Kształtowanie marki i wizerunku miasta Gdynia, jako morskiej destynacji turystycznej

In an era of strong competition on the tourist market, marine cities recognize the need for strategic approach to create their image. Each marine city looks for its image and competes with the other marine cities in order to attract tourists and investors. This requires involvement of local authorities in creating of the brand and image of the cities, as open for cooperation and development in the sphere of maritime economy, including tourism. In the first part of the article, there are discussed the purpose, research problems and methodology of researches made by the author. Next, an analysis of available polish and foreign literature about shaping the brand and image of cities has been made. In the next part of the article the elements shaping an identity of the city of Gdynia, based on the results of the research carried out among units involved in the creation of the brand and image of the city, have been showed. And in the last part of the article, results of the research on actions taken by various groups of interests in Gdynia, to shape the brand and image of the city, have been discussed. The purpose of the research is evaluation of engagement of local authorities of Gdynia in creating the brand and image of the city of Gdynia, as the center of maritime tourism in Poland. The following research problems were established: 1.-What is the aim of the town image in marketing efforts of the local authority of the city of Gdynia?; 2.- What action in terms of building a brand and town image does the local authority of the city of Gdynia take?; 3 - In what way the maritime nature of the city of Gdynia is visible in the branding efforts? The methods of poll surveys, combined with standardized interviews, were used in researches. In addition, the methods of critical and comparative analysis and the method of "desk research" of the literature available in Polish and foreign languages, were applied. A detailed analysis of all elements affecting the identity of Gdynia was made in the article, and the conclusion from this analysis is that, the local authority of the city of Gdynia consistently implements shaping of the image and branding of Gdynia as a maritime tourist destination.