bloom consulting country brand ranking tourism 2013

Bloom Consulting © Since 2003

Albania, Algeria, Angola, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Aruba, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahamas,

Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bermuda, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana,

Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Cape Verde, Cayman Islands, Central African

Republic, Chile, China, Colombia, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Croatia, Cuba, Curacao, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark,

Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Estonia, Ethiopia, Fiji, Finland, France, French Polynesia, Gambia,

Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Honduras, Hong Kong SAR China,

Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kiribati, Korea Rep.,

Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lao P.D.R., Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macao SAR China, Macedonia FYR,

Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Marshall Islands, Martinique, Mauritius, Mexico, Micronesia, Moldova Rep.,

Mongolia, Montenegro, Montserrat, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands, New Caledonia, New Zealand,

Nicaragua, Nigeria, Niue, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Palau, Palestine, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland,

Portugal, Puerto Rico, Qatar, Réunion, Romania, Russian Federation, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Martin (French

part), Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, Sao Tome and Principe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone,

Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland,

Taiwan, Tajikistan, Tanzania United Rep., Thailand, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Uganda, Ukraine,

United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States of America, Uruguay, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Viet Nam, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

Bloom Consulting Country Brand Ranking © TourismEdition 2013

[email protected] / +34 91 308 0286 (CET)Bloom Consulting © Since 2003 Page 01

Development of CountriesHuman Asset ManagementBusiness Strategy

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CountryBrand Ranking ©

During the last decade, Bloom Consulting has developed Nation Brand, City Brand and Place Brand strategies for clients around Europe, Latin America, and the U.S.A. We have worked with political leaders and ministers with a clear objective in mind: to manage the Country Brand as a strategic asset from an economic and political point of view.

Bloom Consulting has offices in Madrid (HQ), Lisbon, Sao Paulo, and Los Angeles.

We have gained the respect of international media such as , , and , who have interviewed Jose Filipe Torres, the CEO of the company.

Mr. Torres is considered one of the top 3 experts in Nation Branding (source: Country Branding Central) and participates in world-class conferences and forums as a keynote speaker.

Bloom Consulting publishes annually the Bloom Consulting Country Brand Ranking © for Trade and Tourism. It is the most comprehensive Brand Index of its kind, analyzing the brand performance of 187 countries and territories worldwide.

The Bloom Consulting Country Brand Ranking © incorporates unique variables such as the revolutionary Online Search Demand (OSD ©), which measures the online appeal of a country and the Country Brand Strategy Rating (CBS Rating ©), which assesses the effectiveness of a country's communication efforts.

These variables allow us to classify and measure a country brand performance from a new point of view based on hard data rather than perceptions, surveys or expert opinions.

Bloom Consulting Brief Introduction

I proudly present to you our third edition of the Bloom Consulting Country Brand Ranking ©!

This year is a special year, as it marks one decade of Bloom Consulting working in the field of Nation Branding,City Branding and Place Branding.

Each year has brought exciting challenges and projects and I am confident that all the work we have done has prepared us to meet any new future challenges.

As a consultancy firm, we find ourselves at the forefront of big changes - we are now in the digital era of Country Branding.

According to the recent Google study "The 2012 Traveler", 70% of leisure travelers begin researching their trip online without a specific destination or mode of travel in mind. Tourists are making more and more decisions online and countries cannot afford to miss targeting that new distribution channel and the potential new market.

As a reference, in 2012 alone, tourists made around 375.000.000 online searches related to tourism activities at a country level. Imagine the insight you can gain from this data and the conclusions you can draw.

With this in mind, Bloom Consulting has developed a proprietary tool, the Online Search Demand (OSD ©), in order to understand the online behavior of potential tourists (see page 7, for more details about OSD ©) and included it in the Ranking Algorithm

I hope this brand ranking can provide you with valuable information and I encourage you to use it as an asset and further evidence of the impact a strong country brand may have on the national economic performance.

Although we would like to go into more detail on each country’s performance, it is impossible to do so in this overview. However, if you are interested to find out more information on your country brand’s performance, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Welcome to the Bloom Consulting Country Brand Ranking © 2013. We hope you appreciate the great results and findings as much as we did!

José Filipe Torres – CEO Bloom Consulting

An introductory note from the CEOWelcome


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A Country Brand or a Place Brand is an asset for nations, cities or regions to be managedin order to achieve different objectives.

According to our Methodology, there are 6 different Country, Region and City Branding (CRC) objectives or dimensionsrepresented in the Bloom Consulting CRC Brand Wheel (see figure 1):

1 – Attraction of Investment (Trade) 2 – Attraction of Tourism 3 – Attraction of Talent 4 – Increase in Pride 5 – Improvement of Public Diplomacy 6 – Increase in Exports

Each of these six objectives, or dimensions, have different target audiences that have different needs. In other words, what attracts each particular target audience to opt for any country, region or city is completely different (see figure 1).

Therefore, Bloom Consulting methodology is used to isolate each objective or dimension and to develop specific strategies for each one of them.

