Strategic branding of destinations: a framework

Purpose – Travel and tourism is the second largest global industry with daily international revenues of approximately US$2 billion, and investments of 12 percent of world GDP. Though this is a highly competitive industry, there is a paucity of academic research on destination branding. This paper aims to present a branding framework for designing successful destination strategies. This exploratory study seeks to determine key factors that affect the strategic branding of destinations. Design/methodology/approach – Similar fields like place marketing, destination marketing, services, product and corporate branding were reviewed along with destination case studies. Based on this review and its extrapolation to the “destination context”, a framework for strategic branding of destinations was formulated. Findings – Successful strategic branding of destinations is dependent on several inter‐related components, which are discussed. The paper highlights key issues in destination branding and provides a platform for future research. Originality/value – The value of the paper is high as it provides a practical framework for governing bodies to consider when investing time, money and effort when creating a global destination.