In 2012, every country that has global clout, and every country that aspires to that status, will use smart power — a combination of soft and hard power — to achieve national goals. India is not doing badly, but it has to brace itself for hard battles in soft power in the years to come.

Back in October, Japan’s national tourism agency floated a plan that seemed an ideal remedy to boost flagging visitor numbers in the wake of the March 11 disasters. Free flights to Japan in 2012. A full 10,000 of them. However, whatever tourism authorities thought a good idea, Japan simply can’t afford it, the government’s budget planners have concluded.

It’s a new twist in the practice of “nation branding,” which has floated ever higher on the radars of governments around the world in recent years. For decades – even before they thought of themselves as brands – nations have sent ambassadors, artists, and academics abroad to be their public face.

Christians are a tiny minority in Israel and the Palestinian Territories. However, in Israel, there's a concerted effort to get more Christian tourists to visit the Holy Land and visit the churches, and shrines that dot Israel and the West Bank. They're hoping to make each tourist a sort of ambassador of Israel.

According to America's Voices in Israel, an organization that aims to bolster Israel’s image in the U.S., the goal of such trip is to allow guests, whether pastors or celebrities, to use their respective platforms – from pulpits to social media – to share their experiences in the land and to engender positive feelings and, ultimately, visits to Israel by their followers.

A growing tourism sector also contributes to creation of better awareness about the country in the world and helps enhance the country’s soft power.

Brand strategist Peter Economides knows about taking brands at their lowest ebb and turning them into world-beaters. He was part of the team that helped create Apple’s “Think Different” campaign in 1997. ....Economides believes that Greece is at the point where an inspired and properly managed rebranding campaign could turn it into the “Apple of the Mediterranean.”

It being Hawaii, the assembled heads of state were understandably looking forward to some boxy aloha shirt action. But Obama...declared the 20-year tradition over. As disappointed locals have been keen to stress, the colourful shirts are a symbol of Hawaii's multicultural history and it would have been great for tourism on a group of islands that rely heavily on it.