Relevance of the topic. Current trends in the development of tourism indicate an increase in its influence both on the world economy as a whole and on the economies of individual countries and regions. Tourism is a large sector of the national economy, the activities of which, on the one hand, are aimed at satisfying the specific needs that arise among the population during travel and recreation, and on the other hand, can ensure the growth of the region’s economy.

Creating a strong brand with a lot of equity gives a company certain advantages. First of all, it increases customer commitment, reduces the brand’s vulnerability to actions by competitors or in market crisis conditions, increases margins, creates a more favorable response from customers to price increases or decreases, strengthens trade or intermediary cooperation, contributes to increased efficiency of marketing communications, and also opens up prospects for licensing and brand expansion.

In conditions of fierce competition, even well-known enterprises face a rather difficult task: how to maintain their position in the market and maintain operational efficiency. Typically, the management of organizations carries out a number of measures to increase market share, reduce costs in order to implement price competition, and many others. But often this is not enough to survive.

Many experts are increasingly inclined to the conclusion that the main factor in the success of most enterprises is the loyalty of consumers, in other words, their loyalty. The highest degree of consumer loyalty (devotion) is an almost fanatical reverence for the brand.

In general, the creation of tourist brands is considered as a comprehensive investment in the recreational potential of the territory. It involves both the formation of an information field and the creation of infrastructure, the introduction of new service quality standards, training and advanced training of personnel. The effectiveness of these processes in market conditions depends, first of all, on the targeted work of tour operators.

The purpose of the work is marketing research of a tourism brand using the example of the travel agency "Avotour".

The subject of the study is the branding features of the travel agency "AvoTour".

The object of the study is branding in the tourism sector.

The objectives of the study were:

• A) consideration of the essential characteristics of the brand concept;
• B) characteristics of the technology for creating and managing a brand;
• C) justification of the need for branding in tourism;
• D) analysis of the principles of forming a competitive brand in the tourism industry;
• D) identifying areas of marketing research in the tourism business;
• E) research of the brand of the travel agency “AvoTour”, Kyiv.

Traditionally, branding uses a set of quantitative (mass survey) and qualitative (focus groups, in-depth interviews, etc.) research methods. However, attempts to combine them, i.e., identifying deep, unconscious characteristics of consumers’ consciousness using quantitative measures for their assessment, seem quite promising. The possibility of such a combination is provided by one of the projective research methods - the method of semantic differential.

When talking about the concept of “brand,” you should pay attention to its purpose, in other words, to the human perception of the information contained in it. A brand must evoke associations with the product, be a certain embodiment of its essence, reflect its purpose and contain a special meaning inherent in the product. Therefore, the brand in modern conditions is one of the central concepts of marketing. The product is perceived through the brand; accordingly, the brand must reflect the properties of the product, its quality, so that when analyzed by the consumer, a positive image of the product itself is formed. A bright and easy to remember brand will be more successful than a complex and confusing one.

The concept of “brand” is very broad and includes all the properties of the product, such as name, history, reputation, packaging, price - a whole complex of separate concepts that ultimately form the impression of the product. It can easily change thanks to the brand, but the product remains the same. In other words, a brand is a system that identifies a product, and the activities to create a brand are called branding.

Branding is a set of marketing efforts to form a favorable impression on the consumer about a product to which a brand name has been assigned.

A brand creates a special image of a product, distinguishing it from the gray mass of alternative products and creating the possibility of competition. Companies with branded products are much more successful than their competitors; their customer segment is much wider.

The word “brand” itself means “grade”, “quality”. It is designed to remain in a person’s mind, to “shout” about the exclusivity of the product, evoking positive emotions.

A brand is a name and at the same time a term and sign, symbol or any other value that identifies the goods or services of one seller, distinguishes them from other goods or services of the same sellers - this definition is given by the American Marketing Association.

The essence of a brand is to achieve consumer loyalty to the proposed brand. It is the presence of this loyalty, that is, a favorable attitude of consumers towards a given company or product, that is the basis for a stable sales volume. Which in turn is a strategic indicator of the company’s success.

