Description
Cities, in order to differentiate themselves from their competitors, attempt to manage their
image by following strategic place marketing approaches. The purpose of this paper is to identify the
perception of Istanbul and to focus on the role of museums related to the formation of city image
International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research
City image and museums: the case of Istanbul
#pek Alt#nba#ak Elem Yalç#n
Article information:
To cite this document:
#pek Alt#nba#ak Elem Yalç#n, (2010),"City image and museums: the case of Istanbul", International J ournal of Culture, Tourism and
Hospitality Research, Vol. 4 Iss 3 pp. 241 - 251
Permanent link to this document:http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/17506181011067628
Downloaded on: 24 January 2016, At: 22:11 (PT)
References: this document contains references to 30 other documents.
To copy this document: [email protected]
The fulltext of this document has been downloaded 1295 times since 2010*
Users who downloaded this article also downloaded:
Ferhan Gezici, Ebru Kerimoglu, (2010),"Culture, tourism and regeneration process in Istanbul", International J ournal of Culture, Tourism and
Hospitality Research, Vol. 4 Iss 3 pp. 252-265http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/17506181011067637
Maria D. Alvarez, #ükrü Yarcan, (2010),"Istanbul as a world city: a cultural perspective", International J ournal of Culture, Tourism and
Hospitality Research, Vol. 4 Iss 3 pp. 266-276http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/17506181011067646
Maria D. Alvarez, (2010),"Creative cities and cultural spaces: new perspectives for city tourism", International J ournal of Culture, Tourism
and Hospitality Research, Vol. 4 Iss 3 pp. 171-175http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/17506181011067565
Access to this document was granted through an Emerald subscription provided by emerald-srm:115632 []
For Authors
If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about
how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/
authors for more information.
About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.com
Emerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than
290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional
customer resources and services.
Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and
also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation.
*Related content and download information correct at time of download.
D
o
w
n
l
o
a
d
e
d
b
y
P
O
N
D
I
C
H
E
R
R
Y
U
N
I
V
E
R
S
I
T
Y
A
t
2
2
:
1
1
2
4
J
a
n
u
a
r
y
2
0
1
6
(
P
T
)
City image and museums: the case of
Istanbul
I
?
pek Alt?nbas¸ak and Elem Yalc¸?n
Abstract
Purpose – Cities, in order to differentiate themselves from their competitors, attempt to manage their
image by following strategic place marketing approaches. The purpose of this paper is to identify the
perception of Istanbul and to focus on the role of museums related to the formation of city image.
Design/methodology/approach – The study uses quantitative research techniques. A structural
questionnaire focusing on the image of Istanbul and perception of Istanbul’s museums is distributed to
museum visitors in Istanbul.
Findings – The results reveal that Istanbul is perceived as a culturally rich and exotic city. The
respondents consider Istanbul as a brand city and an attractive tourist destination. The general image of
the local people is also positive. The perception of second time visitors is more positive compared to ?rst
time visitors. Furthermore, the internet is the major source of information used by the travelers. The
exoticness of the city and the dynamism pointed out by other research renders Istanbul a lively city, full
of energy and offering lots of entertainment. The participants believe that museums are important for city
image formation and that the museums in Istanbul are worth visiting. However, the fact that the city is
nominated as the European Capital of Culture in 2010 is not acknowledged by the majority of
respondents. Istanbul has to exploit this big event in order to promote the city to all potential visitors and
business people.
Originality/value – The paper provides a preliminary insight to the importance of museums for the city
image formation focusing on Istanbul.
Keywords Cities, Strategic marketing, Museums, Brand image, Tourism, Turkey
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
The marketing literature has always investigated the topic of brand image, simply de?ned as
‘‘the meaning consumers associate with the product’’ (Roth, 1992, p. 25), and has
recognized this concept as one of the most vital elements of the brand positioning strategy
(Young, 1972; Park et al., 1986). In time, the academics as well as practitioners have realized
the importance of the notion of image not only for products and services but also for places.
Places are competing with each other to attract tourists, potential investors, students,
residents, artists, cultural events and other resources in order to develop faster and better.
Therefore, a sound marketing strategy should help create and manage the image of a
country, region or city.
City marketing is a relatively new scienti?c ?eld. It involves the de?nition of a city’s product
(the city as a product) and its image, in such a way that its recipients will see it as it is
intended to be marketed. Therefore, city marketing plays an important role, forming a bridge
between a city’s potential and the use of this capacity for the bene?t of the local society
(Deffner and Liouris, 2005). A number of primary tourism elements have the ability to attract
tourists and visitors (Ejigu et al., 2004), including museums. Museums are historical places
that have already a collection of valuable objects to be exhibited or institutions that research,
DOI 10.1108/17506181011067628 VOL. 4 NO. 3 2010, pp. 241-251, Q Emerald Group Publishing Limited, ISSN 1750-6182
j
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CULTURE, TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY RESEARCH
j
PAGE 241
Ipek Alt?nbas¸ak is assistant
professor and Elem Yalcin
is research assistant, both
based at Bahcesehir
University, Istanbul, Turkey.
Received December 2009
Revised January 2010
Accepted March 2010
Thanks to Associate Professor
Dr Maria Alvarez.
D
o
w
n
l
o
a
d
e
d
b
y
P
O
N
D
I
C
H
E
R
R
Y
U
N
I
V
E
R
S
I
T
Y
A
t
2
2
:
1
1
2
4
J
a
n
u
a
r
y
2
0
1
6
(
P
T
)
collect, display and interpret objects (Rentschler, 1998). Marketing tools are used to support
the museums’ social mandate and contribute to build a city image (Rentschler and Reussner,
2002). Hence, the museums are expected to contribute to the perception of the city and
provide incentives for attracting tourists and specialists.
This paper focuses on the image of Istanbul as a historical metropolitan city. Istanbul has
been the capital of three Empires across the centuries. The city’s unique strategic position as
a bridge between East and West renders Istanbul one of the culturally richest and more
diverse cities in the world. The objective of the study is to investigate the perception of
Istanbul, especially focusing on the role of museums related to the city image. Istanbul has
also been nominated as one of the European Capitals of Culture for 2010. Therefore, the
importance of museums to contribute to the formation of Istanbul’s image is more important
on this special occasion. The research aims at investigating the perception of Istanbul and
its museums as part of the city image. The ?ndings are expected to shed light on the
perception of Istanbul and the effective utilization of museums as a mean to promote the
image of the city.
An overview of the literature
The literature de?nes image as ‘‘the sumof the total impressions the consumers receive from
many sources’’ (Herzog, 1963, p. 82). On the other hand, Ger and Askegaard (1996) de?ne
image, as ‘‘a mental representation, a network of meanings stored in the memory, in a
particular structure, and along with affective, motivational and sensory aspects’’. As a result
of the increasing competition, besides products and services, places such as countries,
cities, regions and even towns have been eager to use marketing tools in order to improve
their image and reach their development objectives. Through specifying their target group,
shaping the place product, realizing right pricing and communication strategies, places try
to differentiate themselves from their competitors. Images represent a simpli?cation of a
large number of associations and pieces of information connected with the place. Kotler et al.
(1993) state that an image is a whole set of beliefs about a place. Furthermore, strategic
place image management is the ongoing process of researching a place’s image among its
audiences, segmenting and targeting according to this speci?c perception, positioning the
place’s bene?ts to support an existing image or to create a new one, and communicating
those bene?ts to the target audiences (Kotler et al., 1993). Another key aspect proposed to
be added to this de?nition is the importance of creating a synergy and consistency between
different message providers in order to create a stronger and congruent image in the mind of
the target audience (Alt?nbas¸ak, 2004).
The country image, which expresses personalized feelings of what people think and know
about a country, has crucial impacts not only on the assessment of its products abroad but
also on the forces contributing to the country’s development (Alt?nbas¸ak, 2004, 2008). A
powerful and positive nation brand image provides a crucial competitive advantage (Anholt,
2005). For this reason, countries are increasingly adopting branding and marketing
concepts to promote themselves and create favorable images. A country has to position and
differentiate itself in the minds of travelers (Balog? lu and Mangaloglu, 2001; Baloglu and
McCleary, 1999). Therefore, many countries aimto understand and manage their destination
image relative to their competitors.
In the current framework of the globalized economy, like countries, cities are also competing
with one another to attract tourists, businessmen, investors, students, artists, cultural events,
etc., in order to develop faster and better. Karmowska (2003) states that city marketing plays
an important role, forming a bridge between a place’s potential and the use of this capability
for the bene?t of the local society. Hubbard and Hall (1998) emphasize the importance of
re-imaging localities and the transformation of previously productive cities into spectacular
places of (and for) consumption. Speci?c policies that include the cultural regeneration of
the city bring about the achievement of these goals.
According to Bailey (1989), strategic market planning in the context of places has changed
according to the needs of the era. In time, places learned to segment markets and buyers,
PAGE 242
j
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CULTURE, TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY RESEARCH
j
VOL. 4 NO. 3 2010
D
o
w
n
l
o
a
d
e
d
b
y
P
O
N
D
I
C
H
E
R
R
Y
U
N
I
V
E
R
S
I
T
Y
A
t
2
2
:
1
1
2
4
J
a
n
u
a
r
y
2
0
1
6
(
P
T
)
and to target their products and services to speci?c customers based on research and
analysis. In the last decade of the twentieth century, places moved to a newstage of product
development and competitive niche marketing. They attempt to de?ne themselves as
distinctive locations with speci?c competitive advantages for target customers. These
places are also creating niche products and services to augment their perceived value. As
Bailey (1989) points out, in the rapidly changing world conditions, place marketing emerged
as a promising integrating process, linking an area’s potential competitive advantages to
overall economic development goals. Barke (1999) claims that places have created new
forms of representation and this situation has led to major concern over the image of the city,
since in some cases this process meant seeking to alter an undesirable image, while in
others it entailed enhancing a favorable image. Kavaratzis (2007) argues that the image is a
crucial and determining factor for the people who use the city, whether investors and
developers, or visitors and residents. Furthermore, according to the desired image, the city
should determine the target to direct the marketing activities at.
There are a number of primary tourism elements that have the ability to attract tourists and
visitors (Ejigu et al., 2004). Among these factors are the cultural facilities, including museums
and galleries. Despite the existence of several classi?cations, museums can be described
as monuments, palaces already containing worthwhile exhibiting aspects or institutions that
collect, research, display and interpret objects (Ambrose and Paine, 2006; McLean, 1994).
As with private museums, public museums have to attract more visitors to prove their
accountability and therefore improve their image. Therefore, marketing is increasingly
regarded as an essential museumactivity (Kelly and Sas, 1998). It has been noted that those
activities that support the museums’ social mandate and their responsibility by broadening
access, not only through augmenting visitor numbers, but also through increasing the variety
of audiences reached, contribute to the marketing of the area.
