Browsing by Author "Holmgren, Nathalie Christine"

To nations of the 21st century, the concept known as nation branding has become a common way to encounter economic, political, and social issues. However, many researchers question whether nation branding actually makes a difference during more serious circumstances, such as an economic crisis. This study looks at the branding strategies of the Greek National Tourism Organization (GNTO) during the crisis years 2010–2015, with the aim of achieving a better understanding of how nation branding is conducted during a crisis. The research questions were the following: What were the nation-branding strategies of Greece during the crisis years 2010–2015? Are there signs or mentions of the crisis in the strategies? How does the Greek nation branding correspond to the findings of previous research? The data used in the study consists of strategic documents by the GNTO and the Greek Ministry of Tourism, and was collected from the website of GNTO as well as the European Commission (EC). The data was thematically analyzed based on the dimensions of Anholt’s nation-brand hexagon. The texts were first coded according to the predetermined themes (Tourism, People, Culture & Heritage, Investment & Immigration, Governance, and Exports), after which the branding under each theme was further studied. The analysis revealed that the branding strategies of the GNTO to a great extent corresponded to the findings of previous research, and the six nation-brand dimensions appeared to be clearly visible in the strategies. The Tourism theme was the most prominent theme in the data, followed by Culture & Heritage and People. Governance and Exports can be said to be the least common themes in the 2010–2015 strategies. In addition to the six nation-brand dimensions, a crisis perspective was added to the analysis. The Crisis theme was more visible than expected based on the theory of the economic crisis taboo. There was little to none economic crisis taboo to be found in the material. Future studies could look deeper into the ways that the crisis affected the Greek nation brand and vice versa. Examining the work of GNTO and other Greek organizations further to see to what extent these actors cooperate in the building of Brand Greece would also be beneficial.