Tourism Branding

For anyone in or interested in the tourism industry to explore issues associated with branding a country, region, destination, attraction, hotel, tour etc

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A look at the top international hotel brands of 2026

It will come as no surprise to anyone thatin the world of hospitality, chain dominate as they have done for quite some time. And here I take a look at the world´s top brands and sub-brands, ranked in order of size and influence - and while most are familiar, there are a couple which might not be (thanks, China!). read post

Started by Max Pesling

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7 of the Top Destination Brands of the Year

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…

Started by David Paul Appell

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How brands can manage a travel-industry crisis like coronavirus

Travel isn’t always a bed of roses. There are natural disasters, tainted products, bad actors, data breaches, regional and global viruses, and events big and small that require industries to step up, speak up, and do whatever it takes to care of their employees and customers. As the coronavirus outbreak tops more than 135,000 in some 140 countries, it’s an appropriate time to offer advice on how to handle an industry crisis. read post

Started by Tripatini

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Cross-border migration and tourism

All across the world - Europe, the United States, Australia, Asia, and elsewhere - immigration and refugees are hot topics. But little attention has been paid to how this issue meshes with the other great mass movement of our era: tourism. An integral part of tourism is the exchange of cultures and the appreciation of the “other”, and the industry is often dependent on "importing” guest workers from abroad, who provide needed services and often also give a sense of the exotic…

Started by David Paul Appell

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José Balido November 22, 2010 at 3:20pm

Seems Philippine president Benigno Aquino III agrees with me that their tourism slogan Pilipinas Kay Ganda, which translates as "Philippines, What a Beauty" is lame beyond words (though still an improvement over the previous gem, "Wow Philippines"). So he's ordered the tourism minister to come up with something better, while simultaneously appointing national boxing icon Manny Pacquiao to serve as the poster boy to promote Philippine tourism abroad.

Am I missing something here, or is this mighty weird? What do you guys think of having a boxer serve as a country's tourism image abroad?

If, on the other hand, we simply can't dissuade Mr. Aquino (something tells me he won't listen to us), then I propose a slogan for the Manny Pacquiao campaign: "The Philippines -- we'll knock you out."
David Paul Appell November 5, 2010 at 7:48pm

Future Brand released the initial version of its annual Country Brand Index. Canada snagged #1 thanks in part to the Winter Olympics.

The USA has slipped three notches to No. 4 in an annual ranking of nations with the most favorable brand performance, says a new study.

1 Canada
2 Australia
3 New Zealand
4 USA
5 Switzerland,
6 Japan,
7 France,
8 Finland,
9 United Kingdom
10 Sweden

The bottom three: Zimbabwe, Iran, Pakistan.

Whew, I guess North Korea and Somalia can breathe a sigh of relief.
Alan 'Brand' Williamson September 12, 2010 at 12:35pm

Paul, thanks for raising the issue of branding tourist routes - mega opportunties for the future of destinations - at trans-local, trans-regional and trans-national level.

I would love to see private-sector led projects with the support of the public-sector developing in the future.

Monique, I believe your own exciting 'Black Paris' project sort of falls into a trans-city tourism route category?

In the UK, Project England's Vineyard, will be developing trans-county wine routes based on the cultural source codes for the various destination hierarchies:
England: CLASS (Higher Social Status)
SouthEast England: HOME (Home Counties)
Sussex: FESTIVAL
Sparkling Wine: CELEBRATION
and so on across the various counties comprising England's Vineyard.

Going forward into the future, co-branded routes with wine regions around the world are an exciting prospect.

England's Vineyard: England's Newest Regional Destination Brand

England's Vineyard: England's Newest Regional Destination Brand, comprising the counties of Kent, Sussex, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Berkshire
Tripatini September 10, 2010 at 7:50pm

Congratulations, Paul, and congratulations to all the members of Tourism Branding on Tripatini for hitting 100 members. This group has hosted some very interesting and lively discussions. Here's to the next 100!
Paul Barnett September 10, 2010 at 7:41pm

The train routes are interesting. Is it the routes or the trains that get branded? e.g. Orient Epxress, Blue Train etc? The air and sea routes I am not familiar with. I just wonder if, related to the trends in culture and heritage tourism, there isn't an opportunty to establish more branded routes that link places. I personally believe there is, and that there are big advantages in doing so. I think journeys of discovery relate well to a number of social and cultural trends.

Although not thought of as a brand perhaps, I think The Grand Tour of Europe undertaken by British nobels from the early 17th Century was indeed a branded tourist route, and it's impact was great, socially and economically, for over a century. Not all of the impact was good of couse. This was also an early example of sex tourism and had significant environmental impacts.
Raymond Hall September 10, 2010 at 11:27am

There are famous train routes (I could list a dozen off the top of my head, from Russia to Asia to Africa and australia) as there are famous sea routes (how about the transatlantic route), most of which are marketed to some extent. There are even air routes such as scenic journeys over Antartica. I think that we would be surprised at the great number, when we set about listing them!
Paul Barnett September 10, 2010 at 11:09am

There are branded tourist routes in the world - Route 66, The Inca Trail and so on. I think they evolved as brands, and were not designed as such, and I am not sure if they are managed as such even today. I am interested to know why there are not more branded tourist routes. Is this an opportunity being missed?
Murad Hassan September 10, 2010 at 12:30am

What you think of "Maldives, the sunny side of life!" ?
Max Pesling September 5, 2010 at 4:47am

Hi Alan, Wish I'd seen this comment sooner. Totally agree with you about the "Madrid Only Happens in Madrid" being nonsensical. Reminds me of "Andalucia -- There's Only One." Huh??

I like the United Hispanica theme in concept, but wonder how it would actually play out. There is, as you imply, a cultural clash between New and Old World Hispanics, but also among the many different nationalities of New World Hispanics... so an attempt to unite them in one campaign could prove fraught with potential pitfalls, to say the least. But... is it worth a try? I would certainly say so.
Alan 'Brand' Williamson August 17, 2010 at 7:45pm

David

Great point about Sporting Spain.
But first BrandSpain has to drop small brand ideas such as campaigns based on 'Smile' and 'Need'. Likewise its capital city - Madrid - with nonsensical campaigns such as 'Madrid Only Happens in Madrid'.

To get the brand debate going here, I would suggest BrandSpain and Madrid start to dig deep within the cultural clash between the Hispanic Old and New Worlds and perhaps build a new United Hispanica starting with a Sporting theme.

What do Tripatinos think?