BRANDING A TOURIST

DESTINATION
 What is a Brand?
A Brand can be :

A symbol A product A representation

 Can A Country Be Branded?

• Branding involves creating mental

structures and helping consumers
organize their knowledge about
products and services in a way that
clarifies their decision making and, in
the process, provides value to the
destination (country)
What is a Destination Brand?

It is the place’s
reputation or image or
impression or perception
among those people that cares about
it,
such as citizens, potential investors
and visitors
 What is a Destination Brand?
Under the
destination
branding comes:
• Image building
• Image
management
• Publicity
management
• Projecting
destination
image
 FACTORS INFLUENCING
BRANDING A NATION
Natural
Resources Cities History Education
Etiquette

Character
Nature Geography People Culture

Nation
Brands
Resources

Laws/Regulations
Culture Economy Politics Soc. System

Education Industries Economy Political Structure

Importance of branding to tourism
• Brand serves to differentiate a destination
from competing destinations
• Strong brand has an attractive appeal to
consumers
• Image puts a destination on the consumer's
"shopping list" and creates an emotional
appeal, which enhances that destination's
chances of being chosen over others.
• Brand Recognition and recall
 Tourism Malaysia
• Malaysia is an old
player in the
tourism sector

• From 5.5 million

arrivals in 1998,
tourist arrivals in
Malaysia have
more than
quadrupled to 22
million in 2008
 Tourism Malaysia :Global
Branding Campaign
• Campaign objectives:
– Increase brand
visibility globally by
showcasing
Malaysia’s uniqueness

– Encourage potential
tourists to visit
Malaysia
 Tourism Malaysia :Global
Branding Campaign

• “Malaysia truly Asia”

(showcasing culture)
• A shopping paradise drive
(entertainment)
• Grand prix formula one
• Various awe-inspiring
tourist locations
 Tourism Malaysia :Global
Branding Campaign
• Target audience:
– Potential travellers globally aged
21+
– Covered a total of 13 countries (in
Asia, Europe and North America)
 Tourism Malaysia : Online
Global Branding Campaign
• Online tools used:
– MSN / Windows Live
Platform which includes:
• MSN Homepage
• Windows Live Hotmail
• Windows Live Messenger
• Windows Live Agent
 Malaysia’s tourism strategy
20% Families
Targets
32% Leisure
18% Organised Tours

Kualalumpur,Borneo wildlife
Destinations
safari,Kota Kinabalu,
Langkawi,Penang,
Genting highlands

Opportunities Independent Traveller;

Flexible travel packages to
Australia & New Zealand
 Challenges of Destination
Marketing
• Complexity of the • Selecting key
tourism product attributes to
• Destination represent the
marketer as little brand
control over the • Building a unified,
components of the meaningful
product representation of
• Diverse views of the destination’s
stakeholders core values
 Branding of a Nation
• Due to the complexity and
sophistication of competition between
nations, mostly derived from
globalization, countries are tirelessly
leveraging their desired brand images
through communicating their
advantages, attitudes, history,
culture endowments and assets