Oh Canada!
A big round of applause goes out to the Canadian Tourism Commission (CTC), Canada's national tourism marketing organization, for promoting product and industry development around the world so well that for the second year in a row, Canada has been named the #1 most powerful country brand in the world.
At the 32nd annual World Travel Market (WTM) in London, England in November, FutureBrand, a leading international brand and design consultancy, announced that Canada remains in the top spot in its 2011 Country Brand Index (CBI), the most comprehensive global study of how travelers perceive countries around the world. The rankings are based on a global sample of online interviews of savvy leisure and business travelers. FutureBrand's 2010 CBI assessed 110 countries through online interviews with 3,400 travelers from 13 countries, eight of which were markets where the CTC invests. Switzerland moved up three spots from 2010 to land in second place behind Canada, and the United States dropped 2 spots to finish in 6th place.
According to the CBI, the most important factors that truly differentiate a nation's brand are its associations and attributes: the qualities that people think of when they hear a country's name, read or see images of a location, or plan a business or leisure trip. Travelers’ depiction of Nova Scotia must rate high because our province alone chalked up an overall international visitor growth of 14% in 2011. This past year we also hosted prestige international conferences for groups such asThe Bioelectromagnetics Society, International Society for Applied Phycology and the International Conference on Mercury as a Global Pollutant.
Says the Honourable Maxime Bernier, Minister of State (Small Business and Tourism), "Canada's continued rating at the top of FutureBrand's Country Brand Index is a testament to our country's global appeal. We have a wealth of compelling experiences for travellers, and our government is committed to sustaining this momentum by promoting Canada in innovative ways on the international stage. Through our recently launched Federal Tourism Strategy, we are continuing to position Canada's tourism sector as an economic driver of jobs and growth."
After the CTC launched Canada’s revitalized tourism brand “Canada. Keep Exploring” six years ago, the country leapfrogged on FutureBrand’s CBI ranking from 12th place in 2006 to 6th place in 2007, and jumped again to the No.2 spot in 2008 and 2009, and finally clinched the top spot for the first time last year following the 2010 Canada Games. Canada keeps the coveted premier spot this year, being recognized as the most powerful, engaging and vibrant country brand in an intensely competitive international tourism marketplace. Go Canada!
