TURİZM DİPLOMASİSİ KAPSAMINDA KENT MARKALAMA: DİJİTAL ÇAĞDA MÜZELER BİR KENTİN MARKALAŞMASINA NASIL KATKI SAĞLAR? /City Branding in the Context of Tourism Diplomacy: What Role Do Museums Play in Urban Branding in the Digital Age?

Urban branding indicates a brand that forms as a result of all marketing processes of a city. In other words, it also includes all communication processes designed by the relevant organizations of a city. Tourism is a sector that has a significant impact on the international image of a nation, country or city and shapes many other areas. With digital transformation, a brand aims to use social media marketing and create content that users share on various social networks in order to raise awareness of the city and expand visitor access. This goal is also the reason why the cities have become a part of tourism diplomacy by creating a positive impression and increasing tourism potential. The mission of protecting and displaying the resources related to culture and art in such a way to look after the benefits of cities, the country and people and attracting visitors to the city bring museums to the fore. Within this framework, we should consider that museums, which are institutions increasing the competitive power of tourism, are not only places where precious works of art are kept and protected, but they also offer the opportunity for introduction, instruction, teaching and experimenting. Museums associated with cities are significant because they offer a virtual tour experience, enable social network sharing, have a variety of innovative applications like digital works of art that can be visited via artificial intelligence, are considered urban destinations, attract attention to a city for sightseeing and increase the potential of visitors. Accordingly, the present study explains the concepts of tourism and urban branding as a source of soft power and reveals a correlation between the digitalization of museums and the tourism potential of cities. The study provides suggestions related to urban branding and the position of museums within tourism diplomacy.