The adoption of marketing methods by museums is of recent origin, while the applicability of
these tools to museums is still debated. Approaches to museum marketing are made via
non-pro?t and services marketing (Benkert et al., 1995; Kotler and Andreasen, 1996; Kotler
and Kotler, 2000; McLean, 1994; Schuck-Wersig and Wersig, 1994). The commercial
context of marketing is different from that of the non-pro?t museum. Museum marketing is
regarded as a relationship with museum stakeholders, such as visitors, staff, funding
agencies, local authorities, board members, museum professionals, researchers, sponsors
and the media (Rentschler and Reussner, 2002).
Museums and all the cultural activities related to themcontribute to the city image. Istanbul is
one of the culturally richest cities in the world, although this fact needs to be clearly
communicated to the right target groups. The Travel and Leisure magazine readers rated
Istanbul as the third most attractive city to be visited in Europe and ninth in the world (Travel
and Leisure, 2008). Istanbul, being a city of culture throughout its history, boasts 56
museums all around the city, including palaces, monuments and other historical areas.
Among the activities that will be held in the context of the Istanbul 2010 European Capital of
Culture project, the Turkish Ministry for Culture and Tourismhas provided special importance
to the restoration and rehabilitation of the museums and historical monuments in Istanbul,
indicating the importance given to these attractions.
The study
Following a thorough review of the literature on place marketing and city marketing to
understand the nature of the topic, the researchers examined the studies and projects
related to the marketing of different cities in Europe. The research on the image and
marketing of Istanbul, although limited, was also investigated.
One of the main steps to create a strong city brand is investigating its current image.
Therefore, the researchers developed a questionnaire aiming to highlight the image of
Istanbul in the eyes of tourists visiting the city. The museums form an important part of the
cultural environment of the city, in?uencing its image. Therefore, the questionnaire consisted
mainly of the parts:
VOL. 4 NO. 3 2010
j
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CULTURE, TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY RESEARCH
j
PAGE 243
D
o
w
n
l
o
a
d
e
d
b
y
P
O
N
D
I
C
H
E
R
R
Y
U
N
I
V
E
R
S
I
T
Y
A
t
2
2
:
1
1
2
4
J
a
n
u
a
r
y
2
0
1
6
(
P
T
)
B the perception of Istanbul as a tourist destination including all the aspects of the city; and
B the perception of Istanbul’s museums and their importance related to the image of the
city.
The participants were chosen from among museum visitors. Pilot tests of the questionnaire
were carried out with ten tourists in June 2009, resulting in the necessary re?nements to the
survey instrument.
The questionnaire was prepared in English. Hence, only the participants who understand
English could participate in the research. The most famous and mostly visited museums of
Istanbul were identi?ed. It was necessary to obtain the required permissions from the
authorities in order to carry out the research in the speci?ed museums. After having obtained
the authorization, the ?eld work was carried out in the second half of June and in the ?rst
week of July in Istanbul. The questionnaires were given to museum visitors in the Haghia
Sophia Museum, Topkap? Palace Museum, Beylerbeyi Palace Museum and Dolmabahc¸ e
Palace Museum. The convenience sampling method was used to reach the respondents,
since those visitors who volunteered to participate ?lled out the questionnaire under the
supervision of the researchers.
Sample size
An estimate of the sample size needed for the research was derived from the following
formula: n ¼ z
2
* a
2
/H
2
, where H ¼ half the precision level. The con?dence and the precision
level sought were 95 percent and þ0.1 respectively. The variance of the population was
taken as 0.7. This resulted in a minimum sample size of 268.
In total, the researchers collected 280 questionnaires. However, 30 of them were eliminated,
resulting in 250 valid questionnaires, believed to be suf?cient to meet the sample size
requirement. The data were analyzed using SPSS 15.0 for Windows Statistical Package.
Findings
The characteristics of the sample are presented in Table I; 64 percent of the respondents are
below the age of 40 and almost 91 percent of the participants have a university degree or
higher; 70 percent of the respondents are white collar workers and they stated their salary to
be in the range between 1,500-5,000 euros. In terms of their nationalities, participants in the
study are citizens from 28 different countries. Furthermore, 36 percent of the respondents
have previously visited Turkey and 25.6 percent of them have already been in Istanbul at
least once. Most of the visitors traveled to Istanbul for vacation purposes. Interestingly, 77
percent of the visits for vacation and 96.4 percent of those for education purposes were
realized in the ?rst trip, whereas the business purposed trips to Istanbul were usually more
concentrated on the second visit (44 percent).
The respondents stated that they mostly used the internet to get information about Istanbul
(22 percent), followed by newspapers and magazines (17.7 percent) and television (17.7
percent). Those respondents who have heard about Istanbul being the European Capital of
Culture in 2010 remarked that they mainly obtained information from the internet,
newspapers/magazines and travel agents (refer to Table II). Furthermore, 58 percent of the
participants have heard that Istanbul is one of the European Capitals of Culture in 2010.
The image of Istanbul
The image of Istanbul and the level of knowledge about the city was investigated through
Likert-type and semantic differential scales. The means related to the statements about the
image of Istanbul are presented in Table III. The stronger characteristics refer to Istanbul
being a historical city, with different culture and atmosphere, where people can do shopping.
Respondents also stated that Istanbul is a brand city, an attractive tourist destination with
palaces and museums worth seeing. The general image of the people living in the city is
positive, as respondents remarked that they could communicate with local inhabitants
easily. In terms of the adjectives associated with Istanbul, the city is not found to be very
PAGE 244
j
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CULTURE, TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY RESEARCH
j
VOL. 4 NO. 3 2010
D
o
w
n
l
o
a
d
e
d
b
y
P
O
N
D
I
C
H
E
R
R
Y
U
N
I
V
E
R
S
I
T
Y
A
t
2
2
:
1
1
2
4
J
a
n
u
a
r
y
2
0
1
6
(
P
T
)
Table I Characteristics of the respondents
%
Gender
Male 41.6
Female 58.4
Age
24 or below 15.8
25-40 48.2
41-60 32.0
61 and above 4.0
Education
High school 9.4
University 68.6
Master degree 18.0
PhD 4.1
Occupation
White collar worker 70.5
Blue collar worker 3.1
Student 22.0
Retired 4.4
Family income (e)
500-1,500 9.2
1,501-3,000 30.3
3,001-5,000 44.5
More than 5,001 16.0
Country of nationality
Italy 13.2
Spain 10.4
Great Britain 9.6
Korea 8.4
Poland 7.6
Russia 6.4
America 6.0
Germany 5.6
Other 32.8
Purpose of the visit
Vacation 76.2
Business 3.6
Education 11.3
Family/friends 8.1
Other 0.8
Table II Cross tabulation: Sources of information used – hearing about Istanbul 2010
Capital of Culture
Have you heard about Istanbul 2010 ECOC?
Yes No
Source used Frequency % Frequency %
Internet 81 19.6 62 15.0
Newspapers/magazines 67 16.2 49 11.8
Television 67 16.2 47 11.4
Travel agents 57 13.8 17 4.1
Friends/relatives suggestion 45 10.9 25 6.0
Books 34 8.2 32 7.7
Posters/brochures/billboards 28 6.8 28 6.8
Radio 6 1.4 8 1.9
VOL. 4 NO. 3 2010
j
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CULTURE, TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY RESEARCH
j
PAGE 245
D
o
w
n
l
o
a
d
e
d
b
y
P
O
N
D
I
C
H
E
R
R
Y
U
N
I
V
E
R
S
I
T
Y
A
t
2
2
:
1
1
2
4
J
a
n
u
a
r
y
2
0
1
6
(
P
T
)
strong in any of the attributes. Istanbul is rated better (.3.5/5) on exotic and entertaining
characteristics. Around 33 percent of the respondents stated that they would like to live,
work and study in Istanbul. 41.3 percent of the respondents claimed to have the desire to
revisit Istanbul, whereas 13 percent did not have this intention, and 45 percent were
uncertain. Those who desire to revisit Istanbul pointed out that the strongest factor related to
their decision was the fact that Istanbul is a historical city (90 percent).
The differences regarding the image of Istanbul were also analyzed in terms of gender, age,
education, income level, visiting status and the intention to visit, using independent samples
t-tests and analysis of variance. According to the ?ndings, male respondents appreciate
more the Istanbul cuisine (t ¼ 1:974; p ¼ 0:049), although the means for both genders are
on the positive side. Interestingly, the female participants are more eager to study in Istanbul
compared to male respondents. The respondents younger than 40 years old perceive
Istanbul as a more historical city (F ¼ 2:96; p ¼ 0:033), with a more delicious cuisine
(F ¼ 3:39; p ¼ 0:019), compared to the respondents between 41-60 years old. Again, the
youngest respondents rate Istanbul as a more relaxing (F ¼ 4:88; p ¼ 0:003) and culturally
richer city (F ¼ 3:02; p ¼ 0:030) compared to the oldest (.61) respondents. Moreover,
individuals younger than 40 years old ?nd the museums and palaces more worth seeing
(F ¼ 3:05; p ¼ 0:029), they have a more positive image of Istanbul people (F ¼ 5:11;
Table III The image of Istanbul
Mean
a
SD
Statements about Istanbul
Istanbul is a historical city 4.11 0.75
Istanbul is a modern city 3.44 0.93
Istanbul is a city where the entertainment and night life is good 3.68 0.93
Istanbul is a city where I can rest and relax 3.72 0.82
Istanbul is a city with different culture and atmosphere 3.95 0.83
Istanbul is a city with unique natural beauties 3.85 0.79
Istanbul is a city where I can ?nd delicious cuisine 3.77 0.83
Istanbul is a city with cultural activities (concerts, exhibitions, etc.) 3.73 0.85
Istanbul is a city where I can do shopping 3.90 0.87
Before coming I knew about Istanbul 3.16 1.10
Before visiting here I knew about the history of Istanbul 3.29 1.01
I could get information related to touristic sites of Istanbul 3.59 0.86
I could communicate with people in Istanbul 4.02 0.89
Istanbul is a brand city 3.86 0.86
Istanbul provides various shopping opportunities 3.70 0.88
Istanbul has a lot of scenery/natural attractions 3.74 0.85
I could transport easily in Istanbul 3.64 0.98
Istanbul has many synagogues 3.45 0.95
Istanbul has many churches 3.59 0.91
Istanbul has many mosques 3.90 0.84
Istanbul has museums and palaces worth seeing 4.02 0.79
I have a positive image of the people from Istanbul 3.92 0.84
I have a positive image of Istanbul as a tourist destination 3.88 0.86
Overall mean 3.74
Adjectives about Istanbul
Unsafe – safe 3.31 0.94
Dirty – clean 2.95 1.53
Chaotic – relaxing 3.12 2.04
Expensive – cheap 3.36 0.84
Boring – entertaining 3.63 0.90
Crowded – not crowded 3.13 4.36
Not romantic – romantic 3.44 0.95
Traditional – modern 3.26 2.21
Oriental – European 3.26 1.04
Ordinary – exotic 3.74 0.97
Overall mean 3.32
Notes:
a
1 ¼ Least positive; 5 ¼ Most positive
PAGE 246
j
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CULTURE, TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY RESEARCH
j
VOL. 4 NO. 3 2010
D
o
w
n
l
o
a
d
e
d
b
y
P
O
N
D
I
C
H
E
R
R
Y
U
N
I
V
E
R
S
I
T
Y
A
t
2
2
:
1
1
2
4
J
a
n
u
a
r
y
2
0
1
6
(
P
T
)
p ¼ 0:020) and they also have a more positive image of Istanbul as a tourist destination
(F ¼ 5:87; p ¼ 0:001), compared to elderly participants. Younger tourists also evaluate
Istanbul as a safer (F ¼ 3:18; p ¼ 0:024), cleaner (F ¼ 5:28; p ¼ 0:000), more relaxing
(F ¼ 6:15; p ¼ 0:000), more romantic (F ¼ 2:81; p ¼ 0:040), less crowded (F ¼ 3:98;
p ¼ 0:009) and more exotic city (F ¼ 2:43; p ¼ 0:000), compared to the elder tourists.
