Action Plan for the Brand Building of World Tourism Cities (2018-2027)

The brand of a city is the social manifestation of its cultural core, and the result of long-standing integration of factors such as natural resources, history and culture, human capital, science and technology, capital investment and operation management. It is the embodiment of the city’s popularity, reputation and competitiveness. To strengthen brand building is a strategic measure that helps raise the key competitiveness of cities, and plays an important role in promoting the sustainable development of tourism cities in the world. On the basis of extensive consensus, WTCF has drafted the Action Plan for the Brand Building of World Tourism Cities, which will serve as a guide to action for all members upon its adoption by the entire WTCF membership.

I.Vision for the brand building of world tourism cities

The brand building of tourism cities is a multi-stakeholder practice. By formulating and implementing the action plan for brand building, WTCF hopes to leverage the role of city brands in driving the development of tourism cities, and promote the construction of a multi-sector, multi-tier and multi-stakeholder mechanism for the building and maintenance of tourism city brands.

1.Overall approach

By leveraging the latest trend of world tourism development, and following the key vision of Better City Life through Tourism, this plan will work to raise the overall quality of city tourism by helping to shape the city’s brand. This will be done by:

● Adhering to the orientation of tourism city development.

● Highlighting the characteristics of tourism city development.

● Formulating systematic construction plans.

● Establishing and maintaining a diversified participation mechanism.

● Connecting brand building and maintenance with the overall process of city development, and

● Constantly enhancing the city’s brand value, and raising the overall quality of city tourism by shaping the city’s brand.

2.Overall objectives

A three-step approach will be taken. In ten years’ time, WTCF will assist all tourism cities in building their own distinctive brands, establish a full range of brand positioning elements, including brand identification, brand marketing and brand management systems, and showcase the unique role of brand building in boosting the tourism development of cities.

3.Implementing steps

Step 1: launch of participation. In three years’ time, we will encourage world tourism cities to voluntarily take part in the action plan for brand building in light of their development needs and jointly formulate and improve the evaluation standards for brand building of tourism cities, and put in place a multi-party working mechanism for the brand building of tourism cities.

Step 2: brand planning and cultivation. In four years’ time, we will encourage world tourism cities to leverage their resource endowment and cultural legacies to develop brand orientation and implementation plan consistent with their features and launch their unique slogans, visual designs and logos, and produce a group of branded cities with global influence.

Step 3: brand upgrade and promotion. Emphasis must be placed on the management, maintenance and update of tourism city brands. In three years’ time, we will put in place a cooperation and exchange mechanism for the brand building of tourism cities, further showcase the positive role of city brands in driving the development of tourism cities, and enhance the core values of tourism city brands in all aspects.

II.Main contents of the brand building of world tourism cities

The brand building of tourism cities contains a few essential elements, including shaping brand image, boosting brand foundation, promoting brand image, managing brand emergencies and promoting brand exchange and cooperation. The main task of brand building is to integrate the various factors of city brand, and build a brand image consistent with the each city’s core values over time.

1.Campaign for shaping the brands of world tourism cities

City brand is vital to the key competitiveness of tourism cities. All tourism cities should attach high importance to the role of city brands in driving urban development, and excel in brand planning and orientation and shape their unique city brand in a classified and incremental manner consistent with their own development stage. Tourism cities that are in the stage of development should mobilize the government, relevant institutions, local residents and tourists to propose and choose the name, logo and slogan of the city based on the city’s industrial basis, historical and cultural resources and development vision, and establish their own brand image as quickly as possible. We should pay more attention to the building of the supporting and promotion system of city brands, and constantly enhance the supporting capability of city brands. Cities that are in a more advanced stage should do a good job in the updating and upgrading of their brands, and update and improve the signage system of the city in ways that are popular with the local residents and tourists to showcase the city’s cultural traditions and brand image, and boost the visibility and influence of the city brand.

2.Campaign for supporting the brands of world tourism cities

The improvement of urban infrastructure provides the basic guarantee for enhancing the brand values of cities. We should strengthen the transformation of urban infrastructures and provide a more convenient and comfortable environment for tourists. We should actively align with global development initiatives such as the “Belt and Road”, speed up the pace of infrastructure construction and continuously expand the space of world tourism development. We should give importance to the positive impact of sharing economy, and embrace the model of sharing economy to solve the problems of inadequate urban infrastructures and public services. We should explore the cultural legacies of the city, promote inheritance and development of culture through the whole process of city brand building, and constantly enhance the cultural contents of cities. We should strengthen precise management of the city, and acquire the ability to apply modern transportation, communication and intelligent technologies in tourism and urban management. We should expand the application of network communication and other modern information technologies, and promote the building of smart cities and smart tourism to meet the needs of IT-based mass tourism.

