Destination Branding: A Review of the City Branding Literature

Abstract

While there exist studies which attempt to measure the brand equity of cities and countries from a customer perspective, there is little or no evidence regarding a thorough review of the destination branding literature from its inception to date, and more specifically about city branding. The objective of this study is thus to present a review of the literature of city branding, with the main aim of aiding tourism destination researchers who are conducting studies in this particular field. In order to conduct this review, ProQuest (ABI/INFORM) database was utilized, using the terms ‘city branding’ and ‘destination branding’ from 2005 through December 2016, as the review of the literature suggests the first traces of publications documenting 'city branding' studies appeared on 2005. This review serves as a roadmap for researchers in the field of destination branding, as it provides an overview of the concept of branding and its origins, a review of the concepts of place and destination branding who served then as an umbrella to the concept of city branding. Further, attention is devoted to summarizing the studies published on ‘city branding’, providing in this way a valuable contribution for the audience interested in the topic of destination branding, and more specifically its city-related subarea. In light of the review conducted, it is found out that the research field of city branding remains still in its infancy, suggesting that there is still room for further research in this particular area.