The strategy of creating the image of tourist commune

A municipality, as defined by the Local Government Act of 08.03.1990, is a set of inhabitants constituting, by law, a self-governing community located in a specific territory. The Act has equipped municipalities with a high degree of autonomy and many economic and market instruments with which the municipality can influence the surrounding entities. Limited access to the market and capital and the desire to attract the tourist segment make socio-economic systems subject to similar competitive pressures as businesses. To compete effectively, municipalities are looking for sources of competitive advantage. One of these may be image. For it to become an effective tool for creating competitive advantage, it is necessary to introduce and implement an image creation strategy based on marketing research. The aim of the article is to present the premises for the formulation of an image creation strategy, as well as to identify and describe the mix of image instruments. The subjects of the strategy are described in the article, by indicating the functions they perform at the stage of planning, implementation and control of the strategy, as well as the addressees of the municipality’s marketing activities.