3.Campaign for promoting world tourism city brands

We should organize tourism and culture festivals and celebrations with distinctive local features, launch slogans that can best present the city’s vision and character in due course, and continue to promote and communicate the city brand. We should seize every opportunity to host, undertake or take part in important international conferences, forums, exhibitions and celebrations, and make full use of international public platforms to explain the city’s development vision and promote the city’s core value. We should set up a special fund for promoting city brand, and make good use of airports, ports, stations, commercial outlets and other places with high visitor flow to better promote the city’s brand image. We should give full scope to the communication effect of modern media, and expand the coverage of tourism cities through the production of TV programs, advertisements, TV series, films and entertainment programs. We should also learn to leverage the positive role of new media, bring up promotion ambassadors in different fields, and put in place a multi-layered, multi-angle and multi-model promotion and communication mechanism to boost the precision of tourism promotion.

4.Campaign for protecting world tourism city brands

In view of the distinctive features and patterns of mass tourism, we should establish a better-functioning public service system in order to provide timely and effective public services for tourists in tourist transportation, accommodation and information services. The city’s management department should establish a sound tourism and brand management system consistent with the city’s legal system, strengthen oversight of the city’s public order and tourism market, strictly regulate behaviors that may affect the city brand, and foster a sound tourism environment. We should strengthen the emergency handling system of tourism cities, properly guide public opinions on incidents that may affect the city’s image and protect the sound image of the city.

5. Campaign for cooperation on world tourism city brands

Tourism cities should build a more open market environment, support tourism cities and tourism enterprises in exchanging representative offices or branch institutions, and encourage tourism enterprises to take part in the development of tourism resources. We should facilitate cooperation and exchanges among WTCF member cities, and encourage tourism cities to open information resources to each other, establish sister-city relations, and share brand marketing resources such as data resources, media resources and expert resources. We should conduct training on tourism destination marketing and two-way professional training, jointly host tourism exhibitions, enhance interactive brand marketing, explore effective means for the promotion of tourism city brands, and share the successful experiences of brand building of tourism cities.

III. Implementation mechanism for the brand building of world tourism cities

The brand building of tourism cities is a systematic project that requires multi-party participation. Tourism cities should actively integrate resources for brand building, boost the synergy for building city brands, and set up a mechanism for the building, promotion and management of city brands with the leadership of city government and participation of all social sectors.

1. Strengthening the leadership of the government in the building of city brands

City government is the leading force in the building of city brands. The government should take the building of city brands as an important public policy tool and a major task of urban planning by promoting legislation and giving policy guidance. They should facilitate the establishment of special agencies for building or promoting city brands, and provide necessary budget support. They should make plans for building city brands, and actively explore new ways of participation in the building of city brands.

2. Guiding the participation of relevant institutions in the building of city brands

The relevant institutions, especially tourism enterprises, are the main stakeholder in the building of city brands. They should work to provide more specialty tourism products and tourism services that are consistent with the characteristics of city brands, with a focus on the city’s overall brand orientation, in order to provide strong market support for the building of city brands.

3. Involving the city residents in the building of city brands

The city residents are the key participants in the building and maintenance of city brands. We should take the production and living scenes of the city residents as the foundation for the building of city brands, combine the demands of tourists with the leisure needs of residents, and increase the friendliness and affinity of local residents to tourists through activities like tourist volunteer services.

4. Encouraging tourists to join the locals in protecting the brand image of cities

Tourists are the beneficiaries and participants of the building of city brands. They should consciously observe and uphold the cultural traditions and order of life of the local residents, uphold tourist civility, make proper arrangement for their tours, and consciously maintain tourist order.

5.Leveraging the role of WTCF’s cooperation and exchange platform

As an organization committed to supporting and promoting the brand building of cities, WTCF should further mobilize its role as a service platform for exchange and cooperation, promote the research on the model of brand building of tourism cities, formulate the evaluations standards for the brand building of tourism cities, and provide the conditions for the sharing of data and information resources. WTCF should amplify the positive effect of the Fragrant Hills Award for tourism cities with outstanding performance, and actively promote successful practices of brand building of tourism cities on a regular basis. We should also actively carry out market cooperation on destination marketing of “Belt and Road” node cities, and encourage tourism cities to further open up their tourism market.