The degree of customer loyalty is characterized by his commitment to a specific brand of product and is usually measured by the number of repeat purchases of the product. The highest form of consumer loyalty is fanatical reverence for a brand - a product that consumers prefer and purchase without being guided by the principles of “price-quality”.

But before the consumer shows loyalty and interest in the product or service offered, the product must be brought to the target audience. This process is carried out using certain techniques, methods and techniques that allow not only to form an image of a product brand in the minds of consumers, but also to assist in the buyer’s perception of the functional and emotional elements of the product. In this context, the brand helps the buyer speed up the selection of a product and the decision to purchase it. In turn, the distinctive characteristics of the brand are:

• - its main content;
• - functional and emotional associations that are expressed by customers and potential customers
• - verbal part of a brand or verbal trademark
• - visual image of the brand, formed by advertising in the perception of the buyer
• - level of brand awareness among the buyer, brand strength
• - a generalized set of brand characteristics that characterizes its individuality
• - cost estimates, indicators
• - degree of brand promotion
• - degree of brand involvement in the target audience and its individual segments

The listed characteristics reflect the level of success of the created brand, despite the fact that the higher the characteristics are rated, the more successfully the image of the product - the brand - is created.

Brand creation and management technology

If a product is not able to satisfy the consumer, then any, even the most ingenious brand created for him, is doomed to failure, so the branded product must correspond to the quality that the brand promises it.

Brand creation is creativity based on deep knowledge of the market. The process of creating a brand is quite complex, and the cost of a mistake can be simply astronomical, so many large companies prefer not to do it themselves, but to outsource the creation of the brand to a professional company in this field.

The brand creation process includes the following stages:

• A) Brand positioning;
• B)Development of brand strategy;
• C) Development of content, brand ideas;
• D) Trademark analysis and brand name search.

The beginning of work on any brand is its positioning in the market. Brand positioning is the place in the market occupied by the brand in relation to competitors, as well as a set of consumer needs and perceptions; part of the brand’s personality, which should be actively used to differentiate itself from competitors. Accordingly, brand position is the place that the brand occupies in the minds of the target audience in relation to competitors. It focuses on the strengths of a brand that make it stand out from its competitors. Successful positioning allows you not only to determine the place of your product in the market, but also to provide it with an additional competitive advantage

Positioning is an argument that can not only push the consumer to purchase, but also help him feel a state of satisfaction from use.

The main task of brand positioning is to find answers to questions such as: for whom is the brand created? Why, what benefits will the consumer receive from this brand? For what purpose is this brand needed? What competing product should this brand protect the company from?

The next stage of creating a brand is developing a brand strategy, i.e. a strategic program used by a firm to create brand equity. The strategy determines: who is the target audience? What should you promise this audience? How can you justify this promise to the buyer? What impression should the consumer have of the brand?

Strategic brand planning must be carried out using methods that establish how a product is made, named, classified, displayed and advertised.

The development of content and brand ideas is carried out at the next stage. The core idea of ​​the brand should reflect the promise, the offer of its benefits. To create a unique brand, you need to know as much as possible about the product and its manufacturer, everything related to the use of the product in this and related industries. The brand idea should interest and captivate the buyer, draw his attention to the brand and product.

The final stage of creating a brand is analyzing the brand and finding a brand name. A trademark is a symbol that, through its association with a product or service, provides the consumer with information about the product and its consumer characteristics. It reassures customers that when they purchase a product, they will receive the same quality as before. In addition, a brand provides an opportunity to introduce new products to the market and influence retailers.

Domestic tourist flow will continue to grow in 2016. This forecast was presented by Russian Minister of Culture Vladimir Medinsky during the “government hour” dedicated to tourism. He noted that in 2013 the domestic tourist flow amounted to 29 million trips, in 2014 - 40 million, in 2015 - 50 million. Thus, the annual increase is about 20%.

“It would be reckless to explain the growth of domestic tourism only by the exchange rate of the ruble and the closure of Egypt and Turkey. The point is that our hospitality infrastructure has certainly improved qualitatively,” noted Vladimir Medinsky.

Also, over the past two years, the domestic market has seen a reorientation of tourists from independent vacations to organized ones. Now every fourth trip to Russia sold is a full-fledged package tour, which includes air travel, transfer, accommodation and meals.

