BRANDING AND REBRANDING DESTINATIONS THROUGH HERITAGE TOURISM

The underlying ethos of this chapter is the use of heritage as a branding mechanism and means of developing a sense of place. The chapter examines the important role of cultural heritage in many forms in developing place recognition and branding, both intentionally and organically. International brands, such as UNESCO’s World Heritage List, Europe’s Capitals of Culture, and the Council of Europe’s Cultural Routes program, are examples of efforts at the international scale to create heritage brands that will stimulate tourism growth and build regional solidarity. To be branded with one of these prestigious designations often drives countries’ interests in developing tourism. Likewise, many countries have their own heritage brands, such as China’s A Attraction Ratings, the Magical Towns of Mexico, and the United States’ programs of National Historic Landmarks and the National Register of Historic Places. Each one of these is seen as a key marketing and branding mechanism that encourages tourism growth and leads to greater visibility among the traveling public and tour agencies. Finally, the chapter discusses the important role of heritage tourism as a key recovery tool following natural or man-made disasters, as well as economic decline in rural and urban contexts. Heritage-based tourism is frequently promoted as a way of rebuilding an image following a catastrophe or as a rural community’s other industrial-based decline.