global tourist, it is vindicated to pose this question. Various scholars are convinced that the world tourism market may be treated as a homogenous one due to globalisation. However, the literature also provides some opposing bearings and discusses them. It further gives some background information on Berlin as a tourist destination, addresses destination image concerning influential cultural factors and the implications of globalisation on consumer behaviour. Finally, it studies the Arab-Islamic and Protestant European youth cultures in the light of globalisation and possible modifying effects.

In response to the objectives of this study, primary research was conducted. It involved both quantitative and qualitative data collection methods. Field and online surveys enabled the researcher to collect 239 completed questionnaires (103 Arab-Islamic and 136 Protestant European youths). Besides semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions were carried out at EF Language School, Bournemouth. Following the completion of the survey, obtained data was entered into SPSS. Frequencies and means were calculated for each variable and several ANOVA tests and cross-tabulations conducted in order to stress destination image’s specificity in terms of cultural background.

Research findings revealed significant differences between the groups regarding their perception of Berlin. Arab-Islamic youths had a more negative stance towards Berlin than their counterparts. Not only did divergences occur between the groups, but also within the groups. Thus, destination image is culture-specific and may also vary across countries sharing similar cultural backgrounds. Overall, despite the effects of globalisation, cultural market segmentation still remains a vital element for a tourist place such as Berlin where the image management is concerned. The thesis provides recommendations for Berlin congruent with the outcomes and concludes with the provision of recommendations for further research.

Text Sample:

Chapter 2.4, Examination of previous image studies on Germany:

The events of the Second World War affect Germany’s image even 60 years later. In some countries, Germany is still associated with features of the war and, in the US and Russia, Hitler is the best-known German, for instance. This casts a poor light on present day Germany and, arguably, on its tourism industry and may impinge on foreign people’s image of the nation.

However, the FIFA World Cup 2006 in Germany induced positive implications on Germany as a tourist destination. Prior to the World Cup, a study of BPB, the Federal Centre for Political Education, revealed that Germany’s image was rather moderate in countries, such as the UK and Poland, for example, whereas Germany was already positively regarded in the Netherlands and Denmark. Yet, the World Cup further inspired Germany’s image across other countries around the world. In the Anholt Nations Brand Index 2007, which measures the image of countries by considering 6 factors namely tourism, people, culture and heritage, exports, governance and investment and immigration, Germany ranks first, which means a massive improvement over the previous couple of years (GNTB 2008, Hedorfer 2008). Germany could above all score high on tourism and exports as well as on culture and heritage; while, in terms of people, the score was rather low. However, it has overtaken countries, such as the UK, Italy, Canada and France which are well-established tourist destinations.

A further image study conducted by the BBC across 22 countries also revealed that Germany’s political image was positive within the Western world; however, in Islamic-coined countries, such as Egypt and Turkey, the image was negative. This might be the result of the political situation in the Middle East, because Arabs and other Islam members increasingly consider the Western world as an enemy. Galal et al. allege that, since 9/11, there have been many terrible waves between Arabs and Western people, mainly due to the political situation, which plays a major role in the Arab peoples’ image of the West. Although Americans are considered as the main enemy, other Western countries are seen as allies, which might also affect Germany’s image in Arabic nations.

Al-Hamarneh opposes this notion and claims that Germany has a good image in the Arab world for several reasons. Germany’s anti-war policy during the Iraq crisis impressed Arabs and boosted Germany’s bilateral relations with Arab nations. Furthermore, ‘Made in Germany’ is highly appreciated, as it guarantees high quality. Germany is synonymous with high quality, which explains the nation’s popularity for medical tourists from the Arab world. However, Germans are also seen as hard-working, innovative, cultivated and helpful people and thus enjoy a good image too. Consequently, Germany seems to enjoy a positive position in the Arab world beyond the political situation.