Moreover, the lower the income level, the higher is the satisfaction with the cuisine in Istanbul
(F ¼ 3:57; p ¼ 0:007) and the variety of the attractions (F ¼ 2:85; p ¼ 0:024). In terms of
education, the main difference is found between the PhD degree holders and the other
groups. The PhD holders are more demanding, therefore they rate the city lower than the
other respondents and they do not want to live or work in Istanbul. The only issue to note is
that the high school graduates have a more positive image of the Istanbul people.
Participants who have already visited Istanbul have more knowledge compared to ?rst time
visitors, including general knowledge about the city (t ¼ 3:289; p ¼ 0:001), the history of
Istanbul (t ¼ 2:711; p ¼ 0:007) and the tourist sites in the city (t ¼ 2:974; p ¼ 0:003). The
visitors who would like to come to Istanbul again rated the city better on the following
attributes: Istanbul is a historical city (t ¼ 4:029; p ¼ 0:000); Istanbul is a modern city
(t ¼ 3:941; p ¼ 0:000); Istanbul is a city with unique natural beauties (t ¼ 2:225; p ¼ 0:028);
Istanbul is a brand city (t ¼ 2:597; p ¼ 0:008); Istanbul has many mosques (t ¼ 3:910;
p ¼ 0:010); Istanbul has museums and palaces worth seeing (t ¼ 2:864; p ¼ 0:000); I have
a positive image of people from Istanbul (t ¼ 3:055; p ¼ 0:003); I have a positive image of
Istanbul as a tourist destination (t ¼ 2:910; p ¼ 0:004); boring – entertaining (t ¼ 2:815;
p ¼ 0:006); traditional – modern (t ¼ 1:847; p ¼ 0:067); Oriental – European (t ¼ 2:676;
p ¼ 0:008). Similarly, those individuals who desire to return to Istanbul are more
knowledgeable about the city in general (t ¼ 4:54; p ¼ 0:000), regarding its history
(t ¼ 4:279; p ¼ 0:000Þ and in relation to tourist sites (t ¼ 2:676; p ¼ 0:008). They also want to
live (t ¼ 4:983; p ¼ 0:000), work (t ¼ 4:302; p ¼ 0:000) and study (t ¼ 2:238; p ¼ 0:027) in
Istanbul.
The image of the museums in Istanbul
The means related to the statements about the image of the museums in Istanbul are
presented in Table IV. The attributes which are found to have a mean over 3.5 are highlighted
in the table. Respondents believe that museums are important for the formation of image of
the city. Furthermore, they stated that Istanbul is famous with its museums, which are worth
seeing and well managed. Apart from the toilets, all of the services in the museums of
Istanbul were rated over 3.5, the gift shop being the most appreciated. The results also
indicate that the perception of Istanbul’s museums has ameliorated after the experience.
Several statistical analyses were made to highlight the image of the museums in Istanbul, by
determining the signi?cant differences between groups with varied characteristics. In terms
of gender, the research determines that the image of the Istanbul museums before visiting is
more positive for female respondents (t ¼ 2:049; p ¼ 0:042). In relation to age differences,
the ?ndings establish that the tourists between 25-40 have a stronger belief that museums
have an important role on the city image (F ¼ 2:68; p ¼ 0:047), that the museums in Istanbul
re?ect its history well (F ¼ 3:85; p ¼ 0:010), compared to the ones over 41 years old. The
respondents younger than 25 years old believe that Istanbul offers a wide variety of
museums (F ¼ 2:84; p ¼ 0:039) compared to the respondents over 41 years old. The results
also reveal that the respondents with the lowest income level have a less positive perception
of the museums in terms of guiding services (F ¼ 5:04; p ¼ 0:001) and information desk
(F ¼ 4:16; p ¼ 0:021). However, no signi?cant differences among the groups according to
various education levels were identi?ed regarding the image of the museums in Istanbul.
Although the results do not re?ect any signi?cant differences among the respondents who
have visited Istanbul before and those who have not in terms of the image of the museums in
the city, some variations are observed for those who intend to visit again and those who do
not. The respondents who would like to come again to Istanbul are more satis?ed and have a
more positive image of museums. Individuals that intend to visit Istanbul believe that the
museums re?ect the history of the city (t ¼ 2:579; p ¼ 0:011), that there are a variety of
VOL. 4 NO. 3 2010
j
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CULTURE, TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY RESEARCH
j
PAGE 247
D
o
w
n
l
o
a
d
e
d
b
y
P
O
N
D
I
C
H
E
R
R
Y
U
N
I
V
E
R
S
I
T
Y
A
t
2
2
:
1
1
2
4
J
a
n
u
a
r
y
2
0
1
6
(
P
T
)
museums (t ¼ 3:283; p ¼ 0:001), and that the museums in Istanbul are worth seeing
(t ¼ 2:481; p ¼ 0:014). Furthermore, those respondents that desire to visit Istanbul again are
more positive about the cafeteria (t ¼ 3:12; p ¼ 0:002) and the transportation (t ¼ 2:330;
p ¼ 0:021) services in the museums and their image of the museums after their visit to
Istanbul is more positive (t ¼ 3:139; p ¼ 0:002).
Limitations and suggestions for further research
The research did not concentrate on one nation. The literature suggests that different nations
have varied images and prejudices affecting their perception (Alt?nbas¸ak, 2004, 2008).
Although more time would be needed to reach the respondents, the research can be
repeated concentrating on speci?c countries.
Another limitation of the research is its language, since only the respondents who
understand English could participate, while 85 percent of the participants were not native
English speakers. In further research, the questionnaire can be translated into several
languages to enlarge the base of participants and enable the respondents to answer in their
native language.
Istanbul is visited by approximately seven million tourists every year. Although the minimum
sample size requirement is met, the number of the participants may be enlarged.
Furthermore, the results of the study may be discussed with travel agents, museum
managers and tourism sector professionals in order to make adjustments before repeating
the study.
Conclusions
The realities of the twenty-?rst century force cities to use marketing approaches in order to
fasten the development of the city. Istanbul is a city which has been the capital of three big
Empires for centuries. Its geographical position between Asia and Europe, unique natural
beauties of the Bosphorus, and its immense historical heritage render Istanbul one the most
attractive tourist and business destinations in the world.
Table IV Image of the museums in Istanbul
Mean SD
General statements regarding Istanbul museums
Museums have a tremendous impact on creating city brand 3.69 0.82
I believe that museums have an important role on Istanbul image 3.67 0.76
I agree with the idea that the museums in Istanbul re?ect its history
very well 3.65 0.80
I think that Istanbul has various museums 3.68 0.80
I think that Istanbul museums are worth seeing 3.74 0.87
I think that Istanbul is famous with its museums 3.71 2.14
I think that Istanbul museums are managed in a good way 3.72 2.72
Overall mean 3.69
Museum services
Guiding service 3.50 0.77
Interior cleanliness of palaces 3.60 0.80
Directional signs in the museum 3.72 2.10
Information desk 3.50 0.93
Cafe´ 3.59 0.87
Gift department 3.97 4.18
Toilet 3.34 0.99
Transportation 3.55 0.81
Overall mean 3.60
My mental image of Istanbul museums before visiting for the ?rst time 3.16 0.81
My mental image of Istanbul museums now, after having visited 3.82 0.70
PAGE 248
j
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CULTURE, TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY RESEARCH
j
VOL. 4 NO. 3 2010
D
o
w
n
l
o
a
d
e
d
b
y
P
O
N
D
I
C
H
E
R
R
Y
U
N
I
V
E
R
S
I
T
Y
A
t
2
2
:
1
1
2
4
J
a
n
u
a
r
y
2
0
1
6
(
P
T
)
The cultural variety and richness of Istanbul have been communicated to foreigners through
several media all around the years. However, previous research also points out that the
image of Istanbul is ambiguous for the ones who have not visited the city (Alt?nbas¸ak, 2009).
The foreigners actually have a much more positive image after they have experienced the
city. Hence, as this study also proves, the second time visitors have a more positive
perception for the major attributes related to the city.
The internet is the most widely used source of information by the potential visitors. However,
the content of the information varies. While 58 percent of the respondents, mainly those who
used the internet, had information about Istanbul being the European Capital of Culture
2010, 42 percent of participants were not aware of this fact. Online media has to be used as
a marketing tool more frequently and more effectively to provide information about the city.
The results of the study reveal that Istanbul is perceived as a historical city with different
culture and atmosphere. The respondents strongly believe that Istanbul has museums and
palaces worth visiting. The museums of Istanbul, especially the historical palaces,
monuments and areas constitute an important part of the city image. However, the visitors
should also see the modern face of Istanbul, in terms of art galleries in modern shopping
malls, art museums and the cultural activities which are carried out with world famous artists,
singers and groups. Furthermore, the cultural activities especially to be offered to higher
income group should be more sophisticated. Special activities or exhibitions can be made
for different age groups. The exoticness of the city and the dynamism pointed out by other
research render Istanbul a lively city, full of energy and offering lots of entertainment. The
younger visitors appreciate this aspect of the city as a positive factor contributing to the city
image.
