The Branding of Kharkov City as a Tourist Destination

On the basis of analyzing publications and documents of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), the authors clarified the concept of «tourist destination»; considered and clarified the concept of «brand of the tourist destination»; suggested the mechanism for development of the brand of the tourist destination. The existing brand of Kharkiv – «Kharkiv – smart city» – has been analyzed and it was concluded that this brand is promising and successful for educational tourism, for attracting foreign students and scholars – connoisseurs of new technologies and science fiction. The direction of further work on the brand of Kharkiv city as a tourist destination is to enhance the already existing brand «Kharkiv – smart city» by introducing a set of marketing communications, aggressive advertising campaign in Ukrainian and international media and travel exhibitions. Besides, it is considered to be promising to design brands intended for other target segments of consumers – «Kharkiv – historic city», «Kharkiv – sport city», etc., which will lead to a synergistic effect in the tourism industry of Kharkiv. Prospects for further research in this direction are studying new strategic directions of development of Kharkiv city as a tourist destinatio