Bloom Consulting Country Brand Ranking Tourism 2013

Bloom Consulting

Country
Brand
Ranking ©
Tourism
Edition

2013

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 © Since 2003

Country
Brand
Ranking ©

Development of Countries
Human Asset Management
Business Strategy

Tourism
Edition

2013

Bloom Consulting
Brief Introduction

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
Jose Filipe Torres, the CEO of the company.

,

,

and

, who have interviewed

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.


countrybranding@bloom-consulting.com / +34 91 308 0286 (CET)

Page 01

Country
Brand
Ranking ©

Business Strategy

Tourism
Edition

2013

An introductory note from the CEO
Welcome

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



Page 02

Country
Brand
Ranking ©

Business Strategy

Tourism
Edition

2013

Bloom Consulting's CRC Brand Wheel

A different approach to Country and Place Branding
A Country Brand or a Place Brand is an asset for nations, cities or regions to be managed
in order to achieve different objectives.
According to our Methodology, there are 6 different Country, Region and City Branding (CRC) objectives or dimensions
represented 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

Experience

Tourists

R e sp e c t


ion

id e

s
ra t
mi

e

ss

G e n e r al p u b li c

Ad

ni

ne

D iplo m acy

nal

Pr

ts

pa

que

s

tio

Inv
est
ors
Inve
stm
e

or

Com

U ni

Exp

Country,
Region, City
Brand

Na

Adv
ant
ag
e

nt

e
forc
ork
W
t
len
Ta

le
Sty
fe
Li

Tourism

There are 6 objectives or dimensions
for every Country, City and Region
Each dimension has 6 different target audiences
Each target Audience has a specific need


Page 03

Country
Brand
Ranking ©

Business Strategy

Tourism
Edition

2013

Bloom Consulting's CRC Brand Wheel

A different approach to Country and Place Branding
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, represented 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

Current measurement systems

Present Ranking

Experience

?

Tourists

s
ion
ra t

id e

nal

Pr

$

Happiness

?
Perceptions

!
OSD ©

$

:)

mi

e

ss

G e n e r al p u b li c

Ad

ni

ne

D iplo m acy

tio

Inv
est
ors
Inve
stm
e

ts

pa

que

s

Na

Adv
ant
ag
e

or

Com

U ni

Exp

Country,
Region, City
Brand

OSD ©

Revenue

e
forc
ork
W
t
len
Ta

nt

!

Perceptions

:)

le
Sty
fe
Li

Tourism

Revenue

Happiness

These 3 Dimensions can be
measured in a more tangible
way using metrics such as
OSD © and “Revenues”

These 3 Dimensions can only
be measured in an intangible
way using metrics such as
“Perceptions” and “Happiness”

R e sp e c t



Page 04

Country
Brand
Ranking ©

Business Strategy

Tourism
Edition

2013

The Methodology

Understanding how Bloom Consulting developed the ranking
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 tangible
and 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

Tourism
Tourism economic receipts

Tourism economic growth

1st Variable

These results demonstrate
a country’s appeal and is an
important variable of the ranking

OSD ©:

Culture

Leisure

Nature

Sports

Niche markets

2nd Variable

If tourists search online about a
country it is a clear indicator of its appeal and
is the most important variable of the ranking

3rd Variable

Country Brand Strategy Rating (CBS Rating ©)

If each country is using the most
accurate country brand strategy
is a key variable of the ranking

4th Variable

Oﬃcial website and Social Media performance

If 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


Country
Brand
Ranking ©

Page 05

Country
Brand
Ranking ©

Business Strategy

Tourism
Edition

2013

The Methodology - Continued
Details of the first variable

1st Variable

2nd Variable

3rd Variable

4th Variable

Country
Brand
Ranking ©

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 Branding
is 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 receipts
Strategies 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 growth
The 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

