The UAE has been identified as one of the three “rising stars” in global tourism in an annual country branding index.
The country, alongside Croatia and China, are tipped to become major tourist destinations in the next five years, according to the report by brand consultancy FutureBrand and public relations firm Weber Shandwick.
The study showed that the Middle East, Africa and Asia were experiencing high growth for travel and tourism demand.
Australia came top of the index designed to track travel trends and pinpoint opportunities for tourism while Canada rose from sixth last year to second place.
The United States slipped one place to be ranked third in the index compiled from a survey of 2,700 travellers from nine countries .
Other countries to make the top 10 in the fourth annual Country Brand Index (CBI) were Italy, Switzerland, France, New Zealand, Britain, Japan and Sweden.
FutureBrand’s senior executive director Rina Plapler said some countries were now taking on board the idea of brand but this was still a largely underdeveloped category with most countries not using marketing to differentiate themselves.
“Particularly in the coming years, country brands must improve both their strategic orientation as well as their delivery,” she said in a statement, referring to tougher times ahead for the travel industry.
Although Australia came top overall, when it came to the best branded countries for arts and culture the list was led by Italy, France and Egypt.
The best country brands for doing business were named as the United States, Germany, Britain, France and Italy.
When it came to shopping, it was hard to beat the United States, UAE, where The Dubai Mall has just opened, and Singapore.
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