Abstract
The rising level of disposable income, good transportation networks and also increase in leisure time have motivated consumers to be influenced by a broader choice of destination. Hence, destinations managers have to effectively brand their destinations in order to have a comparative advantage over other similar destinations. Thus, the aim of this research is to investigate how Klosterheden can be branded in order to attract more German Tourists. Klosterheden is found in the city of Lemvig, which is located along the coast to Southern Jutland and North Germany. The geographical proximity shows that it could be easy for German Tourists to visit Lemvig than other areas in Denmark. Though Klosterheden is a state entity, it has many attractive natural attributes such as the beavers, the unique size of the forest, good path for biking and hiking, mushroom plants, stream, lakes, birds watching and roe deers and others, which make the tourists to feel lost in the forest. Thus the study relied on the fact that these touristic attractions could adequately be utilized if klosterheden is effectively branded. To achieve this aim, qualitative research methodology was applied in the study and data was also gathered where questionnaires and some other documents were used to collect information. Six German tourists, the Lemvig Tourist Board director and Klosterheden manager were interviewed.
The analysis result revealed that, Klosterheden is a state forest but unique as compared to the other forest zones in Denmark because of the huge size of the forest and the beaver especially. More so, Klosterheden aimed at maintaining, restoring and preserving nature’s experiences in connection with the other forest zones in Denmark in other to promote the policy of sustainability. Therefore, it would be an expensive venture to brand Klosterheden since it has to be done alongside other state forests in Denmark. Finally, it was also discovered that, there should be an extensive promotional strategies of Klosterheden in order to create a wider awareness and also to improve on the image of the forest to encourage the German tourist’s visitation. Thus, it is the researcher thought that this study can assist the manager of Klosterheden, in collaboration with other forest areas in Denmark to give proposal to the ministry of the environment on how to improve on the management of the forest to attract tourists.