Cultural Realms - Rossitza Ohridska-Olson's blog about the business of cultural tourism

Country Branding From A Global Cultural Tourism Perspective

A comparison between different countries based on Future Brand Country Branding Index (CBI) and the Anholt-GfK Roper Nation Brands Index  (NBI)

Finally my (im)patience is generously rewarded: the Country Brand Index of Future Brand is here. That, on the top of the 2009 edition Nation Brands Index (NBI) by Anholt-GfK Roper, made me jump of joy. They encompass information, which will be my  “food for thought” for the weeks to come. You might say that I am partial to the CBI, since I was one of the experts for the 2009 edition. In fact, I will try to prove that I see objectively both Indexes as sources of very valuable information. This combined  “sea of knowledge” for professionals like me, is precious when it comes to create strategies for tourism development and destination management.

Both in NBI and CBI confirmed that the undisputed winner is the United States of America, thanks to its charismatic President Barack Obama. As per the geographies of the top 10 countries, in both indexes the winners are the European Countries: five out of 10 countries in the CBI are in Europe, and 6 out of these taking the highest positions in the NBI.

Otherwise the two Indexes vastly differ in their methodology, results and approach. Nevertheless, I am happy because in spite of their dissimilarity, they have one goal in common: to serve as a departing point for increasing countries’ brand equities. Both Indexes are the most valuable resource for policy makers, DMOs and travel companies in their efforts to convert their countries in more profitable destinations. I will continue to post my views and analysis from the global cultural tourism perspective on this blog. For the moment, I have in mind 6 parts, which are:

Part Two: Economy and Country Branding
Part Three: History, Arts & Culture and Country Branding
Part Four: Countries Tourism Brand Aspects
Part Five: Country Brand Trends – detected common trends and differences
Part Six: Conclusion: The overall value of the Country Brand Index and Nation Brands Index for cultural tourism strategists, destination management and travel practitioners

The information used in this reports comes from copyrighted materials by Future Brand and Anholt-GfK Roper.

To download the Country Brand Index Executive Summary, please click here or visit the official Index website.

To download the Nation Brands Index, please click here or visit the official website of Simon Anholt

A slide share presentation on the main findings:

Country Branding From A Global Cultural Tourism Perspective

View more documents from Rossitza Ohridska-Olson.

The Good, the Bad and the Unusual: the new Strategic Plan for Cultural Tourism Development in Bulgaria

As a consultant on cultural tourism for the travel industry and a macro-strategist in this field, I always applaud when governments are thinking strategically about this industry. That is why I was extremely excited when during the last month the Bulgarian parliament approved the Strategic Plan for Cultural Tourism Development: Стратегически план за развитието на културния туризъм в България (you can download the original version of the Executive Summary, if you read Bulgarian).

Only the fact that the country spent more than $1.2 million (!) of dollars and three years to elaborate a document of 300+ pages is admirable. For the moment (or for the last 3 years) there is not an English version online, so here I will summarize the Executive Summary of Strategic with my comments.

Please note that this is not a scientific paper – I might write one on a later date. The purpose of this analysis is to help my clients – tour operators and other consulting firms, who contact me when they have to deal with Bulgarian cultural tourism issues. Needless to say that this is my personal opinion and doesn’t reflect any governmental or institutional position on this matter.

For fast viewing, here are the 4 sections of my analysis (click on the link below to go directly to the page) :

The good
The bad
The unusual
Conclusions

Country Branding Strategies

Can they be based on cultural heritage?

In a dynamic word concerned with the future of energy, healthcare and technology, the past glory of ancient civilizations might fade away as main focus for country branding.  From the recently released “Country Brand Index 2008” it is clear that people count on authenticity, responsibility towards the environment and the preservation of local live cultures (creativity, arts, lifestyle) as a salvation from the facelessness of the globalization.

So, if the majority of the world needs authentic experiences today and tomorrow, how can be country brand successful if it is focused on cultural heritage, i.e. on the past? Some notes provoked by the linkedin.com discussion boards, my analysis of “country Brand Index 08” and my Ph.D. research survey.