Tourism

Berlin is arguably one of the cultural powerhouses of the world. With the global cultural sector devastated after a year of lockdown, we reached out to Burkhard Kieker, CEO of Visit Berlin, to discover what the city’s plans were for recovery, and how they have reframed their approach from ‘attracting tourists’ to ‘having guests’.

Sri Lanka had so much to offer - but it struggled to compete with more established neighbouring competitors. A new campaign showcased the diversity and beauty of Sri Lanka through the eyes of some of their greatest assets: the wildlife that make experiencing Sri Lanka so magical.

It's critical that a place brand strategy is representative of your community - and that your community is engaged with your approach. Al Hutchinson, President & CEO at Visit Baltimore, joined us to share the story behind Visit Baltimore's brand re-design, and how they put community voices in the spotlight with their messaging.

Whether this new visitor economy will be “better” – more resilient, more equitable and creating more value for communities - will depend on how we recover. Here are some of the common challenges facing destinations in recovery, and some of the opportunities it creates to build back better.

What can we learn from New York City, the cultural melting pot of the world? Nancy Mammana, Chief Marketing Officer for NYC & Company joined us to share how they’re giving a platform to marginalised voices and ensuring that the recovery is equitable.

How are cities evolving to meet global challenges? And what does the future talent market look like? We reached out to Mateu Hernandez, Director at Barcelona Global, to understand how Barcelona is putting talent and equitable development in the spotlight as they work towards recovery.

The smartest response isn’t to just recreate the same processes as we were used to pre-pandemic, but to understand how we can refine and improve our everyday ‘normal’. The pandemic has exposed our weaknesses and now we need to ensure that we address these in order to be more resilient against future shocks.

As an iconic city and region, Bergen naturally comes with an inheritance of many clichés and tired symbols – and so did the former Visit Bergen profile, created in 2000. The identity wasn’t made for digital surfaces, and the positioning of ‘Gateway to the Fjords’ could communicate that it was only as a stop-over destination on the way to somewhere else.

Ireland became the largest English-speaking nation in the EU in 2020, and Limerick City and County sought to maximise this opportunity, creating a brand position that unifies everything that Limerick does - and included the entire community in the re-brand process.

What is the most important factor for a smart city  project or organisation to be successful in the long-run?

Research shows that once a visitor does decide to come to The Hague they are positively surprised. It was this gap between image and actual experience that launched the international campaign 'Dive into The Hague'.

How can tourism destinations develop regenerative tourism solutions after COVID-19? Aradhana Khowala, the Chair of the Red Sea Development Company's advisory board, shares why it's so important for luxury tourism to bounce back greener, and what learnings there are for smaller destinations looking to improve their own sustainable approaches.

Vilnius caught the attention of the world with their innovative strategies to support their citizens and businesses throughout the pandemic. We reached out to the Director of Go Vilnius, Inga Romanovskiene, to understand more about their place branding strategy - and to discover the secret to using humour successfully in your marketing.