Although the Nation Brand Index focuses on the country image rather than that of a city, the
fact that Turkey’s potential on the ‘‘culture and cultural heritage’’ attribute is underestimated
might be alarming; Turkey was ranked as ninth among 11 countries in 2005 and 38th among
50 countries in 2008. Furthermore, although the existence of cultural monuments is
important, the visitors expect continuous and differentiated cultural activities to be held in a
city. Therefore, countries/cities which do not have a rich historical past can differentiate
themselves through the vast alternatives of cultural activities held in the city and
communicated to the world regularly. To strengthen its city image, Istanbul should increase
the variety and provide the continuity of cultural activities throughout the whole year, using its
historical places and museums as a source of attraction. Furthermore, those activities should
be communicated not only in Turkey but throughout the world to different target groups. The
support of both the State and NGOs is crucial for the success.
In a different research respondents admitted to have heard about Istanbul, although their
image was shaped by prejudices, and the information presented in the media and through
word-of-mouth (Alt?nbas¸ak, 2004, 2009). Therefore, all the related parties should work in
harmony to manage the image of Istanbul with the objective of transmitting the unique,
incomparable and superb characteristics of the city. The cooperation between public and
private sectors, guided by the academics expert in the ?eld is crucial. The city still has
considerable potential in terms of increasing the number of tourists, businessmen, students,
artists, sportsmen, as well as the cultural and sportive activities.
Activities designed around Istanbul 2010 European Capital of Culture (ECOC), provide a
good opportunity to promote the city. Those activities are expected not only to boost tourism
but also to create a better image of the city in the eyes of diverse consumers including
business people. Barcelona and Athens used the ECOC as well as the Olympic games to
rehabilitate the city and improve the city image.
Although the global crisis has affected the tourism sector all around the world, cities are
creating new ways to attract tourists. Cultural events are always among the strongest
differentiating activities. Greece, which announced an estimate of 20 percent decrease in
the number of tourists in 2009, is investing in culture and museums in order to be one of the
choices of the potential visitors. Exploiting the rich historical heritage, the museum of the
Acropolis has been built for more than e130 million and it has been promoted in the world. In
VOL. 4 NO. 3 2010
j
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CULTURE, TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY RESEARCH
j
PAGE 249
D
o
w
n
l
o
a
d
e
d
b
y
P
O
N
D
I
C
H
E
R
R
Y
U
N
I
V
E
R
S
I
T
Y
A
t
2
2
:
1
1
2
4
J
a
n
u
a
r
y
2
0
1
6
(
P
T
)
Europe, many countries and cities are attempting to differentiate themselves through
museums. In Belgium, Berlin, Munich and Abu Dhabi several museums have opened,
presenting themselves as a channel of the global peace (Safak, 2009). Istanbul, as well as
Turkey’s other cities, need to strive to ?nd the necessary funding to protect, exhibit and
promote their rich cultural heritage.
The museums form a bridge between a nation’s past and future; therefore they constitute an
important part of the cultural environment of the city contributing to its image. Speci?cally,
Istanbul with its strategic position, has always been a city of great signi?cance in the world’s
history. Thereby, Istanbul and its museums provide a unique and vast cultural value to the
visitors from all around the world. The museums of Istanbul offer valuable opportunities for
further improving the image of this superb city. However, a sound marketing approach
needs to be applied in designing museum management strategies and the related cultural
activities.
References
Alt?nbas¸ak, I
?
. (2004), ‘‘Modeling the constituents of the image of a country for the determination of
priorities related to strategic image management: the case of Turkey’’, unpublished PhDthesis, Bog? azic¸ i
University, Istanbul.
Alt?nbas¸ak, I
?
. (2008), ‘‘Developing and managing country brands: an initiative in order to investigate the
nation brand image of Turkey in Europe’’, paper presented at Thought Leaders International Conference
on Brand Management, University of Birmingham, Birmingham.
Alt?nbas¸ak, I
?
. (2009), ‘‘Understanding the prejudices in order to improve the image of Turkey: a
qualitative study on the prejudices of Italians about Turkey’’, Bog? azic¸ i Journal, Vol. 23 No. 1.
Ambrose, T. and Paine, C. (2006), Museum Basics, ICOM in Conjunction with Routledge, New York, NY.
Anholt, S. (2005), ‘‘How the world sees the world’’, Nation Brands Index, available at: www.gmi-
mr.com/gmipoll/docs/NBI_Q1_2005.pdf
Bailey, J.T. (1989), Marketing Cities in the 1980s and beyond, American Economic Development
Council, Chicago, IL.
Balog? lu, S. and McCleary, K. (1999), ‘‘US international pleasure travelers’ images of four Mediterranean
destinations: a comparison of visitors and nonvisitors’’, Journal of Travel Research, Vol. 38, pp. 144-52.
Balog? lu, S. and Mangaloglu, M. (2001), ‘‘Tourism destination images of Turkey, Egypt, Greece and Italy
as perceived by US-based tour operators and travel agents’’, Tourism Management, Vol. 22 Nos 1/9.
Barke, M. (1999), ‘‘City marketing as a planning tool’’, in Pacione, M. (Ed.), Applied Geography:
Principles and Practice, Routledge, London, pp. 486-96.
Benkert, W., Lenders, B. and Vermeulen, P. (Eds) (1995), KulturMarketing, Raabe, Berlin.
Deffner, A. and Liouris, C. (2005), ‘‘City marketing: a signi?cant planning tool for urban development in a
globalised economy’’, paper presented at the 45th Congress of the European Regional Science
Association, Amsterdam, 23-27 August.
Ejigu, A., Sjoholm, J., Nordgren, E. and Lindstrom, P. (2004), ‘‘Twinning identities – Losing uniqueness?’’,
Twinning Cities, Planning for Regional Development Across Borders Project Work, Royal Institute of
Technology.
Ger, G. and Askegaard, S. (1996), ‘‘Product-country images as stereotypes: a comparative study’’,
21st Colloquium of the IAREP, Paris, France, pp. 13-28.
Herzog, H. (1963), ‘‘Behavioral science concepts for analyzing the consumer’’, in Billis, P. (Ed.),
Marketing and the Behavioral Sciences, Allyn and Bacon, Boston, MA, pp. 76-86.
Hubbard, P. and Hall, T. (1998), ‘‘The entrepreneurial city and the new urban politics’’, in Hall, T. and
Hubbard, P. (Eds), The Entrepreneurial City: Geographies of Politics, Regime and Representation, John
Wiley & Sons, Chichester, pp. 1-23.
Karmowska, J. (2003), ‘‘Cultural heritage as an element of marketing strategy in European historic
cities’’, Proceedings of the 5th European Commission Conference – Cultural Heritage Research:
A Pan-European Challenge, Luxembourg, January, pp. 139-41.
PAGE 250
j
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CULTURE, TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY RESEARCH
j
VOL. 4 NO. 3 2010
D
o
w
n
l
o
a
d
e
d
b
y
P
O
N
D
I
C
H
E
R
R
Y
U
N
I
V
E
R
S
I
T
Y
A
t
2
2
:
1
1
2
4
J
a
n
u
a
r
y
2
0
1
6
(
P
T
)
Kavaratzis, M. (2007), ‘‘City marketing: the past, the present and some unresolved issues’’, Geography
Compass, Vol. 1 No. 3, pp. 695-712.
Kelly, L. and Sas, J. (1998), ‘‘Separate or inseparable? Marketing and visitor studies’’, paper presented
at the ICOM Conference - Marketing and Public Relations, Melbourne, 12-14 October.
Kotler, P. and Andreasen, A.R. (1996), Strategic Marketing for Nonpro?t Organizations, Pearson, Upper
Saddle River, NJ.
Kotler, N. and Kotler, P. (2000), ‘‘Can museums be all things to all people? Missions, goals, and
marketing’s role, Museum’’, Management and Curatorship, Vol. 18 No. 3, pp. 271-87.
Kotler, P., Haider, D. and Rein, I. (1993), Marketing Places: Attracting Investment, Industry and Tourism
to Cities, States and Nations, The Free Press, New York, NY.
McLean, F. (1994), ‘‘Services marketing: the case of museums’’, The Service Industries Journal, Vol. 14
No. 2, pp. 190-9.
Park, C.W., Jaworski, B.J. and MacInnis, D.J. (1986), ‘‘Strategic brand concept image management’’,
Journal of Marketing, Vol. 50 No. 4, pp. 135-45.
Rentschler, R. (1998), ‘‘Museum and performing arts marketing: a climate of change’’, Journal of Arts
Management, Law and Society, Vol. 28 No. 1, pp. 83-96.
Rentschler, R. and Reussner, E.M. (2002), ‘‘Museum marketing research: from denial to discovery?’’,
Second Annual Nonpro?t, Social and Arts Marketing Colloquium, Guildhall University, London.
Roth, M.S. (1992), ‘‘Depth versus breadth strategies for global brand image management’’, Journal of
Advertising, Vol. 21 No. 2, pp. 25-36.
Safak, E. (2009), ‘‘Akropol mu¨ zesi ve gu¨ nay’?n projesi’’, Sabah Gazetesi, 21 June, p. 5.
Schuck-Wersig, P. and Wersig, G. (1994), ‘‘Museumsmarketing grundfragen und thesen’’, in Wiese, G.
(Ed.), Museumsmanagement. Eine Antwort auf schwindende Finanzmittel?, Publications of the
Freilichtmuseum am Kiekeberg, Ehestorf, pp. 143-9.
Travel and Leisure (2008), Top 10 Cities in Europe, available at www.travelandleisure.com/worldsbest/
2008/results.cfm?cat ¼ citieseurope
Young, S. (1972), ‘‘Copy testing without magic numbers’’, Journal of Advertising Research, Vol. 12,
pp. 3-12.
Corresponding author
Ipek Altinbas¸ak can be contacted at: ipek.altinbasak@ bahcesehir.edu.tr
VOL. 4 NO. 3 2010
j
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CULTURE, TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY RESEARCH
j
PAGE 251
To purchase reprints of this article please e-mail: [email protected]
Or visit our web site for further details: www.emeraldinsight.com/reprints
D
o
w
n
l
o
a
d
e
d
b
y
P
O
N
D
I
C
H
E
R
R
Y
U
N
I
V
E
R
S
I
T
Y
A
t
2
2
:
1
1
2
4
J
a
n
u
a
r
y
2
0
1
6
(
P
T
)
This article has been cited by:
1. Senay Oguztimur, Ulun Akturan. 2015. Synthesis of City Branding Literature (1988-2014) as a Research Domain.
International Journal of Tourism Research n/a-n/a. [CrossRef]
D
o
w
n
l
o
a
d
e
d
b
y
P
O
N
D
I
C
H
E
R
R
Y
U
N
I
V
E
R
S
I
T
Y
A
t
2
2
:
1
1
2
4
J
a
n
u
a
r
y
2
0
1
6
(
P
T
)
doc_775372320.pdf
Cities, in order to differentiate themselves from their competitors, attempt to manage their
image by following strategic place marketing approaches. The purpose of this paper is to identify the
perception of Istanbul and to focus on the role of museums related to the formation of city image
International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research
City image and museums: the case of Istanbul
#pek Alt#nba#ak Elem Yalç#n
Article information:
To cite this document:
#pek Alt#nba#ak Elem Yalç#n, (2010),"City image and museums: the case of Istanbul", International J ournal of Culture, Tourism and
Hospitality Research, Vol. 4 Iss 3 pp. 241 - 251
Permanent link to this document:http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/17506181011067628
Downloaded on: 24 January 2016, At: 22:11 (PT)
References: this document contains references to 30 other documents.