One may ask why the objectives must be isolated if they refer to the same country brand? The reason for this is that a single strategy most probably cannot satisfy the needs of investors and tourists simultaneously. If it does, it becomes a very general message that most probably will not have enough content to make the difference. According to Bloom Consulting theory, only very few countries can satisfy all needs under an umbrella strategy. Therefore each country, with a professionalized Country Brand, Region Brand, or City Brand strategy, should select the target audience and attend to their needs. By strategies, Bloom Consulting does not refer to logos. You can have the same logo for all six dimensions or no logo at all. The brand is not the logo.

Figure 1. Bloom Consulting CRC Brand Wheel objectives, target audience and respective needs


Bloom Consulting's CRC Brand WheelA different approach to Country and Place Branding

Companies General public

Nation

als

Inv

estor

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Tourists

Workforce

Inv

estm

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Tourism Talent Country, Region, City

BrandExports Diplomacy

Prid

eUniqueness

Respect

Adm

iratio

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Adv

antag

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Experience

Life Style

There are 6 objectives or dimensionsfor every Country, City and Region

Each dimension has 6 different target audiences

Each target Audience has a specific need


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Another important aspect that reflects Bloom Consulting's approach is its performance measurement system. Bloom Consulting has developed a set of performance dashboards that allows us, for the first time, to measure the impact of Nation Branding in the 6 dimensions. Traditionally, the results were measured only by public perceptions, opinion surveys and interviews with experts. However, with new proprietary tools, Bloom Consulting is now able to measure the impact of the brand strategy with new variables such as Online Search Demand (OSD ©), which measures the appeal of a country for each target audience (see explanation of OSD © in page 7) and the economic impact caused by tourism revenues.

However, not all 6 dimensions can be measured in the same way. Inside the 6 dimensions there are 3 that can be measured in a more tangible way and 3 that can be measured only in an intangible way. Trade (Investment), Tourism and Talent, repre-sented at the top part of the sphere in figure 2, are the ones that can be measured in a more tangible way. See figure 2 to understand the current measurement system.

Although we do not discard the importance of the 3 intangible dimensions, Bloom Consulting’s objective is to make Nation Branding Strategy as tangible as possible. Therefore, we focus on the three tangible dimensions and we call it “The 3T approach © ”: 1- Trade (Investment), 2- Tourism and 3- Talent.

Based on these explanations, Bloom Consulting should create 3 independent rankings. One for Trade (Investment), one for Tourism, and one for Talent. For the time being only 2 have been developed - Trade and Tourism.

This ranking deals only with the Tourism dimension (Investment).

Figure 2. Current measurement system for each dimension. Tourism is the dimension selected for this Ranking


Bloom Consulting's CRC Brand WheelA different approach to Country and Place Branding

Companies General public

Nation

als

Inv

estor

s

Tourists

Workforce

Inv

estm

ent

Tourism Talent Country, Region, City

BrandExports Diplomacy

Prid

eUniqueness

Respect

Adm

iratio

n

Adv

antag

e

Experience

Life Style

Present Ranking Current measurement systems

These 3 Dimensions can bemeasured in a more tangible way using metrics such asOSD © and “Revenues”

$

? !

:)

Perceptions OSD ©

Revenue Happiness

These 3 Dimensions can onlybe measured in an intangibleway using metrics such as“Perceptions” and “Happiness”

$

? !

:)

Perceptions OSD ©

Revenue Happiness


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The Bloom Consulting Country Brand Ranking © is derived from the Bloom Algorithm.

This ranking contemplates the Tourism dimension, therefore the Bloom algorithm will only consider tourism related figures. This ranking does not try to measure solely country brand perception. The objective of this ranking is to classify how well each and every country is doing in terms of branding, that is, to measure how effective their brand is in the most tangibleand realistic manner. For Bloom Consulting to classify the effectiveness of each Country Brand, we analyzed 4 key variables for each of the 187 countries included in this Brand Ranking (see figure 3).

Through statistical modeling, Bloom Consulting was able to rank the countries to compare them with one another. The Algorithm takes into consideration each country’s economic level of development. The result is an accurate and objective Brand Ranking based on hard and soft data. Moreover, the Bloom Algorithm takes into consideration a country's performance in Bloom Consulting's rankings from previous years in order to leverage Country Brand equity.

Figure 3. Bloom Consulting Country Brand Ranking © algorithm variables


The Methodology Understanding how Bloom Consulting developed the ranking

Tourism economic receipts Tourism economic growth 1st VariableThese results demonstrate

a country’s appeal and is animportant variable of the ranking

OSD ©: Culture Leisure Nature Sports Niche markets 2nd VariableIf tourists search online about a

country it is a clear indicator of its appeal and is the most important variable of the ranking

Country Brand Strategy Rating (CBS Rating ©) 3rd VariableIf each country is using the mostaccurate country brand strategyis a key variable of the ranking

CountryBrandRanking ©

Official website and Social Media performance 4th VariableIf each National Tourism Organization is performing well online, is the least

important variable of the ranking, but still relevant.

1st Variable 2nd Variable 3rd Variable 4th Variable

Tourism


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Tourism economic receipts

Average InternationalTourism receiptsbetween 2007-2011

Tourism economic growth

Average growthof International tourism receipts between 2007-2011

1st Variable

The Tourism economic performance is a very important variable in the ranking. Good economic results, whether achieved by a carefully planned strategy or not, are in part a consequence of good country branding. If one applies common sense to this variable, it is easy to understand that tourists prefer to travel to a country they like or have emotional attachments to rather than to a country for which this is not the case.