“Two years ago, the largest tour operators entered the domestic market, which previously mainly specialized in organizing trips abroad. They created high-quality package tours to domestic resorts, which made it possible to significantly reduce the cost of holidays in Russia. Last year, all package tours - which is about 600 thousand - were sold. This year, judging by the dynamics of early bookings, the positive trend will continue. In addition, tour operators have expanded their range of offers and introduced budget package tours with rail transfers. All this makes holidays in Russia even more accessible to a wide audience. ", noted the head of the Federal Tourism Agency Oleg Safonov.

The growth in demand for holidays in Russia is facilitated by the creation of modern tourism infrastructure, which is part of the implementation of the Federal Target Program for the Development of Domestic and Inbound Tourism. In total, the Federal Target Program provides for the construction of 154 supporting infrastructure facilities in 26 regions. To date, 76 have been built, 55 of them have already been put into operation, 21 objects have been built and are awaiting commissioning, and another 78 are under construction.

In the interests of developing domestic and inbound tourism, Rostourism ensured the development and adoption of the law “On amendments to certain legislative acts of the Russian Federation in order to strengthen the responsibility of participants in the tourism market and increase the level of legal protection of tourists traveling outside the territory of the Russian Federation,” which is aimed at protecting the interests of Russians traveling abroad.

According to the new law, Russians purchasing tours must now receive round-trip tickets and a hotel reservation document from the tour operator no less than 24 hours before the start of the trip. The law also tightened the requirements for the heads of travel companies: now persons with an unexpunged or unexpunged criminal record are not allowed to head travel agencies. In addition, the procedure for forming the compensation fund of the Turpomosch association was changed, a personal liability fund for tour operators was created, and a provision was introduced on the creation of a register of travel agencies. All these measures should increase the level of protection of Russian tourists.

Another important task from the point of view of the development of domestic tourism in Russia is to improve the quality standards of tourism services. Its solution will be facilitated, in particular, by the classification of accommodation facilities, which will become mandatory, and the dissemination of the successful experience of certification of hotels in Sochi on the eve of the Olympics to other regions of the country, as well as the certification of tour guides.

Also, to improve the quality of service for tourists, Rosturizm organizes training for hospitality specialists. Last year, 5 thousand people improved their qualifications through various educational programs; this year, as expected, 7 thousand tourism workers will undergo professional retraining.

One of the features of the development of modern tourism is the uneven distribution of international tourist flows in different regions and countries. At the same time, 20-30% of the total number of people traveling abroad are mass or group tourists, and the remaining 70-80% are individual tourists who travel mainly to neighboring countries.

In recent years, there have been changes in favor of mass tourism, which is a consequence of the influence of the following factors:
— Increased free time;
— Reduced prices for air transportation;
— Increasing the number of charter flights for the convenience of tourists traveling in groups;
— Growing interest of tour operators in mass tourism as a business, which provides significant profits;
— Search for new economically profitable directions;
— Increasing the number of jobs in mass tourism;
— Increase in the number of tourists traveling by bus due to the low price of the tour package.

In the development trends of mass tourism, the following can be noted: individual tourism (tourists traveling independently for tourism purposes) is growing more slowly than mass tourism.

Although tourists who plan their vacations individually have some advantages, it is quite difficult to implement such long-distance travel, and the cost of individual programs is high.

The volume of travel for recreational purposes is growing compared to the volume of business tourism. For example, if in the 70s of the XX century. While the business segment dominated the international tourism market, now the ratio has changed in favor of recreational tourism: 60% of tourists travel for leisure and only 40% for business. It is predicted that tourism will develop due to an increase in the number of those traveling for recreational purposes, although business tourism will be important for world tourism as a whole.

In all economically developed countries, workers receive paid vacations, and their duration is also increasing. For example, in Japan, workers in many categories have 7 weeks of vacation per year, which makes it possible to travel for long periods of time.

The length of stay is also increased by older tourists and retirees, especially those from countries where pensions are sufficient to allow them to travel abroad. The older age group is of particular interest to tour operators, because these people have more free time and have adult children.