Chapter 2.5,Examination of previous image studies of Berlin:

10 to 15 years ago, Berlin used to be a city in search of an identity, which projected a battered image, also as a result of huge economic problems. Berlin has favourably managed its problems though and, nowadays, is one of Europe’s most popular cities for tourists thanks to an image change, not only of Berlin but of Germany as a whole.

Although Berlin is still not mentioned in the same breath as Paris, New York or London, it is increasingly perceived as international. For instance, the C&W/H&B’s European Cities Monitor, which ranks European cities by their business importance, repositioned Berlin on rank 8 in 2005, meaning an improvement of 7 places in comparison to 1990.

In addition, the Anholt City Brands Index 2005 (cited Clark 2008) ranks Berlin’s brand-value within the top ten cities world-wide, which manifests Berlin’s enhanced image. Nevertheless, as already mentioned above, Berlin is still not a big player among international cities, which is further visualised by the GAWC. GAWC clusters big cities in three different orders, Alpha, Beta and Gamma. Alpha-cities are defined as the most important world cities, Beta-cities are less significant and Gamma-cities are the least important. New York and London, for example, are Alpha-cities; whilst Berlin is a Gamma-city, which shows that, despite Berlin’s recent success in tourism, the city might still not have a world reputation. While places such as London might induce clear images in people’s minds around the world, Berlin’s image might be more distorted the farther away people live from Berlin and this may affect primary research findings of this thesis. Some scholars assume that images of distant destinations are rather blurred, especially when the destination is not so known. In this regard, Protestant Europeans and Arabs might display varying images of Berlin, simply because the Arabs’ image of the city could be blurred, especially where pre-visitation image is measured. As will be examined in 3.2, information sources are major influential factors in the image formation process. Since Berlin’s marketing efforts are much higher in Europe than in the Arab world, the likelihood that people’s picture of Berlin is clearer among Europeans than it is among Arabs is increased.

This is also likely regarding BTM’s global marketing strategies. The further away the market is the more focus is put on strategic co-operations, which means Berlin is only represented by third parties in distant places. BTM splits potential source markets into four different groups. Berlin allocates the highest marketing budget to primary markets, while the budget decreases gradually with the lowest budget for basic markets. Consequently, Berlin is much more involved in the UK market, than it is in the Middle East, for example, which might impinge on people’s image of the city.

Previous image studies identified that Berlin’s overall image is positive. Within its source markets (Germany, France, UK, Holland, Poland, and USA), Berlin is especially interesting due to its history, its sound accessibility, its cultural offer, its rich gastronomy and its vivid cityscape. The majority of the respondents also mention Berlin’s sound shopping facilities, its multi-cultural ambiance and the great variety of activities as positive attributes, which create an overall pleasant atmosphere for tourists. Altogether, most respondents, including young tourists, perceive Berlin as a young, creative, multi-cultural, hospitable and dynamic city, while a small minority also mention interesting architecture as appealing. Only when considering the attributes of cleanliness and low price levels do a greater number of people disagree. What is more, many tourists are also disappointed to see little of the Berlin Wall remaining, having originally expected more.

Habermann et al’s image study is appealing for this thesis, as it was based on about 2,000 respondents, of whom about 20 Prozent were under the age of 25. Furthermore, most of them were Germans, Dutch, Americans and British who are representative of Protestant Europe, except for the Americans who are also Protestants. This group exposed slight differences from elder groups in the perception of Berlin, albeit the image was also ‘country of origin-specific’. For example, young people evaluated Berlin’s friendliness of people and security issues lower than elderly people did, whereas older age groups gave smaller scores to cleanliness, but much higher ones in appreciating Berlin’s numerous parks and other green areas. Young people appreciated Berlin’s lively nightlife in particular, whereas foreigners were more reserved than Germans. Differences also became apparent in terms of assessing friendliness since Italians evaluated this attribute lower than their counterparts. British and Italians assessed Berlin’s price level as favourable, while Americans agreed to a lesser extent.