Tag: tourism policy

Abolish The Ministry of Tourism

This article also appeared in Romanian on the Contributors section of Hotnews.

When I published my first article in the Huffington Post I was greeted by over 100 negative comments, all from people who passionately believe that cannabis should be legalised (my crime was to suggest that cannabis can cause psychosis).  Most comments on most articles in most news-sites seem to be negative and there is a phenomenon in UK (I’m not sure if it has reached Romania yet) called “trolling” whereby a group of like minded people, or “trolls”, bombard individual articles with negative comment, creating the impression that the people are against the point made by the journalist. It is a form of PR. (more…)

Does Serbia need a brand?

beograd_april-08-26When discussions about promoting Serbia take place the following comment often comes up: “shouldn’t we develop a country brand?” The short answer is “NO”.  I am from Scotland, I now live in Romania, and I would like to share my opinion of branding countries.  I hope that Serbia can learn from the mistakes of others.

A lot of money has been wasted by successive Romanian Governments in developing absurd country brands and it certainly hasn’t resulted in more tourists or investors.  Their most recent slogan was “Romania – Land of Choices” and I am still trying to work out what it means. (more…)

If I was the mayor

If I had stood for the local elections I would have come with an ecological strategy that would have provided everything required for a campaigning politician; connection to a hot global issue, a ready made framework that would create jobs, cut pollution, solve transport problems, attract tourists and bring discipline to construction. And I would have a framework to slam other candidates for using eco labels in their campaigns but failing to address the threats of global warming and the upcoming energy crisis (this is known as “greenwash” in the UK). (more…)

Bran, the Capital of Kitsch

Five days after Romania joined the EU I visited Bran Castle. I was sadly disappointed by the incredible kitsch on display in the carpark, the ruination of the village by uncontrolled banner advertising and an interior that has been ruined by bad restoration. What was an intriguing fifteenth century castle has been reduced to a centrepiece of the kitsch capital of Romania. The Habsburg’s asking price of 60 million Euro is laughable; they would be lucky if they could get 10% of that over inflated value. (more…)

Mission impossible: Branding Romania

A lot of money is being invested into the development of a brand for Romania but this can only lead to embarrassment and financial loss. Branding a country requires a level of coordination and trust that is unattainable in Romania. According to Charles Brymer, chairman of Interbrand, “Creating a brand program for a country demands an integration policy that most countries do not possess – the ability to act and speak in a coordinated and repetitive way.” (more…)