Moreover, all information was calculated based on official UNWTO international tourism statistics Nation Brandingis aimed at each country’s international audience, rather than the domestic one.

As illustrated in figure 4, Tourism economic performance is based on:

a) Tourism economic receiptsStrategies and economic returns do not have an immediate impact, therefore the ranking looks at a country’s medium-term (5 years) historical economic performance in tourism receipts. This way, the ranking reflects more consistent trends rather than volatile changes that may occur in the recovering economic climate or due to political instability.

and

b) Tourism economic growthThe growth of international tourism receipts of each country is also an important indicator when measuring the economic performance of a country’s brand. Therefore, the Brand Ranking computes the growth rate of the international tourism receipts over the last five years for more consistent trends, rather than brief volatile changes.

The ranking does not take into account international tourists arrivals, the average stay per trip or the average spending per day separately, as all these figures are included in the Tourism economic receipts variable. What adds value to the economy is the current economic impact and growth, powered by revenues not by the number of tourists.

Figure 3. Bloom Consulting Country Brand Ranking © algorithm variables


The Methodology - Continued Details of the first variable




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Traditionally, the only way to understand the appeal of a country to international tourists is through market research and opinion studies based on extensive research. Now, for the first time, Bloom Consulting introduces a new measurement system as a variable in the Algorithm that is more accurate, more scientific, regularly updated and reaches a broader audience - the Online Search Demand (OSD ©). By using its proprietary OSD © Tool, Bloom Consulting is able to measure the total global online searches performed specifically for tourism and assess international tourists’ online behavior and decision-making process when selecting a destination. The more online tourism related searches a country has from international tourists, the more appealing it is, regardless of its size or the type of tourism it attracts.

Why is this so relevant?

According to Google(1), nearly 70% of business and leisure travelers considered the Internet to be the most frequently relied upon source of information when making a destination decision, either via desktop PCs or mobile devices. The same study indicates that 64% of affluent travelers use search engines directly as a source of information.

Bloom Consulting has been able to define and gather all country characteristics (selling propositions and strategic positioning of all 187 countries) and messages or "Brand Tags" used by all the National Tourism Organizations. In total, 762.440 destination-specific keywords were classified into 45 tourism “Brand Tags”, which allows us to understand selling proposi-tions and strategic positioning of all 187 countries in the world. This information was gathered in eight different languages: Chinese, English, French, German, Japanese, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish, and it was used in the 2nd variable (see figure 4).

NOTE: OSD © information for every country cannot be presented in this document but can be ordered. If you are interested in a full OSD © report for a specific country or a group of countries, please contact us at: [email protected] or call us directly at +34 913 080 286 (CET), we can provide you with a cost estimate for a “Basic” or “Premium” report.

Figure 4. “Brand Tags” analyzed via OSD © and used in the 2nd Variable


The Methodology - Continued Details of the 2nd Variable



2nd VariableOSD ©: Culture Leisure Nature Sports Niche markets1. Cultural Archives2. Gastronomy3. Historical Heritage4. Local Culture5. Local People6. Performing Arts7. Religion8. Traditional Markets9. UNESCO

10. Boat Trips11. Day trips12. Eating Out13. Entertainment14. Parks15. Gambling16. Leisure Activities17. Leisure Events18. Nightlife19. Shopping20. Wellbeing

21. Beaches22. Bird Watching23. Coastline & Islands24. Natural Wonders25. Protected Areas26. Rural27. Safari28. Sustainable

29. Adventure & Extreme30. Diving 31. Fishing 32. Golf 33. Hiking 34. Sailing 35. Water Sports36. Winter Sports

37. Business38. City 39. Education40. Family41. Health42. Honeymoons43. LGBT44. Senior45. Youth

(1) Google/Ipsos OTX MediaCT - 2012


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Almost every country listed in the Bloom Consulting Country Brand Ranking © has a National Tourism Organization (NTO). The NTO is the official state agency responsible for positioning their respective Country Brand (from a Tourism Strategy perspective). The NTO effectiveness can impact the Country Brand performance.

The 3rd Variable is about the accuracy of each strategy set in place by each NTO. This accuracy is measured through the value each “Brand Tag” produces to the country. The value provided to each “Brand Tag” is given by the popularity it has from the OSD © perspective and also from an economic perspective.

A country receives a higher rating if it uses the most searched and valuable “Brand Tag”. If a country receives a poor rating, it means it is focusing on the least searched and valuable “Brand Tags” or not using “Brand Tags” in demand and high value. What is particularly interesting about this rating is that a country rating will not be better if the NTO simply uses all available “Brand Tags”. If they do so and they are not the “correct ones” they will have a poorer rating. The final result is a live snapshot of the supply and demand for information in the international tourism market. For example, how much value is the “Brand Tag” “Beaches” bringing to Brazil? What other “Brand Tags” are not being used that could have a positive impact? Or, even more importantly, which are the “Brand Tags” that are being promoted that do not bring value to the Country Brand Strategy? This 3rd Variable is the Country Brand Strategy rating and it is shown in figure 5. For reference, it is used throughout the Ranking next to each country. Exceptions may apply to countries that recently (last year) implemented a new Country Brand Strategy, with an objective to move away from specific perceptions. In this case, the rating does not mean a country is doing poorly but rather the results are not visible yet.

