Locum Destination Review - Issue 9

The journal of record for the global destination industry

Editorial

The bigger they come, the harder they fall and, in today’s destination business, they come no bigger than the nations, regions and cities competing for attention. Locum Destination Review examines how major contenders are trained: on culture and sports events, tourism and regeneration.

We begin by talking to Sir Bob Scott, one of the UK’s most accomplished destination makers, who led Manchester’s successful bid to host the Commonwealth Games. He tells us why bidding for such events must always produce tangible results for cities, regardless of their eventual success in such competitions, citing Manchester’s positive experience despite twice losing bids to host the Olympic Games. As Sir Bob reminds us, the very act of bidding can raise the profile of a city or region, helping to attract inward investors and visitors alike.

Of course, event promotion is but one means of improving image. Creenagh Lodge of Corporate Edge is one of the UK’s leading authorities on corporate and nation branding. She explores how countries including New Zealand, Canada and Scotland have created national branding strategies to drive the long-term improvement of their export, tourism and inward investment. What of the UK’s attempts at branding? Jonathan Griffin leads the Britain Abroad Task Force. In his contribution to the Spring 2001 issue of Locum Destination Review, he argued that Britain needed to transform its ‘worthy but dull’ image. Here, he reflects on the major recent developments affecting the country’s perception in overseas markets, and outlines the BATF’s latest thinking on how best to position Britain as a brand in the international marketplace.

Over the last 20 years, Australia has emerged as one of the world’s leading long-haul tourist destinations. We hear from Paul Davies, the man responsible for the brand positioning of Australia in the European market, about his latest challenge: converting those of us who have never visited Australia into first-timers. Judging by the latest figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, which reveal a 17.7 per cent drop in visits by UK travellers during the year to end-July 2002, he has his work cut out. Locum’s Maria Fernandez Sabau, meanwhile, examines the branding of Spain’s autonomous regions and their relationship to the national ‘mother’ brand, focusing on Catalunya (Catalonia) and Euskadi (the Basque Country).

Capital cities have always played an important role in projecting the image and personality of a nation. Edinburgh and Dublin are no exceptions to the rule. Separate contributions by Richard Emerson of Historic Scotland and Peter Coyne of the Dublin Docklands Development Authority chart their evolution as visitor destinations, exploring the inextricable link between each city’s contemporary sense of place and its heritage, built and human, and how this is reflected in even the most modern developments.

In 2008, one British city will be the European Capital of Culture. Despite being one of the most significant destinations prizes in Europe, comparatively little is known about its aims and objectives, and the rewards that holding the title is supposed to bring. As well as examining these issues, we look at the experience of previous title holders. Dr Stuart MacDonald, director of The Lighthouse, considers the legacy of Glasgow's reign as the 1990 European City of Culture, as it was then called. And we hear from each of the 12 cities currently vying for the 2008 nomination. Who will be the eventual winner? And how can each benefit from the bidding process, come what may?

Finally, with Britain entering the fray with its biggest ever advertising campaign, our regular Brandwatch observer checks out this and other serious challenges for the destination crown. Perhaps this is the big issue.

Owen Burdekin
Editor