Nation Brand and Tourism: Familiarity, Perception, and Intention to Visit

Abstract

Marketing campaigns and products of the cultural industries are an important factor influencing tourists’ intention to visit. Both elements can be considered, however, to be integrated into the holistic perception of a destination. The perception of a destination’s image has been studied before, but there is no geographically wide-ranging research that assesses the relationship between overall country brand perception and intention to visit. To empirically demonstrate this relationship, an online survey of 2,151 individuals from 21 countries was conducted to assess the level of familiarity with, global perception of, and intention to visit of a sample of 55 countries around the world. From the statistical analysis of the results, it is concluded that there is a positive, significant, and very high correlation between the global perception of a country and the intention to visit it. In addition, through a two-stage cluster analysis, the 55 country brands are grouped into three categories –consolidated, underappreciated, and underconsidered brands– which allows us to propose some strategic recommendations. It is also observed that underdeveloped countries, in general, have a worse perception, which translates into a lower intention to visit, which in turn compromises, in a sort of vicious circle, their possibilities for future development