At the same time, global tourism is experiencing an increase in short-term trips for weekends or two or three nights. they are preferred by young tourists who are trying to travel for a few days without allowing long breaks in work.

Customer demands for service are also growing. This is manifested in the fact that tourists travel more and more often, recognize modern services and demand more comfort.

There is an increase in population mobility. Many people have their own cars, in which they easily travel. Expenses for tourists while traveling are increasing.

Nowadays, non-traditional accommodation facilities are popular: mountain chalets, hunting lodges, bungalows, etc.
Tour operators are experiencing strong competition from airlines that have begun to sell their own tours, combining air tickets with the services of direct travel service providers (hotels, tour agencies, etc.). Low air fares for their own tours allow airlines to offer tours at competitive prices. This may somewhat weaken the position of tour operators in the market and reduce the share of their sales. The position of tour operators may also weaken as consumer needs change towards greater independence and individual travel as opposed to mass group tours.

The importance of psychological factors has increased. To work successfully in the tourism business, you need to learn how to achieve emotional contact with clients. The hospitality industry demands friendly employees. Friendliness is the basis of professionalism in the tourism industry. If a person is afraid of flying, then she will not be able to work in aviation. If a person does not have natural kindness, then she should not work in the hospitality industry.
The tourism product is becoming more and more demanding. New gastronomic concepts are being created. A lot of attention is paid to little things and to things that are not directly related to accommodation facilities or excursions.
People work hard all year round, so they don’t want to limit themselves during vacation. The architecture of hotels is changing, comfort and service are improving. Park areas are being created.

Each company, city, locality and even country has its own image and reputation. For example, Italy is the country of spaghetti, Finland is the birthplace of Santa Claus, Paris is the city of love. Creating an image is a long, sequential process. Who would buy a hotel with a bad reputation? To work successfully, you need a good image of the country, city, hotel and constant work to maintain it.

At the end of the 20th century. There have been significant changes in the international tourism market, new fashionable tourist regions have emerged and, as a result, competition has intensified. These new tourist regions include the countries of Southeast Asia: Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, as well as some former republics of the Soviet Union, in Latin America - Chile; in Africa - South Africa. Vietnam is becoming a popular holiday destination, where serious investments are being made in the field of inbound tourism. Even Japan, which was once considered a tourist-generating country, is beginning to attract more and more attention, and tourism is now flowing not only from Japan, but also to Japan.
Some tourist regions offer a fairly high standard of service. The leadership of many countries is taking a serious part in tourism development programs; serious investments are being made to create amusement parks, new attractions and fashionable attractions.

At the beginning of the 21st century. The global tourism industry faces an acute problem of preserving and developing recreational resources, which are an invaluable gift of nature, which must be treated with care so that humanity can enjoy this gift in the third millennium. To maximize the use of recreational resources, it is necessary to achieve a balance between the increased demand for these resources and the creation of the most favorable conditions for their use.

A natural landscape, a clean river or body of water, air, and forest are attractive to humans. Therefore, in the most attractive places the number of hotels, holiday homes and other buildings is increasing, which to a certain extent negatively affects the natural landscape.

The World Tourism Organization and the UN Commission on the Environment, in a joint Declaration of July 1, 1982, emphasized the need to create a balance between tourism and environmental opportunities.
The environmental destruction of the Belgian English Channel coast near Ostend was caused by the construction of a large number of hotels along the 62 km long coast.

One of the most popular holiday destinations is the Hawaiian Islands, which have unique natural and climatic resources. The geographic location of the Hawaiian Islands group near the equator in the Pacific Ocean provides warm weather year-round. Beautiful beaches, tropical vegetation, culture and customs of the local population, traditional hospitality contribute to a constant influx of foreign tourists.

For the Hawaiian population (about 1 million people), tourism is an important source of employment and income. In 1999, 7 million tourists visited the Hawaiian Islands. Tourism became the source of a third of all local budget revenues and provided 30% of employment for the local population.

However, despite all the benefits, tourism creates many problems for Hawaiians. Due to the influx of tourists, local residents are experiencing an acute shortage of drinking water. The development of ecotourism and tourists visiting unique natural places has caused the extinction of rare species of birds and animals.

