Cultural Tourism and Museum Marketing: Contributing to the Development of Alba Iulia's Image

City’S Image And The Role Of National Museum Of Unification In Alba Iulia’S Urban Marketing Process

In general, the creation/perception of a city’s image is a time consuming/complex process involving a set of different images/perceptions, namely “a priori” perception (a “mental construction in the space of knowledge” of an individual, without having to visit the “physical” place), a perception “in situ” (on arrival at that destination, when “experiencing” that place) and a “posteriori” perception - after “consuming the experience” of the specific elements of the visited region (Di Marino, 2008).

The central objective of the effort to promote Alba Iulia as a cultural city is to create a favorable image on both internationally and domestically areas, indicating a shift to national and local audiences. This effort comes from the recent stagnation of urban tourism development and the need to produce and deliver new forms of the tourism’ values. The specific character of Alba Iulia Fortress arises from its value as an element of historical and cultural heritage. This value must be kept and made as widely known as possible and, therefore, should be promoted through cultural tourism. The cultural tourism aims to visit those places and activities that define the history and people, both in the past and in the present. This includes the cultural resources, the historical and natural ones.