‘Palestinians seek to boost their image’ describes the Palestinian Development and Investment Company...as ‘one of several Palestinian business [...] determined to nudge global opinion in a different direction’...Buck reports that a new organisation, the Palestinian Institute for Public Diplomacy...

Palestinian business leaders are looking to develop a ‘country brand’ for Palestine, which it will use for global promotion.Campaigns are set to be launched in the US and Israel before the end of the year, after an audit in these countries of the public perception of Palestine...

Selling Nepal as a wedding destination for gay couples, many of whom live in countries where same-sex marriage is illegal, has been widely embraced by the entrepreneurs of the tourism sector, a once thriving industry that was dealt a severe blow during the decade-long Maoist insurgency that claimed the lives of 16,000 people.

Tokyo's announcement over the weekend that it will bid for the 2020 Olympics is intended to show the world it can recover and stage a successful Games after the devastation caused by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.

Like the economy itself—though less noticed abroad—Italy’s ancient monuments and cultural heritage are crumbling. At stake is not just sentimental attachment to national monuments. Italy draws more than 45 million visitors every year, making tourism the country’s primary industry. Italy, as a brand, doesn’t just denote quality and beauty, but translates into euros.

Cultural relations work really looks different if you make the connection with the role of nationalism in European politics in the period after 1850. The theory and practice of nationalism places language and culture at the heart of what makes the nation. It was the rise of nationalism that corroded multinational empires and consolidated national states in Europe.

And yet, Mexico's economy is growing, tourism is rebounding... and the middle class is continuing to expand. So the key question going into 2012 is: Can anyone put back together Mexico's broken image, both on the world stage and at home?

Initiated by the International Marketing Council (IMC) of South Africa and taking place in each of the nine provinces, the summits aim to increase provincial participation in the nation-branding effort and encourage active citizenship – which, in turn, will help position the country as a top investment and tourism destination.