Bland Canada losing out to Crocodile Dundee
What’s wrong with Canada? It’s not the brand…it’s the bland.
“What people are saying is that it’s gorgeous, but there’s no compulsion to go there,” national branding expert Simon Anholt told Tourism Online. “Canada’s just too perfect.”
“Simon Anholt, a policy advisor for 15 governments, UN agencies and the man behind the widely cited Anholt Nation Brands Index, tries to soften the blow of his assessment of Canada by likening us to vanilla,” the site says.
The Anholt brand index polls about 25,000 people in 35 countries, asking questions relating to governance, culture, people, tourism, immigration and exports.
Because Canada and Australia fight it out for many of the top spots in the index, Mr Anholt often draws comparisons between the two countries.
“One of the reasons Australia outperforms Canada as a nation brand is that they have a very definite, strong personality. Canada doesn’t have personality. Ask anyone to describe an Australian and they’ll say Crocodile Dundee, whereas Canadians have blank faces.”
“But there’s no strong, urgent personality coming out … everyone wants to meet and know an Australian, but meeting a Canadian (evokes) a milder feeling.”
After learning how the Canadian Tourism Commission is attempting to redefine the country as “confident, youthful, informal, warm, witty, intriguing, open and authentic,” Anholt laughed during an interview.
“Those are all words you could use to describe anyone on the planet,” he said. “To me, a strategy would be something a little less politically correct than that, a bit more shocking. To me, a test of a brand strategy is one that will change the way people will behave. There’s a risk that with these careful adjectives it won’t.”
Report by David Wilkening
David
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
Phocuswright reveals the world's largest travel markets in volume in 2025
Higher departure tax and visa cost, e-arrival card: Japan unleashes the fiscal weapon against tourists
Cyclone in Sri Lanka had limited effect on tourism in contrary to media reports
Singapore to forbid entry to undesirable travelers with new no-boarding directive
Euromonitor International unveils world’s top 100 city destinations for 2025