One may question why “Brand Tags” are used to measure the effectiveness of Country Brand Strategies, as they are simply promotional messages or products of a country and not the Country Branding Strategy itself? Bloom Consulting assumes that tourists’ interest for the “product” is the most tangible way to assess Country Brand appeal and, subsequently, the effective-ness of a Country Brand Strategy.

Figure 5. 3rd Variable CBS Rating © and respective scores used in the ranking


The Methodology - Continued Details of the 3rd Variable



Country Brand Strategy Rating (CBS Rating ©) 3rd VariableScore

Description

AAA Very Strong AA Strong A Slightly Strong BBB Very Good BBB

Good Slightly Good

CCC Slightly Weak CC Weak C Very Weak D Poor


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We believe it is essential to consider how well a Country Brand is positioned digitally. In order to do that, we have used“Website Analytics” and “Social Media” to evaluate each country’s efforts to make it visible.

The official National Tourism Organization website is one of the most important sources of information and it serves as an online gateway to each country. Nevertheless, it is not the only one by far, therefore this variable has less importance compared to other variables in the Algorithm.

In order to assess the performance of each country’s website we used the “Website Analytics” tool where we examined each country’s NTO website and analyzed the number of visits and the average time spent on the web page. The Bloom Algorithm values websites with more visitors, richer content and a higher digital reach.

Additionally, a country’s presence in online communities, such as Twitter and Facebook, has been taken into account, because online social networking is an efficient and a cost-effective way to interact with the public and promote what a country offers. As each social media network has different purposes and a varying degree of popularity, the ranking has treated the two independently.

The assessment criteria are simple. The more “likes” a country’s NTO has on Facebook and the more followers there are on Twitter, the better. If an NTO is not active in social networks or if it does not have an account, the Bloom Algorithm penalizes its online performance, however the country is still included in the ranking.

Both online performance indicators, Website Analytics and Social Media, are shown in the figure 6. While a country’s Online Performance is a relevant variable, it holds less importance compared to the other variables in determining a country’s position in the ranking.

Figure 6. Website and Social Media performance correspond to the 4th variable


The Methodology - ConclusionDetails of the 4th Variable



Official website and Social Media performance 4th Variable


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1. United States of America

2. Spain

3. Germany

4. France

5. United Kingdom

6. Thailand

8. Australia

9. Turkey

7. Italy

10. China

Bloom Consulting Country Brand Ranking ©2013 TOURISM EDITION - WORLD Ranking

AA

AAA

A

AAA

AA

AA

A

BBB

A

A


World Rank CBS Rating ©

Due to the historical brand equity and the fact that all have strong country brand strategies, China, Hong Kong and Macao have been considered as separate countries in this ranking.


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14. Switzerland

19. Mexico

20. Canada

18. Korea, Rep.

15. Malaysia

22. Egypt

23. Portugal

17. Singapore

13. Hong Kong SAR, China

21. Netherlands

24. Japan

25. United Arab Emirates

11. Austria

12. Macao SAR, China

A

AA

AAA

A

A

AA

AA

AA

AA

AAA

AAA

AA

BBB

AAA

AAA

16. Greece

World Rank CBS Rating ©


The rest of the regions are represented by Australia, Mexico and Egypt. Australia (8) also performed strongly this year, despite being fairly isolated geographically. This reflects the appeal Australia Nation Brand carries in the international tourism market. The first and only Latin American country in the top 25 ranking is Mexico at number 19.

The positive surprise is Egypt (22), as it maintains a privileged posi-tion in the top 25 ranking. Egypt has just registered its lowest tourism receipts and international tourist arrivals for the past five years, while being at the forefront of the widely covered Arab Spring. Nonethe-less, Egypt’s strong result demonstrates the power of the country’s Destination Brand and its continued appeal.

For the first time, the United Arab Emirates made itinto the top 25. With a very strong CBS Rating © of AAA the country’s position has been boosted this year by its very impressive online presence in terms of Social Media, but in particular its Online Search Demand (OSD ©)!

In the next chapters you can find the Bloom Consulting Country Brand Ranking © divided by region. We believe that this new feature is an improvement, as it puts the performance of each country’s brand into a regional context.

For the third consecutive year, the United States of America continues its dominance in the Bloom Consulting Country Brand Ranking ©. This is thanks to both higher tourism receipts and international tourist arrivals (particularly in the past year) and effective Destination Brand promotion of the majority of its best assets. The U.S.A. has maintained a strong CBS Rating © reflecting the positive impact it has on the on Brand USA.

The European tourism powerhouses of Spain, Germany, Franceand the United Kingdom dominate the rest of the top 5. Of these countries, Germany (3) has improved 4 places from 7th last year.

This is due to them having received their highest level of tourism receipts for the past three years and also their best number of international tourist arrivals to date. The United Kingdom (5) has also made huge improvements since last year, when it ranked 9th in terms of Nation Branding. This is partly due to their improved tourism receipts and tourist arrivals but also thanks to their exceptionally active and popular Social Media promotion.

Despite being the country with the most international visitors, France has slipped one place into 4th position. This is signifi-cant as it is the first time they have fallen out of the top 3 and it is a result of lower international tourism receipts, compared to its competitors, and not taking full advantage of social media channels to promote the country as a Destination Brand.

