Italy, U.S. and Australia Rank Highest as Country Brands

Italy ranks as the top overall destination, according to a first-of-its-kind global survey released today that identifies countries as brands and suggests the pivotal role that branding could make in helping countries differentiate themselves.

Australia and the U.S. take the second and third positions in the FutureBrand Country Brand Index, which is comprised of a three-tier analysis of statistics, a global quantitative survey, and expert opinions of international travel professionals.

Launching simultaneously with this year´s World Travel Market, the report examines the role and opportunity to market a country as a brand, and ranks countries according to a variety of measures.

This year´s index includes rankings, as well as emerging trends, travel motivations, challenges and opportunities within the world´s second largest industry –travel and tourism. These include China as “most improved” country brand, the U.S. as “best country brand for business travel” and Italy as “best country brand for art and culture.”