To copy this document: [email protected]
The fulltext of this document has been downloaded 1295 times since 2010*
Users who downloaded this article also downloaded:
Ferhan Gezici, Ebru Kerimoglu, (2010),"Culture, tourism and regeneration process in Istanbul", International J ournal of Culture, Tourism and
Hospitality Research, Vol. 4 Iss 3 pp. 252-265http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/17506181011067637
Maria D. Alvarez, #ükrü Yarcan, (2010),"Istanbul as a world city: a cultural perspective", International J ournal of Culture, Tourism and
Hospitality Research, Vol. 4 Iss 3 pp. 266-276http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/17506181011067646
Maria D. Alvarez, (2010),"Creative cities and cultural spaces: new perspectives for city tourism", International J ournal of Culture, Tourism
and Hospitality Research, Vol. 4 Iss 3 pp. 171-175http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/17506181011067565
Access to this document was granted through an Emerald subscription provided by emerald-srm:115632 []
For Authors
If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about
how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/
authors for more information.
About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.com
Emerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than
290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional
customer resources and services.
Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and
also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation.
*Related content and download information correct at time of download.
D
o
w
n
l
o
a
d
e
d
b
y
P
O
N
D
I
C
H
E
R
R
Y
U
N
I
V
E
R
S
I
T
Y
A
t
2
2
:
1
1
2
4
J
a
n
u
a
r
y
2
0
1
6
(
P
T
)
City image and museums: the case of
Istanbul
I
?
pek Alt?nbas¸ak and Elem Yalc¸?n
Abstract
Purpose – Cities, in order to differentiate themselves from their competitors, attempt to manage their
image by following strategic place marketing approaches. The purpose of this paper is to identify the
perception of Istanbul and to focus on the role of museums related to the formation of city image.
Design/methodology/approach – The study uses quantitative research techniques. A structural
questionnaire focusing on the image of Istanbul and perception of Istanbul’s museums is distributed to
museum visitors in Istanbul.
Findings – The results reveal that Istanbul is perceived as a culturally rich and exotic city. The
respondents consider Istanbul as a brand city and an attractive tourist destination. The general image of
the local people is also positive. The perception of second time visitors is more positive compared to ?rst
time visitors. Furthermore, the internet is the major source of information used by the travelers. The
exoticness of the city and the dynamism pointed out by other research renders Istanbul a lively city, full
of energy and offering lots of entertainment. The participants believe that museums are important for city
image formation and that the museums in Istanbul are worth visiting. However, the fact that the city is
nominated as the European Capital of Culture in 2010 is not acknowledged by the majority of
respondents. Istanbul has to exploit this big event in order to promote the city to all potential visitors and
business people.
Originality/value – The paper provides a preliminary insight to the importance of museums for the city
image formation focusing on Istanbul.
Keywords Cities, Strategic marketing, Museums, Brand image, Tourism, Turkey
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
The marketing literature has always investigated the topic of brand image, simply de?ned as
‘‘the meaning consumers associate with the product’’ (Roth, 1992, p. 25), and has
recognized this concept as one of the most vital elements of the brand positioning strategy
(Young, 1972; Park et al., 1986). In time, the academics as well as practitioners have realized
the importance of the notion of image not only for products and services but also for places.
Places are competing with each other to attract tourists, potential investors, students,
residents, artists, cultural events and other resources in order to develop faster and better.
Therefore, a sound marketing strategy should help create and manage the image of a
country, region or city.
City marketing is a relatively new scienti?c ?eld. It involves the de?nition of a city’s product
(the city as a product) and its image, in such a way that its recipients will see it as it is
intended to be marketed. Therefore, city marketing plays an important role, forming a bridge
between a city’s potential and the use of this capacity for the bene?t of the local society
(Deffner and Liouris, 2005). A number of primary tourism elements have the ability to attract
tourists and visitors (Ejigu et al., 2004), including museums. Museums are historical places
that have already a collection of valuable objects to be exhibited or institutions that research,
DOI 10.1108/17506181011067628 VOL. 4 NO. 3 2010, pp. 241-251, Q Emerald Group Publishing Limited, ISSN 1750-6182
j
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CULTURE, TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY RESEARCH
j
PAGE 241
Ipek Alt?nbas¸ak is assistant
professor and Elem Yalcin
is research assistant, both
based at Bahcesehir
University, Istanbul, Turkey.
Received December 2009
Revised January 2010
Accepted March 2010
Thanks to Associate Professor
Dr Maria Alvarez.
D
o
w
n
l
o
a
d
e
d
b
y
P
O
N
D
I
C
H
E
R
R
Y
U
N
I
V
E
R
S
I
T
Y
A
t
2
2
:
1
1
2
4
J
a
n
u
a
r
y
2
0
1
6
(
P
T
)
collect, display and interpret objects (Rentschler, 1998). Marketing tools are used to support
the museums’ social mandate and contribute to build a city image (Rentschler and Reussner,
2002). Hence, the museums are expected to contribute to the perception of the city and
provide incentives for attracting tourists and specialists.
This paper focuses on the image of Istanbul as a historical metropolitan city. Istanbul has
been the capital of three Empires across the centuries. The city’s unique strategic position as
a bridge between East and West renders Istanbul one of the culturally richest and more
diverse cities in the world. The objective of the study is to investigate the perception of
Istanbul, especially focusing on the role of museums related to the city image. Istanbul has
also been nominated as one of the European Capitals of Culture for 2010. Therefore, the
importance of museums to contribute to the formation of Istanbul’s image is more important
on this special occasion. The research aims at investigating the perception of Istanbul and
its museums as part of the city image. The ?ndings are expected to shed light on the
perception of Istanbul and the effective utilization of museums as a mean to promote the
image of the city.
An overview of the literature
The literature de?nes image as ‘‘the sumof the total impressions the consumers receive from
many sources’’ (Herzog, 1963, p. 82). On the other hand, Ger and Askegaard (1996) de?ne
image, as ‘‘a mental representation, a network of meanings stored in the memory, in a
particular structure, and along with affective, motivational and sensory aspects’’. As a result
of the increasing competition, besides products and services, places such as countries,
cities, regions and even towns have been eager to use marketing tools in order to improve
their image and reach their development objectives. Through specifying their target group,
shaping the place product, realizing right pricing and communication strategies, places try
to differentiate themselves from their competitors. Images represent a simpli?cation of a
large number of associations and pieces of information connected with the place. Kotler et al.
(1993) state that an image is a whole set of beliefs about a place. Furthermore, strategic
place image management is the ongoing process of researching a place’s image among its
audiences, segmenting and targeting according to this speci?c perception, positioning the
place’s bene?ts to support an existing image or to create a new one, and communicating
those bene?ts to the target audiences (Kotler et al., 1993). Another key aspect proposed to
be added to this de?nition is the importance of creating a synergy and consistency between
different message providers in order to create a stronger and congruent image in the mind of
the target audience (Alt?nbas¸ak, 2004).
The country image, which expresses personalized feelings of what people think and know
about a country, has crucial impacts not only on the assessment of its products abroad but
also on the forces contributing to the country’s development (Alt?nbas¸ak, 2004, 2008). A
powerful and positive nation brand image provides a crucial competitive advantage (Anholt,
2005). For this reason, countries are increasingly adopting branding and marketing
concepts to promote themselves and create favorable images. A country has to position and
differentiate itself in the minds of travelers (Balog? lu and Mangaloglu, 2001; Baloglu and
McCleary, 1999). Therefore, many countries aimto understand and manage their destination
image relative to their competitors.
In the current framework of the globalized economy, like countries, cities are also competing
with one another to attract tourists, businessmen, investors, students, artists, cultural events,
etc., in order to develop faster and better. Karmowska (2003) states that city marketing plays
an important role, forming a bridge between a place’s potential and the use of this capability
for the bene?t of the local society. Hubbard and Hall (1998) emphasize the importance of
re-imaging localities and the transformation of previously productive cities into spectacular
places of (and for) consumption. Speci?c policies that include the cultural regeneration of
the city bring about the achievement of these goals.
According to Bailey (1989), strategic market planning in the context of places has changed
according to the needs of the era. In time, places learned to segment markets and buyers,
PAGE 242
j
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CULTURE, TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY RESEARCH
j
VOL. 4 NO. 3 2010
D
o
w
n
l
o
a
d
e
d
b
y
P
O
N
D
I
C
H
E
R
R
Y
U
N
I
V
E
R
S
I
T
Y
A
t
2
2
:
1
1
2
4
J
a
n
u
a
r
y
2
0
1
6
(
P
T
)
and to target their products and services to speci?c customers based on research and
analysis. In the last decade of the twentieth century, places moved to a newstage of product
development and competitive niche marketing. They attempt to de?ne themselves as
distinctive locations with speci?c competitive advantages for target customers. These
places are also creating niche products and services to augment their perceived value. As
Bailey (1989) points out, in the rapidly changing world conditions, place marketing emerged
as a promising integrating process, linking an area’s potential competitive advantages to
overall economic development goals. Barke (1999) claims that places have created new
forms of representation and this situation has led to major concern over the image of the city,
since in some cases this process meant seeking to alter an undesirable image, while in
others it entailed enhancing a favorable image. Kavaratzis (2007) argues that the image is a
crucial and determining factor for the people who use the city, whether investors and
developers, or visitors and residents. Furthermore, according to the desired image, the city
should determine the target to direct the marketing activities at.
There are a number of primary tourism elements that have the ability to attract tourists and
visitors (Ejigu et al., 2004). Among these factors are the cultural facilities, including museums
and galleries. Despite the existence of several classi?cations, museums can be described
as monuments, palaces already containing worthwhile exhibiting aspects or institutions that
collect, research, display and interpret objects (Ambrose and Paine, 2006; McLean, 1994).
As with private museums, public museums have to attract more visitors to prove their
accountability and therefore improve their image. Therefore, marketing is increasingly
regarded as an essential museumactivity (Kelly and Sas, 1998). It has been noted that those
activities that support the museums’ social mandate and their responsibility by broadening
access, not only through augmenting visitor numbers, but also through increasing the variety
of audiences reached, contribute to the marketing of the area.