The top 25 is dominated by European and Asian countries,each with 10 representatives appearing in the ranking. Of these Asian countries, Thailand (6) is in the lead after witnessing its best year yet in terms of economic performance in tourism. The next best Asian country is China (10), however it has fallen sig-nificantly out of the top 5 due to its lack of presence in Social Media. This is a topic it may want to address if it wishes to regain its place as the leading Asian Destination Brand.

Unsurprisingly, the rest of the Asian countries in the top 25 include Turkey (9), Malaysia (15), Singapore (17), and the Republic of Korea (18). These provide a strong reference to the Asian region, as an upcoming Tourist Destination for interna-tional travelers.

Bloom Consulting Country Brand Ranking ©Top 25 - Highlights


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The rest of the regions are represented by Australia, Mexico and Egypt. Australia (8) also performed strongly this year, despite being fairly isolated geographically. This reflects the appeal Australia Nation Brand carries in the international tourism market. The first and only Latin American country in the top 25 ranking is Mexico at number 19.

The positive surprise is Egypt (22), as it maintains a privileged posi-tion in the top 25 ranking. Egypt has just registered its lowest tourism receipts and international tourist arrivals for the past five years, while being at the forefront of the widely covered Arab Spring. Nonethe-less, Egypt’s strong result demonstrates the power of the country’s Destination Brand and its continued appeal.

For the first time, the United Arab Emirates made itinto the top 25. With a very strong CBS Rating © of AAA the country’s position has been boosted this year by its very impressive online presence in terms of Social Media, but in particular its Online Search Demand (OSD ©)!

In the next chapters you can find the Bloom Consulting Country Brand Ranking © divided by region. We believe that this new feature is an improvement, as it puts the performance of each country’s brand into a regional context.

Bloom Consulting Country Brand Ranking ©Top 25 - Highlights - Continued


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For the third consecutive year, the United States of America continues its dominance in the Bloom Consulting Country Brand Ranking ©. This is thanks to both higher tourism receipts and international tourist arrivals (particularly in the past year) and effective Destination Brand promotion of the majority of its best assets. The U.S.A. has maintained a strong CBS Rating © reflecting the positive impact it has on the on Brand USA.

The European tourism powerhouses of Spain, Germany, Franceand the United Kingdom dominate the rest of the top 5. Of these countries, Germany (3) has improved 4 places from 7th last year.

This is due to them having received their highest level of tourism receipts for the past three years and also their best number of international tourist arrivals to date. The United Kingdom (5) has also made huge improvements since last year, when it ranked 9th in terms of Nation Branding. This is partly due to their improved tourism receipts and tourist arrivals but also thanks to their exceptionally active and popular Social Media promotion.

Despite being the country with the most international visitors, France has slipped one place into 4th position. This is signifi-cant as it is the first time they have fallen out of the top 3 and it is a result of lower international tourism receipts, compared to its competitors, and not taking full advantage of social media channels to promote the country as a Destination Brand.

The top 25 is dominated by European and Asian countries,each with 10 representatives appearing in the ranking. Of these Asian countries, Thailand (6) is in the lead after witnessing its best year yet in terms of economic performance in tourism. The next best Asian country is China (10), however it has fallen sig-nificantly out of the top 5 due to its lack of presence in Social Media. This is a topic it may want to address if it wishes to regain its place as the leading Asian Destination Brand.

Unsurprisingly, the rest of the Asian countries in the top 25 include Turkey (9), Malaysia (15), Singapore (17), and the Republic of Korea (18). These provide a strong reference to the Asian region, as an upcoming Tourist Destination for interna-tional travelers.

AfricaDespite the fight... Egypt


















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Egypt, South Africa, and Morocco lead the African ranking, thanks to their robust

tourism industries and online brand appeal.

Surprisingly, despite the difficulties experienced in Egypt during the Arab Spring,

its Tourism Brand outshines all others in Africa. There may, however, be further

negative impact on brand equity, as the official 2012 data is yet unavailable.

South Africa is 2nd, slightly behind Egypt, but improved from last year. Morocco (3rd) loses

the privileged first position due to the weaker CBS Rating © in comparison to its competi-

tors and was downgraded from AAA last year to AA.

There is a big gap between the three leaders and the rest of the countries in the top 10 due

to markedly lower tourism receipts and poorer Online Search Demand (OSD ©) results.

The top 10 list in Destination Branding is completed with countries in Eastern Africa –

Kenya (4), Tanzania (6), Uganda (8) and Ethiopia (10), with the tourism experience

they offer based on natural wonders and safari. The top 10 also includes Mauritius (5)

and Tunisia (7), which capitalize on “beach and relaxing experience”.

In terms of social media, more than 50% of African countries are not very active

or do not have an account, with the exception of Egypt.


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AA

B

BBB

BB

CCC

B

B

AA

A

BBB

AA

AA

BB

AAA

B

A

AA

CC

B

BBB

BB

B

AA

BBB

B

22. Algeria

2. South Africa

1. Egypt

10. Ethiopia

8. Uganda

6. Tanzania, United Rep.

7. Tunisia

9. Ghana

5. Mauritius

4. Kenya

15. Senegal

18. Zimbabwe

25. Sudan

11. Namibia

14. Nigeria

3. Morocco

12. Réunion

16. Madagascar

23. Zambia

13. Botswana

19. Rwanda

20. Angola

17. Seychelles

24. Mozambique

21. Cape Verde

Africa Rank CBS Rating ©

22.