In places with large concentrations of tourists, local administrations must regulate tourist flows. The reception of tourists is characterized by their concentration per 1000 inhabitants or per unit area of ​​a specific territory. If the concentration of tourism exceeds acceptable standards, then this has a detrimental effect on the environment and there is destruction of the untouched nature for which tourists come. A resident of a modern big city dreams of a clean river and air, but the more people come to the still-preserved oases of ecological purity, the greater the danger of destruction for this area, in which natural and climatic resources are the basis of its economic development.

The process of globalization of tourism services leads to a significant increase in the volume of information that needs to be collected, updated, structured and transmitted.

The use of the worldwide computer network Internet provides the opportunity to have global access to tourism products.
The World Tourism Organization has developed principles for the development of sustainable tourism (tourism is designed for long-term use), which should ensure a balance between the interests of the economy and environmental protection, the further development of tourist exchange and international trade, the protection of public and cultural values, and the priority development of energy-saving technologies.

Briefly and to the point about what is happening in the tourism industry now.

1. Mobile applications and adaptive versions of websites. Nobody even talks about the need to be on-line now. If your travel agency is not on the Internet, you are not on the market. Soon this phrase can be rephrased as follows: “If you don’t have a responsive version of your website, you’ll be out of the market.” Traffic from mobile devices is growing at a rapid pace. And if your website displays poorly on a mobile device, then you are already losing a large percentage of customers. In Ukraine, with the advent of 3G, the share of mobile traffic to various Internet resources was 30% at the beginning of 2016 and more than 40% at the end. Tourism perhaps feels these trends most strongly. You buy a train ticket, and the rest of your trips can be planned on the road if you have a smartphone with the Internet.

44% of world tourists plan their trip using a smartphone. And this number will grow. After all, it’s convenient to use your mobile phone to book and pay for a train/bus/plane ticket, hotel room or apartment, plan your travel itinerary, and read what you need to see at your destination. More and more tourists are using smartphones not only for planning, but also for the trip itself: choosing an excursion, checking the museum’s opening hours and the cost of entrance tickets, finding out what’s happening in the immediate area, ordering a taxi or food delivery.

2. Information overload. In the modern world we have a large excess of information that surrounds us. Modern people do not have time to search for what they need for a long time. Therefore, the number of words that people enter into the search engine feed is growing and the one who provides the most accurate and truthful information in a convenient form wins. People have become more demanding. Now it is not enough to indicate a 5* “all inclusive” hotel. The tourist wants to know the access to the beach, the quality of the sand or pebbles, the size of the hotel bed, how friendly the staff are. By the way, the vast majority of tourists strive to stay in a hotel with friendly staff.

3. Experience the world from the inside. There is a category of tourists who do not see the value in first class, 5* hotel, or concierge service. They can easily spend the night in a hostel, fly low-cost and organize a lot of things on their own. It is important for them to get to know the authenticity of the place where they are, to touch the way of life and traditions, to feel what a guidebook or promotional video does not convey. Therefore, 45% of tourists plan to choose a new destination for their next trip. And especially where friends have not yet been. Every year the number of tourists who want to go to the Moon and Mars is growing.

4. Emotions. This is something that will stay with you for life. What you will tell your friends, remember on long winter evenings or on a hot summer day. Therefore, 58% of tourists are ready to spend money on something that will bring them new experiences, and not on temporary things.

5. Healthy and rich people. It is fashionable in the world to be healthy. This trend is moving towards tourism. Therefore, a separate segment of tourists has emerged, for which there is even a separate abbreviation LOHAS (Lifestyles Of Health And Sustainability). They love green tourism, ecotourism, and care about the environment. Tourists prefer to pay for ecological transport, live in estates, and eat farm products. They will choose these options even if they are more expensive. I believe that this is the premium segment of tourism of the near future.

6. Combination of work and rest. The line between work travel and leisure travel is becoming thinner. Therefore, a new tourism industry is born - Bleisure. Business trips will increasingly be combined with vacations. A short trip or vacation can be planned before or after a work trip.