The adoption of marketing methods by museums is of recent origin, while the applicability of
these tools to museums is still debated. Approaches to museum marketing are made via
non-pro?t and services marketing (Benkert et al., 1995; Kotler and Andreasen, 1996; Kotler
and Kotler, 2000; McLean, 1994; Schuck-Wersig and Wersig, 1994). The commercial
context of marketing is different from that of the non-pro?t museum. Museum marketing is
regarded as a relationship with museum stakeholders, such as visitors, staff, funding
agencies, local authorities, board members, museum professionals, researchers, sponsors
and the media (Rentschler and Reussner, 2002).
Museums and all the cultural activities related to themcontribute to the city image. Istanbul is
one of the culturally richest cities in the world, although this fact needs to be clearly
communicated to the right target groups. The Travel and Leisure magazine readers rated
Istanbul as the third most attractive city to be visited in Europe and ninth in the world (Travel
and Leisure, 2008). Istanbul, being a city of culture throughout its history, boasts 56
museums all around the city, including palaces, monuments and other historical areas.
Among the activities that will be held in the context of the Istanbul 2010 European Capital of
Culture project, the Turkish Ministry for Culture and Tourismhas provided special importance
to the restoration and rehabilitation of the museums and historical monuments in Istanbul,
indicating the importance given to these attractions.
The study
Following a thorough review of the literature on place marketing and city marketing to
understand the nature of the topic, the researchers examined the studies and projects
related to the marketing of different cities in Europe. The research on the image and
marketing of Istanbul, although limited, was also investigated.
One of the main steps to create a strong city brand is investigating its current image.
Therefore, the researchers developed a questionnaire aiming to highlight the image of
Istanbul in the eyes of tourists visiting the city. The museums form an important part of the
cultural environment of the city, in?uencing its image. Therefore, the questionnaire consisted
mainly of the parts:
VOL. 4 NO. 3 2010
j
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CULTURE, TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY RESEARCH
j
PAGE 243
D
o
w
n
l
o
a
d
e
d
b
y
P
O
N
D
I
C
H
E
R
R
Y
U
N
I
V
E
R
S
I
T
Y
A
t
2
2
:
1
1
2
4
J
a
n
u
a
r
y
2
0
1
6
(
P
T
)
B the perception of Istanbul as a tourist destination including all the aspects of the city; and
B the perception of Istanbul’s museums and their importance related to the image of the
city.
The participants were chosen from among museum visitors. Pilot tests of the questionnaire
were carried out with ten tourists in June 2009, resulting in the necessary re?nements to the
survey instrument.
The questionnaire was prepared in English. Hence, only the participants who understand
English could participate in the research. The most famous and mostly visited museums of
Istanbul were identi?ed. It was necessary to obtain the required permissions from the
authorities in order to carry out the research in the speci?ed museums. After having obtained
the authorization, the ?eld work was carried out in the second half of June and in the ?rst
week of July in Istanbul. The questionnaires were given to museum visitors in the Haghia
Sophia Museum, Topkap? Palace Museum, Beylerbeyi Palace Museum and Dolmabahc¸ e
Palace Museum. The convenience sampling method was used to reach the respondents,
since those visitors who volunteered to participate ?lled out the questionnaire under the
supervision of the researchers.
Sample size
An estimate of the sample size needed for the research was derived from the following
formula: n ¼ z
2
* a
2
/H
2
, where H ¼ half the precision level. The con?dence and the precision
level sought were 95 percent and þ0.1 respectively. The variance of the population was
taken as 0.7. This resulted in a minimum sample size of 268.
In total, the researchers collected 280 questionnaires. However, 30 of them were eliminated,
resulting in 250 valid questionnaires, believed to be suf?cient to meet the sample size
requirement. The data were analyzed using SPSS 15.0 for Windows Statistical Package.
Findings
The characteristics of the sample are presented in Table I; 64 percent of the respondents are
below the age of 40 and almost 91 percent of the participants have a university degree or
higher; 70 percent of the respondents are white collar workers and they stated their salary to
be in the range between 1,500-5,000 euros. In terms of their nationalities, participants in the
study are citizens from 28 different countries. Furthermore, 36 percent of the respondents
have previously visited Turkey and 25.6 percent of them have already been in Istanbul at
least once. Most of the visitors traveled to Istanbul for vacation purposes. Interestingly, 77
percent of the visits for vacation and 96.4 percent of those for education purposes were
realized in the ?rst trip, whereas the business purposed trips to Istanbul were usually more
concentrated on the second visit (44 percent).
The respondents stated that they mostly used the internet to get information about Istanbul
(22 percent), followed by newspapers and magazines (17.7 percent) and television (17.7
percent). Those respondents who have heard about Istanbul being the European Capital of
Culture in 2010 remarked that they mainly obtained information from the internet,
newspapers/magazines and travel agents (refer to Table II). Furthermore, 58 percent of the
participants have heard that Istanbul is one of the European Capitals of Culture in 2010.
The image of Istanbul
The image of Istanbul and the level of knowledge about the city was investigated through
Likert-type and semantic differential scales. The means related to the statements about the
image of Istanbul are presented in Table III. The stronger characteristics refer to Istanbul
being a historical city, with different culture and atmosphere, where people can do shopping.
Respondents also stated that Istanbul is a brand city, an attractive tourist destination with
palaces and museums worth seeing. The general image of the people living in the city is
positive, as respondents remarked that they could communicate with local inhabitants
easily. In terms of the adjectives associated with Istanbul, the city is not found to be very
PAGE 244
j
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CULTURE, TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY RESEARCH
j
VOL. 4 NO. 3 2010
D
o
w
n
l
o
a
d
e
d
b
y
P
O
N
D
I
C
H
E
R
R
Y
U
N
I
V
E
R
S
I
T
Y
A
t
2
2
:
1
1
2
4
J
a
n
u
a
r
y
2
0
1
6
(
P
T
)
Table I Characteristics of the respondents
%
Gender
Male 41.6
Female 58.4
Age
24 or below 15.8
25-40 48.2
41-60 32.0
61 and above 4.0
Education
High school 9.4
University 68.6
Master degree 18.0
PhD 4.1
Occupation
White collar worker 70.5
Blue collar worker 3.1
Student 22.0
Retired 4.4
Family income (e)
500-1,500 9.2
1,501-3,000 30.3
3,001-5,000 44.5
More than 5,001 16.0
Country of nationality
Italy 13.2
Spain 10.4
Great Britain 9.6
Korea 8.4
Poland 7.6
Russia 6.4
America 6.0
Germany 5.6
Other 32.8
Purpose of the visit
Vacation 76.2
Business 3.6
Education 11.3
Family/friends 8.1
Other 0.8
Table II Cross tabulation: Sources of information used – hearing about Istanbul 2010
Capital of Culture
Have you heard about Istanbul 2010 ECOC?
Yes No
Source used Frequency % Frequency %
Internet 81 19.6 62 15.0
Newspapers/magazines 67 16.2 49 11.8
Television 67 16.2 47 11.4
Travel agents 57 13.8 17 4.1
Friends/relatives suggestion 45 10.9 25 6.0
Books 34 8.2 32 7.7
Posters/brochures/billboards 28 6.8 28 6.8
Radio 6 1.4 8 1.9
VOL. 4 NO. 3 2010
j
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CULTURE, TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY RESEARCH
j
PAGE 245
D
o
w
n
l
o
a
d
e
d
b
y
P
O
N
D
I
C
H
E
R
R
Y
U
N
I
V
E
R
S
I
T
Y
A
t
2
2
:
1
1
2
4
J
a
n
u
a
r
y
2
0
1
6
(
P
T
)
strong in any of the attributes. Istanbul is rated better (.3.5/5) on exotic and entertaining
characteristics. Around 33 percent of the respondents stated that they would like to live,
work and study in Istanbul. 41.3 percent of the respondents claimed to have the desire to
revisit Istanbul, whereas 13 percent did not have this intention, and 45 percent were
uncertain. Those who desire to revisit Istanbul pointed out that the strongest factor related to
their decision was the fact that Istanbul is a historical city (90 percent).
The differences regarding the image of Istanbul were also analyzed in terms of gender, age,
education, income level, visiting status and the intention to visit, using independent samples
t-tests and analysis of variance. According to the ?ndings, male respondents appreciate
more the Istanbul cuisine (t ¼ 1:974; p ¼ 0:049), although the means for both genders are
on the positive side. Interestingly, the female participants are more eager to study in Istanbul
compared to male respondents. The respondents younger than 40 years old perceive
Istanbul as a more historical city (F ¼ 2:96; p ¼ 0:033), with a more delicious cuisine
(F ¼ 3:39; p ¼ 0:019), compared to the respondents between 41-60 years old. Again, the
youngest respondents rate Istanbul as a more relaxing (F ¼ 4:88; p ¼ 0:003) and culturally
richer city (F ¼ 3:02; p ¼ 0:030) compared to the oldest (.61) respondents. Moreover,
individuals younger than 40 years old ?nd the museums and palaces more worth seeing
(F ¼ 3:05; p ¼ 0:029), they have a more positive image of Istanbul people (F ¼ 5:11;
Table III The image of Istanbul
Mean
a
SD
Statements about Istanbul
Istanbul is a historical city 4.11 0.75
Istanbul is a modern city 3.44 0.93
Istanbul is a city where the entertainment and night life is good 3.68 0.93
Istanbul is a city where I can rest and relax 3.72 0.82
Istanbul is a city with different culture and atmosphere 3.95 0.83
Istanbul is a city with unique natural beauties 3.85 0.79
Istanbul is a city where I can ?nd delicious cuisine 3.77 0.83
Istanbul is a city with cultural activities (concerts, exhibitions, etc.) 3.73 0.85
Istanbul is a city where I can do shopping 3.90 0.87
Before coming I knew about Istanbul 3.16 1.10
Before visiting here I knew about the history of Istanbul 3.29 1.01
I could get information related to touristic sites of Istanbul 3.59 0.86
I could communicate with people in Istanbul 4.02 0.89
Istanbul is a brand city 3.86 0.86
Istanbul provides various shopping opportunities 3.70 0.88
Istanbul has a lot of scenery/natural attractions 3.74 0.85
I could transport easily in Istanbul 3.64 0.98
Istanbul has many synagogues 3.45 0.95
Istanbul has many churches 3.59 0.91
Istanbul has many mosques 3.90 0.84
Istanbul has museums and palaces worth seeing 4.02 0.79
I have a positive image of the people from Istanbul 3.92 0.84
I have a positive image of Istanbul as a tourist destination 3.88 0.86
Overall mean 3.74
Adjectives about Istanbul
Unsafe – safe 3.31 0.94
Dirty – clean 2.95 1.53
Chaotic – relaxing 3.12 2.04
Expensive – cheap 3.36 0.84
Boring – entertaining 3.63 0.90
Crowded – not crowded 3.13 4.36
Not romantic – romantic 3.44 0.95
Traditional – modern 3.26 2.21
Oriental – European 3.26 1.04
Ordinary – exotic 3.74 0.97
Overall mean 3.32
Notes:
a
1 ¼ Least positive; 5 ¼ Most positive
PAGE 246
j
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CULTURE, TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY RESEARCH
j
VOL. 4 NO. 3 2010
D
o
w
n
l
o
a
d
e
d
b
y
P
O
N
D
I
C
H
E
R
R
Y
U
N
I
V
E
R
S
I
T
Y
A
t
2
2
:
1
1
2
4
J
a
n
u
a
r
y
2
0
1
6
(
P
T
)
p ¼ 0:020) and they also have a more positive image of Istanbul as a tourist destination
(F ¼ 5:87; p ¼ 0:001), compared to elderly participants. Younger tourists also evaluate
Istanbul as a safer (F ¼ 3:18; p ¼ 0:024), cleaner (F ¼ 5:28; p ¼ 0:000), more relaxing
(F ¼ 6:15; p ¼ 0:000), more romantic (F ¼ 2:81; p ¼ 0:040), less crowded (F ¼ 3:98;
p ¼ 0:009) and more exotic city (F ¼ 2:43; p ¼ 0:000), compared to the elder tourists.