102.

122.

136.

143.

75.

28.

115.

70.

61.

110.

114.

69.

147.

108.

33.

120.

105.

107.

137.

140.

144.

151.

94.

124.

World Rank


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CCC

BBB

CCC

C

B

CCC

B

CC

B

B

BB

B

CCC

CC

B

B

CC

Africa Rank CBS Rating ©

38. Djibouti

32. Burkina Faso

31. Liberia

37. Lesotho

40. Sao Tome and Principe

41. Central African Republic

29. Gambia

30. Benin

27. Côte d'Ivoire

28. Cameroon

35. Swaziland

36. Malawi

39. Guinea-Bissau

26. Mali

33. Togo

34. Sierra Leone

42. Burundi

152.

170.

187.

165.

154.

182.

164.

162.

178.

180.

163.

174.

156.

185.

171.

172.

167.

World Rank


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The AmericasUSA first in the North, Argentina first in the South


















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The Americas is a very diverse region showing a lot of contrast in brand performance.

Three countries made it to the world top 25 with the U.S. clearly leading, followed

by Mexico and Canada. Thus the strongest Destination Brands are located

in North America, while other sub-regions still have opportunities for further development.

The top five includes the U.S. (1st), Mexico (2), Canada (3), Argentina (4) and Brazil (5),

indicating that the big nations are dominating the Americas. Mexico’s brand ranks slightly

better than Canada’s brand. Mexico has more online appeal and has more of an online

presence, even though Canada’s tourism receipts have been increasing faster.

Similarly, Argentina’s brand is slightly stronger than Brazil’s, however Argentina’s CBS

Rating © is a lot stronger than Brazil’s. The South American giant, however, is rapidly

catching up with the other four and next year there may be further shifts in the top positions.

The Dominican Republic (7) and Puerto Rico (8) are almost on par. They received similar

AA brand ratings. It is evident that Puerto Rico is improving its recognition online but it still

has not been able to convert this popularity into actual visitors.

Chile finished 8th, with a strong strategy and a good performance, while Panama made it

to the top 10 with high visibility online. Uruguay closes the top 10 in the Americas just like

last year, but with an enhanced Nation Brand strategy.

On a last note, the ecotourism destination, Costa Rica (11), and culturally rich Peru (12) did

not make it to the top 10 but, overall, Costa Rica improved its position and Peru

slipped compared to last year.


2013TourismEdition



AA

BBB

BB

A

AA

BB

AA

AAA

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A

A

AA

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AA

BBB

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AA

A

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Americas Rank CBS Rating ©

11. Costa Rica

22. Curaçao

2. Mexico

1. United States of America

10. Uruguay

8. Chile

6. Dominican Republic

7. Puerto Rico

9. Panama

5. Brazil

4. Argentina

15. Guatemala

18. Cuba

25. Bermuda

14. Aruba

3. Canada

12. Peru

23. Saint Martin (French part)

13. Colombia

19. Ecuador

20. Barbados

17. Jamaica

24. El Salvador

21. Venezuela

16. Bahamas

1.

55.

73.

77.

89.

50.

19.

71.

49.

41.

66.

67.

42.

100.

64.

20.

72.

59.

63.

78.

88.

92.

101.

54.

76.

World Rank


2013TourismEdition



AA

BBB

B

BB

CCC

CCC

BB

B

BBB

BB

B

BBB

BBB

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A

A

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CBS Rating ©

38. Anguilla

42. Guyana

44. Montserrat

37. Grenada

40. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

41. Dominica

29. Trinidad and Tobago

30. Honduras

27. Martinique

28. Belize

35. Guadeloupe

43. Suriname

36. Bolivia

39. Saint Kitts and Nevis

26. Cayman Islands

33. Saint Lucia

34. Nicaragua

31. Paraguay

32. Antigua and Barbuda

Americas Rank

109.

133.

161.

179.

127.

111.

155.

125.

118.

149.

150.

119.

142.

116.

159.

135.

138.

130.

166.

World Rank


2013TourismEdition



AsiaThailand first, China... third


















2013TourismEdition



The Asian ranking is led by Thailand, thanks to its outstanding CBS Rating ©

and exceptional online performance. It maintains its Nation Brand position as 6th

in the world, as it is favored by Turkey’s drop in the ranking and, especially, China’s

lack of social media presence.

Turkey (2nd) also makes it in the top 10, powered by the excellent AAA CBS Rating ©

and benefiting from its proximity to the rich European market. China (3) and its Special

Administrative Regions of Macao (4) and Hong Kong (5) continue to manifest their appeal

in tourism, thus making them three of the top 5 Destination Brands in Asia.

Malaysia finished 6th, Singapore 7th and South Korea 8th, with no apparent surprises

and all three exhibiting excellent Tourism Strategies.

Japan (9) and the United Arab Emirates (10) are the new entrants.

It is a remarkable achievement for the United Arab Emirates, as it still is a rather

new Tourist Destination and it is the only one that puts the Middle East on the map.

