Taken overall, the medium and long-term reputational and economic impact of previous Olympics has frequently been overstated for host nations. However, in the midst of its current troubles, Brazil now has a significant opportunity to use the world’s largest sport event for a positive brand makeover that could produce a lasting legacy for the country.

Ethiopia’s untapped tourism potential is shifting the gear to new initiative to increase number of visitors with its brand new promotion logo “Land of Origin.” The government emphasizes on the need for a tourism sector which is both environmentally friendly and economically viable to generate sustainable revenue supporting the country mission to become middle income country in the coming decade.

Summer solstice fire festivals in the Pyrenees. Korean tightrope-walking. Solving math equations on a traditional Chinese abacus… and the Mediterranean diet? The olive-oil-abundant way of eating may seem like an outlier here, but all these things share one common attribute: They’re recognized by UNESCO as cultural treasures worth preserving for future generations.

Wouldn’t it be great if your government owned the English name of your country on Twitter? You could proudly @mention your country or support your national team with a tweet. Today all English-language country names have been registered on Twitter; however, only 23 governments and state tourism boards have secured their English-language country name on Twitter, up from only nine, four years ago.

British television network BBC2 is planning TV shootings in Thessaloniki and Imathia from July 24-31, with the support of the Greek National Tourism Organisation (EOT), with the view to promoting popular and lesser-known Greek destinations abroad, through the entertainment industry. Other “filming trips” with the support of EOT are ongoing in Athens, Peloponnese and Crete by the Australian television travel programme “The Travel Bug TV Show”. 

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi concluded his five-day, four-nation tour of Africa on July 11. He spent two days in South Africa and made brief visits to Mozambique, Tanzania and Kenya. As he left Nairobi at the end of the tour, Modi had covered 42 countries in his 51 trips abroad. Antarctica is now the only continent he has not visited in his two years in office.

In what seems likely to be a concerted and protracted charm offensive, China has been inviting hundreds of Myanmar opinion-formers to “improve understanding” on their part of China’s intentions. China is telling Myanmar that it knows Myanmar has changed, and that China’s attitude has changed too.