Moreover, the lower the income level, the higher is the satisfaction with the cuisine in Istanbul
(F ¼ 3:57; p ¼ 0:007) and the variety of the attractions (F ¼ 2:85; p ¼ 0:024). In terms of
education, the main difference is found between the PhD degree holders and the other
groups. The PhD holders are more demanding, therefore they rate the city lower than the
other respondents and they do not want to live or work in Istanbul. The only issue to note is
that the high school graduates have a more positive image of the Istanbul people.
Participants who have already visited Istanbul have more knowledge compared to ?rst time
visitors, including general knowledge about the city (t ¼ 3:289; p ¼ 0:001), the history of
Istanbul (t ¼ 2:711; p ¼ 0:007) and the tourist sites in the city (t ¼ 2:974; p ¼ 0:003). The
visitors who would like to come to Istanbul again rated the city better on the following
attributes: Istanbul is a historical city (t ¼ 4:029; p ¼ 0:000); Istanbul is a modern city
(t ¼ 3:941; p ¼ 0:000); Istanbul is a city with unique natural beauties (t ¼ 2:225; p ¼ 0:028);
Istanbul is a brand city (t ¼ 2:597; p ¼ 0:008); Istanbul has many mosques (t ¼ 3:910;
p ¼ 0:010); Istanbul has museums and palaces worth seeing (t ¼ 2:864; p ¼ 0:000); I have
a positive image of people from Istanbul (t ¼ 3:055; p ¼ 0:003); I have a positive image of
Istanbul as a tourist destination (t ¼ 2:910; p ¼ 0:004); boring – entertaining (t ¼ 2:815;
p ¼ 0:006); traditional – modern (t ¼ 1:847; p ¼ 0:067); Oriental – European (t ¼ 2:676;
p ¼ 0:008). Similarly, those individuals who desire to return to Istanbul are more
knowledgeable about the city in general (t ¼ 4:54; p ¼ 0:000), regarding its history
(t ¼ 4:279; p ¼ 0:000Þ and in relation to tourist sites (t ¼ 2:676; p ¼ 0:008). They also want to
live (t ¼ 4:983; p ¼ 0:000), work (t ¼ 4:302; p ¼ 0:000) and study (t ¼ 2:238; p ¼ 0:027) in
Istanbul.
The image of the museums in Istanbul
The means related to the statements about the image of the museums in Istanbul are
presented in Table IV. The attributes which are found to have a mean over 3.5 are highlighted
in the table. Respondents believe that museums are important for the formation of image of
the city. Furthermore, they stated that Istanbul is famous with its museums, which are worth
seeing and well managed. Apart from the toilets, all of the services in the museums of
Istanbul were rated over 3.5, the gift shop being the most appreciated. The results also
indicate that the perception of Istanbul’s museums has ameliorated after the experience.
Several statistical analyses were made to highlight the image of the museums in Istanbul, by
determining the signi?cant differences between groups with varied characteristics. In terms
of gender, the research determines that the image of the Istanbul museums before visiting is
more positive for female respondents (t ¼ 2:049; p ¼ 0:042). In relation to age differences,
the ?ndings establish that the tourists between 25-40 have a stronger belief that museums
have an important role on the city image (F ¼ 2:68; p ¼ 0:047), that the museums in Istanbul
re?ect its history well (F ¼ 3:85; p ¼ 0:010), compared to the ones over 41 years old. The
respondents younger than 25 years old believe that Istanbul offers a wide variety of
museums (F ¼ 2:84; p ¼ 0:039) compared to the respondents over 41 years old. The results
also reveal that the respondents with the lowest income level have a less positive perception
of the museums in terms of guiding services (F ¼ 5:04; p ¼ 0:001) and information desk
(F ¼ 4:16; p ¼ 0:021). However, no signi?cant differences among the groups according to
various education levels were identi?ed regarding the image of the museums in Istanbul.
Although the results do not re?ect any signi?cant differences among the respondents who
have visited Istanbul before and those who have not in terms of the image of the museums in
the city, some variations are observed for those who intend to visit again and those who do
not. The respondents who would like to come again to Istanbul are more satis?ed and have a
more positive image of museums. Individuals that intend to visit Istanbul believe that the
museums re?ect the history of the city (t ¼ 2:579; p ¼ 0:011), that there are a variety of
VOL. 4 NO. 3 2010
j
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CULTURE, TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY RESEARCH
j
PAGE 247
D
o
w
n
l
o
a
d
e
d
b
y
P
O
N
D
I
C
H
E
R
R
Y
U
N
I
V
E
R
S
I
T
Y
A
t
2
2
:
1
1
2
4
J
a
n
u
a
r
y
2
0
1
6
(
P
T
)
museums (t ¼ 3:283; p ¼ 0:001), and that the museums in Istanbul are worth seeing
(t ¼ 2:481; p ¼ 0:014). Furthermore, those respondents that desire to visit Istanbul again are
more positive about the cafeteria (t ¼ 3:12; p ¼ 0:002) and the transportation (t ¼ 2:330;
p ¼ 0:021) services in the museums and their image of the museums after their visit to
Istanbul is more positive (t ¼ 3:139; p ¼ 0:002).
Limitations and suggestions for further research
The research did not concentrate on one nation. The literature suggests that different nations
have varied images and prejudices affecting their perception (Alt?nbas¸ak, 2004, 2008).
Although more time would be needed to reach the respondents, the research can be
repeated concentrating on speci?c countries.
Another limitation of the research is its language, since only the respondents who
understand English could participate, while 85 percent of the participants were not native
English speakers. In further research, the questionnaire can be translated into several
languages to enlarge the base of participants and enable the respondents to answer in their
native language.
Istanbul is visited by approximately seven million tourists every year. Although the minimum
sample size requirement is met, the number of the participants may be enlarged.
Furthermore, the results of the study may be discussed with travel agents, museum
managers and tourism sector professionals in order to make adjustments before repeating
the study.
Conclusions
The realities of the twenty-?rst century force cities to use marketing approaches in order to
fasten the development of the city. Istanbul is a city which has been the capital of three big
Empires for centuries. Its geographical position between Asia and Europe, unique natural
beauties of the Bosphorus, and its immense historical heritage render Istanbul one the most
attractive tourist and business destinations in the world.
Table IV Image of the museums in Istanbul
Mean SD
General statements regarding Istanbul museums
Museums have a tremendous impact on creating city brand 3.69 0.82
I believe that museums have an important role on Istanbul image 3.67 0.76
I agree with the idea that the museums in Istanbul re?ect its history
very well 3.65 0.80
I think that Istanbul has various museums 3.68 0.80
I think that Istanbul museums are worth seeing 3.74 0.87
I think that Istanbul is famous with its museums 3.71 2.14
I think that Istanbul museums are managed in a good way 3.72 2.72
Overall mean 3.69
Museum services
Guiding service 3.50 0.77
Interior cleanliness of palaces 3.60 0.80
Directional signs in the museum 3.72 2.10
Information desk 3.50 0.93
Cafe´ 3.59 0.87
Gift department 3.97 4.18
Toilet 3.34 0.99
Transportation 3.55 0.81
Overall mean 3.60
My mental image of Istanbul museums before visiting for the ?rst time 3.16 0.81
My mental image of Istanbul museums now, after having visited 3.82 0.70
PAGE 248
j
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CULTURE, TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY RESEARCH
j
VOL. 4 NO. 3 2010
D
o
w
n
l
o
a
d
e
d
b
y
P
O
N
D
I
C
H
E
R
R
Y
U
N
I
V
E
R
S
I
T
Y
A
t
2
2
:
1
1
2
4
J
a
n
u
a
r
y
2
0
1
6
(
P
T
)
The cultural variety and richness of Istanbul have been communicated to foreigners through
several media all around the years. However, previous research also points out that the
image of Istanbul is ambiguous for the ones who have not visited the city (Alt?nbas¸ak, 2009).
The foreigners actually have a much more positive image after they have experienced the
city. Hence, as this study also proves, the second time visitors have a more positive
perception for the major attributes related to the city.
The internet is the most widely used source of information by the potential visitors. However,
the content of the information varies. While 58 percent of the respondents, mainly those who
used the internet, had information about Istanbul being the European Capital of Culture
2010, 42 percent of participants were not aware of this fact. Online media has to be used as
a marketing tool more frequently and more effectively to provide information about the city.
The results of the study reveal that Istanbul is perceived as a historical city with different
culture and atmosphere. The respondents strongly believe that Istanbul has museums and
palaces worth visiting. The museums of Istanbul, especially the historical palaces,
monuments and areas constitute an important part of the city image. However, the visitors
should also see the modern face of Istanbul, in terms of art galleries in modern shopping
malls, art museums and the cultural activities which are carried out with world famous artists,
singers and groups. Furthermore, the cultural activities especially to be offered to higher
income group should be more sophisticated. Special activities or exhibitions can be made
for different age groups. The exoticness of the city and the dynamism pointed out by other
research render Istanbul a lively city, full of energy and offering lots of entertainment. The
younger visitors appreciate this aspect of the city as a positive factor contributing to the city
image.