7. There are more people of the third age in the world. The world's population is aging. This means that more people are retiring. They still have a few, or maybe a dozen, years until they start having health problems. During this time, they have a natural desire to see the world and they are actively looking for where to buy tours. They are not burdened with family worries, children or careers. As a rule, they choose high-quality, expensive things, part with money more easily, and are ready to spend more time traveling.

The consulting company Euromonitor announced the main trends in the development of the tourism business for 2016 at the international tourism conference World Travel Market. Forbes employees selected the most interesting trends from a long list of results from this conference and consider them the most promising and “fashionable” in 2016:

1. Golf is being replaced by cycling

You should know that the “golden age of golf” is ending. The most prestigious golf clubs in the world have been experiencing a sharp decline in membership applicants for the past 5 years. They even give disappointing figures (-13%). Men of high and middle income on vacation in another country now prefer to engage in a more active sport - cycling. Bicycle tours are becoming increasingly popular. Many travel companies are already beginning to repurpose their golf destinations for wealthy clients into cycling tours, focusing on the fashionable tourism trend. This trend will not only continue in 2016, but will also last for at least another five years.

2. The concept of “luxury hostels” is introduced.

Just two years ago, the concept of a “luxurious” or “chic” hostel was considered completely absurd. These budget hotels were built for poor tourists, mainly young people and students. However, unexpectedly for many, hostels began to be in increased demand last year. Many tourists are ready to sacrifice a comfortable overnight stay. Moreover, this is not explained by banal cost savings, but by the opportunity to make interesting acquaintances in hostels where progressive young people relax. In the Western press, the definition of “beds” is increasingly being used, which are gradually replacing hostels in many cities around the world.

Poshtel is not a typical hostel, but more of a budget hotel with an original room design. By the way, the rooms in such beds are quite cheap, the furniture is chosen in a minimalist style. Postel visitors are provided with minimal services, but free Wi-Fi is required. For example, the bed in Barcelona, ​​Spain - Casa Grasia - became very popular in 2014. Local youth willingly come to this hotel to meet foreign tourists and have fun in the evenings.

3. Lunches at inexpensive home restaurants

Today in Europe, websites that offer services to search for local residents in different cities who are ready to provide tourists with a delicious and inexpensive home-cooked meal are becoming increasingly widespread. Such dinners rarely exceed the cost of 5-7 dollars per person. Tourists are offered lunch of three traditional national dishes. At the same time, tourists have the opportunity to see how ordinary people live in the country where they came to relax and have time to communicate and learn interesting traditions. Some owners of “home restaurants” are ready not only to provide delicious food to their guests, but also to arrange a tour of the city’s attractions for a purely symbolic fee.

4. Online booking of plane, train and hotel tickets

This trend is not considered a new thing; for several years in a row, many travel agencies around the world have been providing such services for their regular clients. But in 2016, a real “fashion boom” for this kind of services is expected. Travel companies, experiencing a crisis in their countries, are ready to enter into contracts with hotels, restaurants and airlines. This is the only way to survive a crisis situation by uniting together. According to expert forecasts, about 35% of tourists in 2016 will use online booking services.

Over the next two years, the trend will develop due to the release of new mobile applications and devices. For example, tour operators are eagerly awaiting the release of a device in the form of a smart watch, with which they can book tickets, hotel rooms, tables in restaurants, and even use watches such as personal keys for hotel rooms. Naturally, when tourists use devices, good travel discount systems will be provided.

5. Trendy surf destinations in Africa

More and more people around the world are starting to surf. This sport occupies a leading position in tourist destinations in many countries. Therefore, states that have at least some coastlines and access to water resources are seriously thinking about the development of these areas.

Until recently, surfers considered only the southern coast of the African continent for a great holiday. But in 2016, a real boom in surfing tourism is expected in many African countries. For example, British travel agencies are urgently trying to conclude as many profitable contracts as possible for the holidays of their surfer clients in Senegal, Morocco, Namibia, Mozambique and Madagascar.

Experts believe that 2016 was a “restraining” year for the development of surf tourism in the Black Continent due to the spread of Ebola. Due to the improvement of the epidemiological situation, this limiting factor will be eliminated.