CONSTRUCTION OF TOURIST POTENTIAL TROUGH BRANDING AND GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATIONS
Nowadays, the image plays a crucial role in attracting tourists and foreign investments,placing products on foreign markets, obtaining organization rights for cultural and sporting events,gaining respect in international relations, and imposing their own values. It is often fundamentallybased only on impression, superficial experience, often wrong information, especially when speaking ofregions or countries. Tourists are more and more having greater expectations from the sites they visit,and their expectations often go beyond mere sightseeing or relaxation. The focus is not on one offeranymore, but they expect and demand more. Destinations, apart from historical offer, often provide awide range of various products and services: traditional products, national music, premium drinks, etc.Offering such content ensures sufficient income to the local community, and thus, long-term existence.Registering geographical indication “Čigota” for provision of health and tourism services representsthe first geographical indication for service in the world. An increase in the number of tourists notonly benefits the development of the region through developing infrastructure, increase of housingcapacities and construction of suitable roads, but also the increase in GDP. Higher incomes lead toimprovement of working conditions and life in the countryside, development of infrastructure (roads,water supply, schools, health services, children’s institutions, cultural centers), development of ruraltourism, domestic work and other activities.
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