Tourism economic receipts

Tourism economic growth

Average International
Tourism receipts
between 2007-2011

1st Variable

Average growth
of International tourism receipts
between 2007-2011



Page 06

Country
Brand
Ranking ©

Business Strategy

Tourism
Edition

2013

Details of the 2nd Variable

1st Variable

2nd Variable

3rd Variable

4th Variable

Country
Brand
Ranking ©

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 decisionmaking 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?
(1)

According to Google , 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 propositions 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:
countrybranding@bloom-consulting.com 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

OSD ©:

Culture
1. Cultural
Archives
2. Gastronomy
3. Historical
Heritage
4. Local Culture
5. Local People
6. Performing
Arts
7. Religion
8. Traditional
Markets
9. UNESCO

Leisure
10. Boat Trips
11. Day trips
12. Eating Out
13. Entertainment
14. Parks
15. Gambling
16. Leisure
Activities
17. Leisure
Events
18. Nightlife
19. Shopping
20. Wellbeing

Nature
21. Beaches
22. Bird Watching
23. Coastline
& Islands
24. Natural
Wonders
25. Protected
Areas
26. Rural
27. Safari
28. Sustainable

Sports
29. Adventure
& Extreme
30. Diving
31. Fishing
32. Golf
33. Hiking
34. Sailing
35. Water Sports
36. Winter Sports

Niche markets

2nd Variable

37. Business
38. City
39. Education
40. Family
41. Health
42. Honeymoons
43. LGBT
44. Senior
45. Youth

(1) Google/Ipsos OTX MediaCT - 2012


Page 07

Country
Brand
Ranking ©

Business Strategy

Tourism
Edition

2013

Details of the 3rd Variable

1st Variable

2nd Variable

3rd Variable

4th Variable

Country
Brand
Ranking ©

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 effectiveness of a Country Brand Strategy.
Figure 5. 3rd Variable CBS Rating © and respective scores used in the ranking
Country Brand Strategy Rating (CBS Rating ©)
Score


Description

AAA
AA
A
BBB
BB
B
CCC
CC
C
D

3rd Variable

Very Strong
Strong
Slightly Strong
Very Good
Good
Slightly Good
Slightly Weak
Weak
Very Weak
Poor

Page 08

Country
Brand
Ranking ©

Business Strategy

Tourism
Edition

2013

The Methodology - Conclusion
Details of the 4th Variable

1st Variable

2nd Variable

3rd Variable

4th Variable

Country
Brand
Ranking ©

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

Oﬃcial website and Social Media performance



4th Variable

Page 09

Country
Brand
Ranking ©

Business Strategy

Tourism
Edition

2013

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

World Rank

CBS Rating ©

1.

United States of America

AA

2.

Spain

AA

3.

Germany

AA

4.

France

A

5.

United Kingdom

A

6.

Thailand

7.

Italy

8.

Australia

BBB

9.

Turkey

AAA

10.

China

A

AAA
A

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.


Page 10

Country
Brand
Ranking ©

Business Strategy

Tourism
Edition

World Rank

2013

CBS Rating ©

11.

Austria

AA

12.

Macao SAR, China

AA

13.

Hong Kong SAR, China

14.

Switzerland

AA

15.

Malaysia

AA

16.

Greece

AAA

17.

Singapore

AAA

18.

Korea, Rep.

AAA

19.

Mexico

AAA

20.

Canada

A

21.

Netherlands

A

22.

Egypt

AA

23.

Portugal

AA

24.

Japan

BBB

25.

United Arab Emirates

AAA



A

Page 11

Country
Brand
Ranking ©

Business Strategy

Tourism
Edition

2013

Top 25 - Highlights

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, France
and 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 significant 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 significantly 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 international travelers.



Page 12

Country
Brand
Ranking ©

Business Strategy

Tourism
Edition

2013

Top 25 - Highlights - Continued

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 position 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. Nonetheless, 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 it
into 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.



Page 13

Country
Brand
Ranking ©

Business Strategy

Tourism
Edition

2013

Africa
Despite the fight... Egypt




Page 14

Country
Brand
Ranking ©

Business Strategy

Tourism
Edition

2013

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 competitors 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.