Although the Nation Brand Index focuses on the country image rather than that of a city, the
fact that Turkey’s potential on the ‘‘culture and cultural heritage’’ attribute is underestimated
might be alarming; Turkey was ranked as ninth among 11 countries in 2005 and 38th among
50 countries in 2008. Furthermore, although the existence of cultural monuments is
important, the visitors expect continuous and differentiated cultural activities to be held in a
city. Therefore, countries/cities which do not have a rich historical past can differentiate
themselves through the vast alternatives of cultural activities held in the city and
communicated to the world regularly. To strengthen its city image, Istanbul should increase
the variety and provide the continuity of cultural activities throughout the whole year, using its
historical places and museums as a source of attraction. Furthermore, those activities should
be communicated not only in Turkey but throughout the world to different target groups. The
support of both the State and NGOs is crucial for the success.
In a different research respondents admitted to have heard about Istanbul, although their
image was shaped by prejudices, and the information presented in the media and through
word-of-mouth (Alt?nbas¸ak, 2004, 2009). Therefore, all the related parties should work in
harmony to manage the image of Istanbul with the objective of transmitting the unique,
incomparable and superb characteristics of the city. The cooperation between public and
private sectors, guided by the academics expert in the ?eld is crucial. The city still has
considerable potential in terms of increasing the number of tourists, businessmen, students,
artists, sportsmen, as well as the cultural and sportive activities.
Activities designed around Istanbul 2010 European Capital of Culture (ECOC), provide a
good opportunity to promote the city. Those activities are expected not only to boost tourism
but also to create a better image of the city in the eyes of diverse consumers including
business people. Barcelona and Athens used the ECOC as well as the Olympic games to
rehabilitate the city and improve the city image.
Although the global crisis has affected the tourism sector all around the world, cities are
creating new ways to attract tourists. Cultural events are always among the strongest
differentiating activities. Greece, which announced an estimate of 20 percent decrease in
the number of tourists in 2009, is investing in culture and museums in order to be one of the
choices of the potential visitors. Exploiting the rich historical heritage, the museum of the
Acropolis has been built for more than e130 million and it has been promoted in the world. In
VOL. 4 NO. 3 2010
j
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CULTURE, TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY RESEARCH
j
PAGE 249
D
o
w
n
l
o
a
d
e
d
b
y
P
O
N
D
I
C
H
E
R
R
Y
U
N
I
V
E
R
S
I
T
Y
A
t
2
2
:
1
1
2
4
J
a
n
u
a
r
y
2
0
1
6
(
P
T
)
Europe, many countries and cities are attempting to differentiate themselves through
museums. In Belgium, Berlin, Munich and Abu Dhabi several museums have opened,
presenting themselves as a channel of the global peace (Safak, 2009). Istanbul, as well as
Turkey’s other cities, need to strive to ?nd the necessary funding to protect, exhibit and
promote their rich cultural heritage.
The museums form a bridge between a nation’s past and future; therefore they constitute an
important part of the cultural environment of the city contributing to its image. Speci?cally,
Istanbul with its strategic position, has always been a city of great signi?cance in the world’s
history. Thereby, Istanbul and its museums provide a unique and vast cultural value to the
visitors from all around the world. The museums of Istanbul offer valuable opportunities for
further improving the image of this superb city. However, a sound marketing approach
needs to be applied in designing museum management strategies and the related cultural
activities.
References
Alt?nbas¸ak, I
?
. (2004), ‘‘Modeling the constituents of the image of a country for the determination of
priorities related to strategic image management: the case of Turkey’’, unpublished PhDthesis, Bog? azic¸ i
University, Istanbul.
Alt?nbas¸ak, I
?
. (2008), ‘‘Developing and managing country brands: an initiative in order to investigate the
nation brand image of Turkey in Europe’’, paper presented at Thought Leaders International Conference
on Brand Management, University of Birmingham, Birmingham.
Alt?nbas¸ak, I
?
. (2009), ‘‘Understanding the prejudices in order to improve the image of Turkey: a
qualitative study on the prejudices of Italians about Turkey’’, Bog? azic¸ i Journal, Vol. 23 No. 1.
Ambrose, T. and Paine, C. (2006), Museum Basics, ICOM in Conjunction with Routledge, New York, NY.
Anholt, S. (2005), ‘‘How the world sees the world’’, Nation Brands Index, available at: www.gmi-
mr.com/gmipoll/docs/NBI_Q1_2005.pdf
Bailey, J.T. (1989), Marketing Cities in the 1980s and beyond, American Economic Development
Council, Chicago, IL.
Balog? lu, S. and McCleary, K. (1999), ‘‘US international pleasure travelers’ images of four Mediterranean
destinations: a comparison of visitors and nonvisitors’’, Journal of Travel Research, Vol. 38, pp. 144-52.
Balog? lu, S. and Mangaloglu, M. (2001), ‘‘Tourism destination images of Turkey, Egypt, Greece and Italy
as perceived by US-based tour operators and travel agents’’, Tourism Management, Vol. 22 Nos 1/9.
Barke, M. (1999), ‘‘City marketing as a planning tool’’, in Pacione, M. (Ed.), Applied Geography:
Principles and Practice, Routledge, London, pp. 486-96.
Benkert, W., Lenders, B. and Vermeulen, P. (Eds) (1995), KulturMarketing, Raabe, Berlin.
Deffner, A. and Liouris, C. (2005), ‘‘City marketing: a signi?cant planning tool for urban development in a
globalised economy’’, paper presented at the 45th Congress of the European Regional Science
Association, Amsterdam, 23-27 August.
Ejigu, A., Sjoholm, J., Nordgren, E. and Lindstrom, P. (2004), ‘‘Twinning identities – Losing uniqueness?’’,
Twinning Cities, Planning for Regional Development Across Borders Project Work, Royal Institute of
Technology.
Ger, G. and Askegaard, S. (1996), ‘‘Product-country images as stereotypes: a comparative study’’,
21st Colloquium of the IAREP, Paris, France, pp. 13-28.
Herzog, H. (1963), ‘‘Behavioral science concepts for analyzing the consumer’’, in Billis, P. (Ed.),
Marketing and the Behavioral Sciences, Allyn and Bacon, Boston, MA, pp. 76-86.
Hubbard, P. and Hall, T. (1998), ‘‘The entrepreneurial city and the new urban politics’’, in Hall, T. and
Hubbard, P. (Eds), The Entrepreneurial City: Geographies of Politics, Regime and Representation, John
Wiley & Sons, Chichester, pp. 1-23.
Karmowska, J. (2003), ‘‘Cultural heritage as an element of marketing strategy in European historic
cities’’, Proceedings of the 5th European Commission Conference – Cultural Heritage Research:
A Pan-European Challenge, Luxembourg, January, pp. 139-41.
PAGE 250
j
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CULTURE, TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY RESEARCH
j
VOL. 4 NO. 3 2010
D
o
w
n
l
o
a
d
e
d
b
y
P
O
N
D
I
C
H
E
R
R
Y
U
N
I
V
E
R
S
I
T
Y
A
t
2
2
:
1
1
2
4
J
a
n
u
a
r
y
2
0
1
6
(
P
T
)
Kavaratzis, M. (2007), ‘‘City marketing: the past, the present and some unresolved issues’’, Geography
Compass, Vol. 1 No. 3, pp. 695-712.
Kelly, L. and Sas, J. (1998), ‘‘Separate or inseparable? Marketing and visitor studies’’, paper presented
at the ICOM Conference - Marketing and Public Relations, Melbourne, 12-14 October.
Kotler, P. and Andreasen, A.R. (1996), Strategic Marketing for Nonpro?t Organizations, Pearson, Upper
Saddle River, NJ.
Kotler, N. and Kotler, P. (2000), ‘‘Can museums be all things to all people? Missions, goals, and
marketing’s role, Museum’’, Management and Curatorship, Vol. 18 No. 3, pp. 271-87.
Kotler, P., Haider, D. and Rein, I. (1993), Marketing Places: Attracting Investment, Industry and Tourism
to Cities, States and Nations, The Free Press, New York, NY.
McLean, F. (1994), ‘‘Services marketing: the case of museums’’, The Service Industries Journal, Vol. 14
No. 2, pp. 190-9.
Park, C.W., Jaworski, B.J. and MacInnis, D.J. (1986), ‘‘Strategic brand concept image management’’,
Journal of Marketing, Vol. 50 No. 4, pp. 135-45.
Rentschler, R. (1998), ‘‘Museum and performing arts marketing: a climate of change’’, Journal of Arts
Management, Law and Society, Vol. 28 No. 1, pp. 83-96.
Rentschler, R. and Reussner, E.M. (2002), ‘‘Museum marketing research: from denial to discovery?’’,
Second Annual Nonpro?t, Social and Arts Marketing Colloquium, Guildhall University, London.
Roth, M.S. (1992), ‘‘Depth versus breadth strategies for global brand image management’’, Journal of
Advertising, Vol. 21 No. 2, pp. 25-36.
Safak, E. (2009), ‘‘Akropol mu¨ zesi ve gu¨ nay’?n projesi’’, Sabah Gazetesi, 21 June, p. 5.
Schuck-Wersig, P. and Wersig, G. (1994), ‘‘Museumsmarketing grundfragen und thesen’’, in Wiese, G.
(Ed.), Museumsmanagement. Eine Antwort auf schwindende Finanzmittel?, Publications of the
Freilichtmuseum am Kiekeberg, Ehestorf, pp. 143-9.
Travel and Leisure (2008), Top 10 Cities in Europe, available at www.travelandleisure.com/worldsbest/
2008/results.cfm?cat ¼ citieseurope
Young, S. (1972), ‘‘Copy testing without magic numbers’’, Journal of Advertising Research, Vol. 12,
pp. 3-12.
Corresponding author
Ipek Altinbas¸ak can be contacted at: ipek.altinbasak@ bahcesehir.edu.tr
VOL. 4 NO. 3 2010
j
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CULTURE, TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY RESEARCH
j
PAGE 251
To purchase reprints of this article please e-mail: [email protected]
Or visit our web site for further details: www.emeraldinsight.com/reprints
D
o
w
n
l
o
a
d
e
d
b
y
P
O
N
D
I
C
H
E
R
R
Y
U
N
I
V
E
R
S
I
T
Y
A
t
2
2
:
1
1
2
4
J
a
n
u
a
r
y
2
0
1
6
(
P
T
)
This article has been cited by:
1. Senay Oguztimur, Ulun Akturan. 2015. Synthesis of City Branding Literature (1988-2014) as a Research Domain.
International Journal of Tourism Research n/a-n/a. [CrossRef]
D
o
w
n
l
o
a
d
e
d
b
y
P
O
N
D
I
C
H
E
R
R
Y
U
N
I
V
E
R
S
I
T
Y
A
t
2
2
:
1
1
2
4
J
a
n
u
a
r
y
2
0
1
6
(
P
T
)
doc_775372320.pdf