THE PERCEPTION OF THE REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA’S IMAGE AS AN INTERNATIONAL TOURIST DESTINATION
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.4316/rdt.40.2992Keywords:
tourist destination, identity, brand, perception, inbound tourism, sustainabilityAbstract
The Republic of Moldova has the potential to become an even more internationally recognized tourist destination due to its authenticity, hospitality, sustainability, and ability to surprise visitors with unique experiences. This paper aims to analyze the distinctive elements of the country's tourism brand and identify target markets for positioning Moldova on the global tourism map. The research represents a continuation of efforts to promote Moldova internationally and to establish a long-term vision for its tourism sector. The study provides an overview of Moldova’s main tourism promotion strategies, emphasizing its competitive advantages and attractions from a global perspective. It also highlights the integration of emerging trends, such as evolving tourist preferences, the digitalization of travel planning, and the role of sustainability in tourism products.
References
1. Baloglu, S., & Brinberg, D. (1997). Affective images of tourism destinations. Journal of Travel Research, 35(4), pp.11–15. Retrieved september 7 from: https://doi.org/10.1177/004728759703500402.
2. Baloglu, S., & McCleary, K. W. (1999). U.S. international pleasure travellers’ images of four Mediterranean destinations: A comparison of visitors and non-visitors. Journal of Travel Research, 38(2), pp.114–129.
3. Beerli, A., & Martín, J. D. (2004). Tourists’ characteristics and the perceived image of tourist destinations: A quantitative analysis – A case study of Lanzarote, Spain. Tourism Management, 25, pp. 623–636.
4. Bregoli, I., Hingley, M., Del Chiappa, G., & Sodano, V. (2022). Enhancing destination brand equity through food tourism: An exploratory study. Tourism Management Perspectives, volume 43, 100980. Retrieved September 9 from: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tmp.2022.100980.
5. Brezovec, A., Brezovec, T., & Jančič, Z. (2004). The interdependence of a country's general and tourism images. Institute for Tourism Zagreb, pp. 115–129.
6. Cazacu, S., (2017). Moldovan perception of Greece as a tourism destination. International Journal of Business and Economic Sciences Applied Research, 10(2), pp. 48–59. Retrieved September 10 from: https://doi.org/10.25103/ijbesar.102.05.
7. Consulting.md. (2023, March 16). Cine sunt turiștii care vin în Moldova. Retrieved October 2 from: https://consulting.md/rom/statistici-si-publicatii/cine-sunt-turistii-care-vin-in-moldova.
8. Di Marino, E., (2008). The strategic dimension of destination image: An analysis of the French Riviera image from the Italian tourists’ perceptions. Doctoral dissertation, University of Naples "Federico II".
9. Diez.md. (2023, December 8). Studiu: Cine sunt turiștii care vin în Moldova, ce locuri vizitează și cu ce asociază țara noastră?, Retrieved September 26 from: https://diez.md/2023/12/08/studiu-cine-sunt-turistii-care-vin-in-moldova-ce-locuri-viziteaza-si-cu-ce-asociaza-tara-noastra.
10. Echtner, C. M., & Ritchie, J. R. B. (1993). The measurement of destination image: An empirical assessment. Journal of Travel Research, 31(4), pp.3–13.
11. Govers, R., & Go, F. M. (2003). Deconstructing destination image in the information age. Information Technology and Tourism, 6(1), pp.13–29.
12. Govers, R., Go, F. M., & Kumar, K. (2007). Promoting tourism destination image. Journal of Travel Research, 46(1), pp.15–23.
13. Gretzel, U., Xiang, Z., & Fesenmaier, D. R. (2015). Travel and tourism marketing in the age of digital media. Information and communication technologies in tourism 2015, pp. 1–12. Springer Cham, Retrieved October 12 from https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-14343-9_1.
14. Guvernul Republicii Moldova. (2022, September 18). Proiectul hotărârii de Guvern cu privire la aprobarea Programului național de dezvoltare a turismului „Turism 2026” pentru anii 2022–2026. Retrieved September 22 from: https://particip.gov.md.
15. Ketter, E., & Avraham, E. (2021). Tourism marketing for developing countries: Battling stereotypes and crises in Asia, Africa and the Middle East. Palgrave Macmillan.
16. Kim, H., Sun, S., & Fesenmaier, D. R. (2018). Narrative influence on destination image. Annals of Tourism Research, 69, pp.65–78.
17. Kislali, H., Kavaratzis, M., & Saren, M. (2020). Destination image co-creation: A critical review of the literature and research agenda. Tourism Management, 81, 104164. Retrieved October 12 from: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2020.104164.
18. Lee, T. H. (2009). A structural model to examine how destination image, attitude, and motivation affect the future behavior of tourists. Leisure Sciences, 31(3), pp.215–236. Retrieved October 20 from: https://doi.org/10.1080/01490400902837787.
19. Mihalič, T., & Knežević Cvelbar, L. (2021). Sustainability in destination management: The case of Slovenia. Journal of Destination Marketing & Management, 19, 100546. Retrieved October 16 from: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdmm.2020.100546.
20. Ministerul Culturii al Republicii Moldova. (2023, November 11). Moldova este în topul preferințelor călătorilor din întreaga lume. Retrieved September 22 from: https://www.mc.gov.md/ .
21. Morgan, N., Pritchard, A., & Pride, R. (Eds.). (2004). Destination branding: Creating the unique destination proposition (2nd ed.). Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann.
22. National Bureau of Statistics of the Republic of Moldova. (2025, February 14). Tourism activities of travel agencies and tour operators in year 2024. Retrieved September 29 from: https://statistica.gov.md/en/tourism-activities-of-travel-agencies-and-tour-operators-in-year-9491_61657.html.
23. OECD. (2023). Tourism Trends and Policies 2023. OECD Publishing. Retrieved April 22 from: https://doi.org/10.1787/tour-2023-en .
24. Pike, S. (2007). Consumer-based brand equity for destinations: Practical DMO performance measures. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 22(1), pp.51–61. Retrieved October 2 from: https://doi.org/10.1300/J073v22n01_04.
25. Richards, G. (2014). Creativity and tourism in the city. Current Issues in Tourism, 17(2), pp.119–144. Retrieved October 12 from: https://doi.org/10.1080/13683500.2013.783794.
26. Stylidis, D. (2020). Exploring place image from the visitors’ and locals’ perspectives: Empirical evidence from a Mediterranean destination. Tourism Management Perspectives, 34, 100654. Retrieved April 24 from: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tmp.2020.100654.
27. UNWTO. (2022). International Tourism Highlights – 2022 Edition. World Tourism Organization. Retrieved October 23 from: https://www.unwto.org .
28. Vasudan, T., & Standing, C. (1999). Web technology diffusion and service offerings by travel agencies. In Proceedings of the 32nd Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences. Retrieved October 22 from: https://doi.org/10.1109/HICSS.1999.772768.
29. Wang, Y., & Fesenmaier, D. R. (2005). Identifying the success factors of web-based marketing strategy: An investigation of convention and visitors bureaus in the United States. Journal of Travel Research, 43(3), pp.1–11.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Tatiana Luca

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Revista de Turism: Studii si Cercetari in Turism (RDT) is an open access scholarly journal that allows free access to its content (articles, issues). RDT is available online to the readers without financial, legal, or technical barriers (no publication charges), based on the theory to keep an article's content intact. Authors can use Creative Commons licenses to specify usage rights of articles. Copyright of articles belong to authors.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0.