Page 15

Country
Brand
Ranking ©

Business Strategy

Tourism
Edition

Africa Rank

2013

World Rank

CBS Rating ©

1.

Egypt

22.

AA

2.

South Africa

28.

AA

3.

Morocco

33.

AA

4.

Kenya

61.

AAA

5.

Mauritius

69.

AA

6.

Tanzania, United Rep.

70.

AA

7.

Tunisia

75.

B

8.

Uganda

94.

BBB

9.

Ghana

102.

B

10.

Ethiopia

105.

B

11.

Namibia

107.

A

12.

Réunion

108.

A

13.

Botswana

110.

AA

14.

Nigeria

114.

B

15.

Senegal

115.

BBB

16.

Madagascar

120.

BB

17.

Seychelles

122.

BBB

18.

Zimbabwe

124.

B

19.

Rwanda

136.

BB

20.

Angola

137.

CC

21.

Cape Verde

140.

B

22.

Algeria

143.

CCC

23.

Zambia

144.

BBB

24.

Mozambique

147.

B

25.

Sudan

151.

BB



Page 16

Country
Brand
Ranking ©

Business Strategy

Tourism
Edition

2013

World Rank

Africa Rank

CBS Rating ©

26.

Mali

152.

B

27.

Côte d'Ivoire

154.

B

28.

Cameroon

156.

CCC

29.

Gambia

162.

BBB

30.

Benin

163.

CCC

31.

Liberia

164.

CC

32.

Burkina Faso

165.

BB

33.

Togo

167.

B

34.

Sierra Leone

170.

B

35.

Swaziland

171.

B

36.

Malawi

172.

CCC

37.

Lesotho

174.

B

38.

Djibouti

178.

CCC

39.

Guinea-Bissau

180.

CC

40.

Sao Tome and Principe

182.

B

41.

Central African Republic

185.

CC

42.

Burundi

187.

C



Page 17

Country
Brand
Ranking ©

Business Strategy

Tourism
Edition

2013

The Americas
USA first in the North, Argentina first in the South



Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Marshall Islands, Martinique, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Cape Verde, Cayman Islands, Central African
Mauritius, Mexico, Micronesia, Moldova Rep.,
Republic, Chile, China, Colombia, Cook Islands, Costa
Mongolia, Montenegro, Montserrat, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Croatia, Cuba, Curacao, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark,
Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Philippines, Poland,
Nicaragua, Nigeria, Niue, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Palau, Palestine, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru,Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Estonia, Ethiopia, Fiji, Finland, France, French Polynesia, Gambia,
Georgia, Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Martin Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Honduras, Hong Kong SAR China,
Portugal, Puerto Rico, Qatar, Réunion, Romania, Russian Federation, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Germany, Ghana, Greece, Grenada,(French











Page 18

Country
Brand
Ranking ©

Business Strategy

Tourism
Edition

2013

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.



Page 19

Country
Brand
Ranking ©

Business Strategy

Tourism
Edition

2013

World Rank

Americas Rank

CBS Rating ©

1.

United States of America

1.

AA

2.

Mexico

19.

AAA

3.

Canada

20.

A

4.

Argentina

41.

AAA

5.

Brazil

42.

BBB

6.

Dominican Republic

49.

AA

7.

Puerto Rico

50.

AA

8.

Chile

54.

AA

9.

Panama

55.

BBB

10.

Uruguay

59.

AA

11.

Costa Rica

63.

BBB

12.

Peru

64.

BBB

13.

Colombia

66.

BBB

14.

Aruba

67.

A

15.

Guatemala

71.

A

16.

Bahamas

72.

BB

17.

Jamaica

73.

BB

18.

Cuba

76.

BB

19.

Ecuador

77.

A

20.

Barbados

78.

BBB

21.

Venezuela

88.

BB

22.

Curaçao

89.

AA

23.

Saint Martin (French part)

92.

AA

24.

El Salvador

100.

BB

25.

Bermuda

101.

