Marketing and Destination Branding

Chapters 1 and 2 dealt with the image of developing countries, factors that construct their media and public images, and with the consequences of the problematic image. The challenging question is how can these countries correct and restore their image in the international media and among world audiences. Since the beginning of the 1990s, we have witnessed the development of a new academic and professional field called “place/destination branding” which relies on the knowledge we had, even before the 1990s, on “place marketing”. Our analysis of the images of developing countries that we present in this book shows that several such countries have used the knowledge accumulated around the world in order to restore their media and public images. Nevertheless, most of these countries would do even better if they used that knowledge and took it into account in their future marketing and branding plans. This chapter will walk the reader from the broad concept of “place marketing” to the specific concepts of “destination branding” and “nation branding” and their practical aspects. Among other topics, this journey will include the issues of analysis, planning, development and implementation of the branding process and tourism marketing strategies, which can serve destinations in their efforts to achieve a more attractive image.