For anyone in or interested in the tourism industry to explore issues associated with branding a country, region, destination, attraction, hotel, tour etc
7 of the Top Destination Brands of 2023
Visit Maldives Over the past decades, destinations in Europe, North America, and the Caribbean have been the stars in both destination branding and popularity among travelers. And while all the above certainly remain among the world´s most powerful performers in tourism, the World Travel Awards (dubbed “the Oscars of travel”) in 2023 have underscored strong showings outside these traditional areas, particularly in Asia and the Middle East. Here´s a quick rundown of this year´s winners:…
Read more…
Comments
A few quotes make the point clearly. She said, "The single story creates stereotypes, and the problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete. They make one story become the only story." And, her closing remark was even more thought provoking. She said, "When we reject the single story, and we realize that there is never a single story about any place, we regain a kind of paradise."
My thought then is that the branding of a place is about telling many stories, and communicating them widely, so that peoples perceptions of a place become richer and deeper. True, this makes the marketing job more complicated, but with todays technology and media channels we have the tools to do more than ever before. It is not necessary to sell an image, it is possible to communicate many realities instead.
I wonder what you all make of this?
I want to understand through example if the branding activity is taking place.. what can be a good and bad effect on the destination, whether campaign is good or bad.
I was putting my thought on "Incredible India" campaign, closely and I am getting all the positive feedback from tourist and stakeholder. How it is possible to say all positive about any campaign (It may be), but always there are some negativity. if not any negative then what re-branding takes place??
Vikas, I think the possible negative impacts of destination branding done badly are many. Selling a false image can do long-term damage if visitors are dissapointed and spread the bad news, hungry to prove successful politicians are often interested in the number of tourists rather than the quality of them, and with this comes sex tourism, environmental problems etc. Bad destination branding also focuses only on external image, and is not used to focus positive policy making for sustainable development in tourism, and is often not explained or implemented well to all local stakeholders so they do not feel they have any ´ownership´ of what is being imposed on them. I think these cover some of the key problems, but for sure not all of them.
On the other hand Destination Marketing done well can, I am sure, be a very positive catalyst for regional development in many places. The problem is it is rarely well done from what I can see. If not problems, for sure opportunities are not maximised as a result.
I can see all the positive aspects of the Destination branding of any nation or destination.. I would be keen to know your views on the negative impact of the same (If any).
I would appreciate your views on this....