A



Page 20

Country
Brand
Ranking ©

Business Strategy

Tourism
Edition

Americas Rank

2013

World Rank

CBS Rating ©

26.

Cayman Islands

109.

A

27.

Martinique

111.

BBB

28.

Belize

116.

AA

29.

Trinidad and Tobago

118.

BBB

30.

Honduras

119.

B

31.

Paraguay

125.

BB

32.

Antigua and Barbuda

127.

BBB

33.

Saint Lucia

130.

BBB

34.

Nicaragua

133.

CCC

35.

Guadeloupe

135.

B

36.

Bolivia

138.

CCC

37.

Grenada

142.

BBB

38.

Anguilla

149.

BBB

39.

Saint Kitts and Nevis

150.

A

40.

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

155.

BBB

41.

Dominica

159.

BB

42.

Guyana

161.

BB

43.

Suriname

166.

BB

44.

Montserrat

179.

B



Page 21

Country
Brand
Ranking ©

Business Strategy

Tourism
Edition

2013

Asia

Thailand first, China... third




Page 22

Country
Brand
Ranking ©

Business Strategy

Tourism
Edition

2013

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.



Page 23

Country
Brand
Ranking ©

Business Strategy

Tourism
Edition

Asia Rank

2013

World Rank

CBS Rating ©

1.

Thailand

6.

AAA

2.

Turkey

9.

AAA

3.

China

10.

A

4.

Macao SAR, China

12.

AA

5.

Hong Kong SAR, China

13.

A

6.

Malaysia

15.

AA

7.

Singapore

17.

AAA

8.

Korea, Rep.

18.

AAA

9.

Japan

24.

BBB

10.

United Arab Emirates

25.

AAA

11.

India

26.

BBB

12.

Taiwan

31.

BBB

13.

Indonesia

35.

BB

14.

Saudi Arabia

43.

BB

15.

Lebanon

44.

BB

16.

Israel

47.

A

17.

Philippines

51.

AA

18.

Jordan

56.

BB

19.

Viet Nam

58.

BB

20.

Cyprus

65.

A

21.

Cambodia

79.

A

22.

Iran

81.

B

23.

Sri Lanka

83.

AA

24.

Bahrain

84.

B

25.

Maldives

85.

BBB



Page 24

Country
Brand
Ranking ©

Business Strategy

Tourism
Edition

2013

World Rank

Asia Rank

CBS Rating ©

26.

Qatar

87.

A

27.

Oman

90.

CCC

28.

Kazakhstan

91.

B

29.

Iraq

93.

B

30.

Nepal

97.

AAA

31.

Georgia

103.

BBB

32.

Yemen

106.

CCC

33.

Azerbaijan

112.

BB

34.

Pakistan

117.

CCC

35.

Armenia

121.

BBB

36.

Kuwait

123.

B

37.

Lao P.D.R.

129.

BB

38.

Kyrgyzstan

131.

BB

39.

Mongolia

134.

A

40.

Palestine

139.

CCC

41.

Brunei Darussalam

141.

BB

42.

Myanmar

153.

B

43.

Bangladesh

160.

B

44.

Bhutan

168.

CCC

45.

Timor-Leste

175

B

46.

Tajikistan

177.

B



Page 25

Country
Brand
Ranking ©

Business Strategy

Tourism
Edition

2013

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.



Page 27

Country
Brand
Ranking ©

Business Strategy

Tourism
Edition

2013

World Rank

Europe Rank

CBS Rating ©

1.

Spain

2.

AA

2.

Germany

3.

AA

3.

France

4.

A

4.

United Kingdom

5.

A

5.

Italy

7.

A

6.

Austria

11.

AA

7.

Switzerland

14.

AA

8.

Greece

16.

AAA

9.

Netherlands

21.

A

10.

Portugal

23.

AA

11.

Croatia

27.

AAA

12.

Sweden

29.

BBB

13.

Russian Federation

30.

A

14.

Poland

32.

A

15.

Belgium

34.

BBB

16.