The country has an incredible online appeal with its Online Search Demand (OSD ©)

results just behind the U.S.A. and the U.K. The U.A.E.’s tourism receipts are increasing,

however they are still far behind the Asian Destination Brand powerhouses.

Overall, the Asian ranking reflects the shift in the tourism industry and the increasing

appeal of Asia as a Tourist Destination, led by the countries in South East Asia, such

as Thailand and Malaysia, as well as the powerful rise of China and the continued

appeal of Macao and Hong Kong.


2013TourismEdition



22. Iran

2. Turkey

1. Thailand

10. United Arab Emirates

8. Korea, Rep.

6. Malaysia

7. Singapore

9. Japan

5. Hong Kong SAR, China

4. Macao SAR, China

15. Lebanon

18. Jordan

25. Maldives

11. India

3. China

16. Israel

23. Sri Lanka

13. Indonesia

19. Viet Nam

20. Cyprus

17. Philippines

24. Bahrain

21. Cambodia

AAA

BBB

AA

BB

B

B

AAA

AAA

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A

AA

A

AA

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12. Taiwan

14. Saudi Arabia

Asia Rank CBS Rating ©

6.

24.

51.

58.

81.

17.

9.

44.

15.

12.

35.

43.

13.

84.

31.

10.

47.

25.

26.

65.

79.

83.

85.

18.

56.

World Rank


2013TourismEdition



38. Kyrgyzstan

42. Myanmar

32. Yemen

31. Georgia

40. Palestine

41. Brunei Darussalam

29. Iraq

30. Nepal

27. Oman

35. Armenia

43. Bangladesh

26. Qatar

33. Azerbaijan

46. Tajikistan

B

B

AAA

B

CCC

B

B

CCC

BB

BBB

BBB

B

BB

CCC

CCC

BB

A

A

CCC

BB

B

28. Kazakhstan

34. Pakistan

36. Kuwait

37. Lao P.D.R.

39. Mongolia

44. Bhutan

45. Timor-Leste

Asia Rank CBS Rating ©

87.

117.

153.

168.

106.

90.

139.

103.

93.

131.

134.

97.

129.

91.

141.

121.

123.

175

177.

112.

160.

World Rank


2013TourismEdition



EuropeSpain is still the one


















2013TourismEdition



Europe is the world’s most popular tourist destination and the competition for top positions

in Destination Branding is intense. This year the top 5 Destination Brands are Spain,

Germany, France, the U.K. and Italy, accounting all together for more than 50% of the

tourism revenues in the region and each with a vast tourism offering.

Spain retains its position at number 1 in the ranking, with tourism receipts and tourist arrivals

having recovered to pre-crisis level and continuing to grow. Spain is also very active in

promoting itself online.

Spain is followed very closely by Germany (2), which this year surpassed France (3).

Compared to France, Germany has a stronger growth in tourist arrivals and a better

positioned Destination Brand Strategy that helped it to secure the second place.

Similarly, the U.K. (4) stands very close to Italy (5).

The small Alpine countries of Austria (6) and Switzerland (7) have very popular

and strong Tourism Brands. Their outstanding performance demonstrates once again that

a country’s size is not a deciding factor when it comes to its success in Nation Branding.

Both countries could, however, improve their CBS Rating © and perform even better

in the future.

Greece earned the 8th position, Netherlands the 9th, and Portugal 10th. Compared to

Portugal, Greece was able to successfully satisfy the tourism demand, which is evident

in the very strong triple A CBS Rating ©.

Finally, we find that Sweden (12) outperformed other Nordic countries, even though

it does not have the best rating, and Russia (13), probably due to damaged reputation,

declined three places compared to last year.


2013TourismEdition



AA

A

A

AA

AAA

AAA

AA

AA

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A

AA

A

A

AA

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A

A

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A

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A

A

AAA

AA

22. Slovenia

2. Germany

1. Spain

10. Portugal

8. Greece

6. Austria

7. Switzerland

9. Netherlands

5. Italy

4. United Kingdom

15. Belgium

18. Hungary

25. Estonia

11. Croatia

14. Poland

3. France

12. Sweden

16. Czech Republic

23. Bulgaria

13. Russian Federation

19. Norway

20. Denmark

17. Ireland

24. Malta

21. Finland

Europe Rank CBS Rating ©

2.

21.

37.

40.

48.

14.

3.

34.

11.

5.

30.

32.

7.

53.

29.

4.

36.

23.

27.

45.

46.

52.

57.

16.

39.

World Rank


2013TourismEdition



BB

A

AA

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A

B

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AA

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CCC

AA

BBB

38. Macedonia, FYR

32. Lithuania

31. Albania

37. Bosnia and Herzegovina

29. Romania

30. Latvia

27. Luxembourg

28. Ukraine

35. Belarus

36. Iceland

39. Moldova, Rep.

26. Slovakia

33. Montenegro

34. Serbia

Europe Rank CBS Rating ©

60.

96.

86.

62.

82.

74.

146.

157.

80.

113.

68.

98.

99.

95.

World Rank


2013TourismEdition



OceaniaAustralia, alone at the top


















2013TourismEdition



Oceania’s only strong Destination Brand is Australia. The country demonstrates

its supremacy in the region by clearly leading in the ranking score. It is the region’s

benchmark in tourism receipts, tourist arrivals, online performance and Online Search

Demand (OSD ©) results.

