Nation Branding Practices in Latin America

In the globalized world of today a well-elaborated, long-term oriented nation branding strategy which includes the government, the public and the private sector as well as the nation´s citizens themselves can help nations to improve and to better control their nation image. Nation branding activities increase the countries´ competitiveness in the global marketplace and help to foster the tourism arrivals, inward foreign direct investment flows and exports as well as they help to attract talented workforce and students. Despite its growing importance, most Latin American countries still have not engaged enough in the area of nation branding and mostly only focus their activities on the tourism promotion. The region´s countries have a good image regarding soft factors such as their people and tourism attractions but have a weak image regarding their products, services and investment opportunities. Brazil has a relatively good nation image in many dimensions but still has not developed an extensive nation branding strategy. Chile and Colombia are among the Latin American countries which have started to conduct more complete and advanced nation branding activities. Although such advances can be observed, there is still a lot of improvement potential in the nation branding practices of Latin American countries.