Czech Republic

36.

A

17.

Ireland

37.

A

18.

Hungary

39.

AA

19.

Norway

40.

AA

20.

Denmark

45.

A

21.

Finland

46.

AAA

22.

Slovenia

48.

AAA

23.

Bulgaria

52.

A

24.

Malta

53.

AAA

25.

Estonia

57.

AAA



Page 28

Country
Brand
Ranking ©

Business Strategy

Tourism
Edition

2013

World Rank

Europe Rank

CBS Rating ©

26.

Slovakia

60.

AA

27.

Luxembourg

62.

BBB

28.

Ukraine

68.

BB

29.

Romania

74.

A

30.

Latvia

80.

AA

31.

Albania

82.

BB

32.

Lithuania

86.

BBB

33.

Montenegro

95.

B

34.

Serbia

96.

BB

35.

Belarus

98.

AA

36.

Iceland

99.

A

37.

Bosnia and Herzegovina

113.

BB

38.

Macedonia, FYR

146.

B

39.

Moldova, Rep.

157.

CCC



Page 29

Country
Brand
Ranking ©

Business Strategy

Tourism
Edition

2013

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.



Page 31

Country
Brand
Ranking ©

Business Strategy

Tourism
Edition

Oceania Rank

2013

World Rank

CBS Rating ©

1.

Australia

8.

BBB

2.

New Zealand

38.

AA

3.

Fiji

104.

BB

4.

Vanuatu

126.

A

5.

French Polynesia

128.

B

6.

New Caledonia

132.

A

7.

Samoa

145.

BB

8.

Cook Islands

148.

BB

9.

Palau

158.

BB

10.

Solomon Islands

169.

B

11.

Tonga

173.

CCC

12.

Micronesia

176.

CC

13.

Niue

181.

CCC

14.

Kiribati

183.

BB

15.

Papua New Guinea

184.

B

16.

Marshall Islands

186.

C



Page 32

Country
Brand
Ranking ©

Business Strategy

Tourism
Edition

2013

FAQs

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 methodology, 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.



Page 33

Country
Brand
Ranking ©

Business Strategy

Tourism
Edition

2013

Glossary

OSD ©
Online Search Demand
Measurement of all global online searches performed specifically for tourism
CBS Rating ©
Country Brand Strategy Rating
Rates 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 Algorithm
It is an equation that consists of 4 key variables and calculates each country’s position in the ranking.
NTO
National Tourism Organization
It is the official state agency responsible for positioning their respective Country Brand (from a Tourism perspective).
Web Analytics
Is 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.



Page 34

Country
Brand
Ranking ©

Business Strategy

Tourism
Edition

2013

Bloom Consulting
Contacts

For ranking related queries please contact:
Methodology:

Gonzalo Vilar - Partner and Global Strategy Director
gvilar@bloom-consulting.com

Press:

corporate@bloom-consulting.com

For any other queries please contact Bloom offices
Spain - (WORLD HEAD QUARTERS)

José Filipe Torres - Founding Partner and CEO
jtorres@bloom-consulting.com
Monte Esquinza 14, 6 D ext
28010 Madrid, Spain
+34 91 308 0286 Office

Brazil

Marcello Pastore - Partner and Brazil General Manager
mpastore@bloom-consulting.com
Rua Pedroso Alvarenga 1254,
4º andar - Conjunto 42 Itaim Bibi
São Paulo - SP - CEP 04531 004, Brazil
+55 11 3044 6219 Office

Portugal

Filipe Roquette - Partner and Portugal General Manager
froquette@bloom-consulting.com
Avda. Joao XXI, 43, 1 Esq
1000-303 Lisboa, Portugal
+351 210 936 819 Office

U.S.A.

Timothy Roberts - Partner and USA General Manager
troberts@bloom-consulting.com
5808 Denny Ave.
North Hollywood, CA 91601
Los Angeles, USA
+1 888 576 0065 Office



Page 35

Bloom Consulting Country Brand Ranking Tourism 2013

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