New Zealand (2nd) is its only competitor, as it has a very well positioned brand strategy,

but there is still room for improvement to get on the same level as Australia’s Country Brand.

New Zealand’s strongest indicators are online performance and OSD © popularity.

The rest of the region is not as well-known and lacks brand equity. Fiji (3rd) stands out

from the small island nations by capitalizing on good social media presence and greater

interest in its offering from online users, but its poor CBS Rating © brings it down.

Vanuatu (4th), French Polynesia (5th) and New Caledonia (6th) are ranked very similarly.

Behind the scenes they are somewhat different, as Vanuatu has a strong tourism receipts

growth indicator and French Polynesia is more active online than its competitors.


2013TourismEdition



6. New Caledonia

2. New Zealand

1. Australia

10. Solomon Islands

8. Cook Islands

7. Samoa

9. Palau

5. French Polynesia

4. Vanuatu

15. Papua New Guinea

11. Tonga

14. Kiribati

3. Fiji

12. Micronesia

16. Marshall Islands

13. Niue

BBB

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AA

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C

A

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Oceania Rank CBS Rating ©

8.

158.

145.

38.

184.

132.

126.

181.

183.

128.

176.

104.

186.

169.

173.

148.

World Rank


2013TourismEdition



Who is this Ranking meant for? The Bloom Consulting Country Brand Ranking © is for anyone interested in Nation Branding and Place Branding from every perspective, whether you are in government, academia, industry, finance, or for anyone who just finds it interesting.

Why did Bloom Consulting create the Ranking?Bloom Consulting created the Ranking to evaluate the impact of country brand strategies in economic terms and, above all, to answer the important question of how countries can become more attractive.

How does Bloom Consulting’s Ranking differ from other rankings? Other rankings measure perceptions, this ranking measures reality. Thanks to statistical models and the Online Search Demand (OSD ©) tool, we were able to measure how effective each Country Brand is in a more tangible way. Moreover, this ranking isolates Tourism as a separate dimension, analyzing tourists as a separate target audience. Please see the trade edition as well here: http://bloom-consulting.com/en/fdi-ranking

What is new in the 2013 edition of the Ranking? First of all, it is the third “World Edition” of Bloom’s Country Brand Ranking. Secondly, Bloom has improved its methodol-ogy, in comparison to past editions, in order to deliver more accurate and objective results.

What is the Online Search Demand (OSD ©)?The Online Search Demand (OSD ©) is a Bloom Consulting proprietary measurement system used to assess all global online searches performed specifically for tourism.

How can a country have a poor rating but still do well in the Ranking?If a country has a poor CBS Rating ©, its brand strategy is not actively reflecting what the country has to offer (from the tourism demand perspective). Therefore, even though its economic performance may be strong, the tourism strategy is not taking full advantage of the country’s selling propositions.

What if a country does not have social media accounts, does it still feature in the ranking?Yes, it still appears but it receives a lower ranking than it would have done otherwise.

Does Bloom Consulting provide different services from the Ranking?Yes, Bloom Consulting provides Nation Branding and Place Branding integrated strategies and Online Search Demand (OSD ©) tailored reports for every country, region and city in the world.

What criteria was used to define the geographical distribution of countries? We used the official United Nations classification of countries by region.

Bloom Consulting Country Brand Ranking © FAQs


2013TourismEdition



OSD ©Online Search Demand Measurement of all global online searches performed specifically for tourism

CBS Rating ©Country Brand Strategy RatingRates the accuracy of each strategy set in place by each NTO

“Brand Tag”Unique Selling propositions and strategic positioning of all 187 countries (used by all the National Tourism Organizations).

“3T approach”The three tangible dimensions 1- Trade (Investment), 2- Tourism and 3- Talent

Bloom AlgorithmIt is an equation that consists of 4 key variables and calculates each country’s position in the ranking.

NTONational Tourism OrganizationIt is the official state agency responsible for positioning their respective Country Brand (from a Tourism perspective).

Web AnalyticsIs an online tool that measures the performance of each country’s website, where each country’s NTO website is analyzed by the number of visits and the average time spent on the web page.

Bloom Consulting Country Brand Ranking © Glossary


2013TourismEdition



For ranking related queries please contact:

Methodology:

Press:

For any other queries please contact Bloom offices

Spain - (WORLD HEAD QUARTERS)

Brazil

Portugal

U.S.A.

Bloom Consulting Contacts


2013TourismEdition



Gonzalo Vilar - Partner and Global Strategy [email protected]

[email protected]

José Filipe Torres - Founding Partner and [email protected]

Monte Esquinza 14, 6 D ext28010 Madrid, Spain+34 91 308 0286 Office

Marcello Pastore - Partner and Brazil General [email protected]

Rua Pedroso Alvarenga 1254, 4º andar - Conjunto 42 Itaim Bibi São Paulo - SP - CEP 04531 004, Brazil+55 11 3044 6219 Office

Filipe Roquette - Partner and Portugal General [email protected]

Avda. Joao XXI, 43, 1 Esq1000-303 Lisboa, Portugal+351 210 936 819 Office

Timothy Roberts - Partner and USA General [email protected]

5808 Denny Ave.North Hollywood, CA 91601Los Angeles, USA+1 888 576 0065 Office

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