Brand City and Geomarketing: How to Promote a Destination in the Global Tourist Competition
Roberto DIEZ PISONERO

Abstract
The emerging competition between tourist destinations has highlighted the need to emphasize communication strategies, in order to create added value for the potential intangible customer-designed to create a favorable image of the spaces that are intended to promote, through the design communication actions with goals that go beyond mere promotional or informational interest. In this sense, both sites that conceive tourism as an economic diversification solution (emerging destinations) and geographical locations that already have a certain hearth in relation to its tourist tradition (mature destinations), join forces in order to consolidate territorial identity in line with its potential for tourism. This paper attempts to provide a better understanding of the brand city and geomarketing strategies in the urban tourism through a successful case study, Barcelona. To that effect, using a methodology based on the compilation, filtration and proper organization of information, it presents an analysis of the actions different administrations have taken to better the positioning of Barcelona in the global tourism industry. The analysis focuses on two aspects of the rise of Barcelona as a successful tourist attraction: the first, the different strategies employed to refine the tourist product, promotion, commercialization, planning, marketing, quality and sustainability; and second, the strengthening of the transport infrastructure that added dynamism to this Spanish city. Through this analysis, the paper complements existing literature on the topic by adding to our knowledge of the tourist industry.

Full Text: PDF