THE INFLUENCE OF NATION BRANDING ON TOURISM – HOW SLOVAKIA COMPARES TO AUSTRIA IN NATION BRANDING

摘要

Nation branding is one of the tools by which countries may positively influence their international reputation. Tourism has a huge impact on how a country is perceived and its support directly contributes to creating a positive nation brand image. The purpose of this paper is to present a comparison between Austrian and Slovak tourism and propose recommendations for its improvement. Furthermore, this paper utilizes lessons learned and best practices from the Republic of Austria that could be applicable in Slovakia in the context of tourism to improve its nation branding. Based on the objective and subjective secondary data, the paper compares the position of Austria and Slovakia in nation branding indexes. Data are extracted from the following three indexes: Bloom Consulting Digital City Index, Good Country Index, and the Future Brand Index. The paper points out the close connection between Austrian nation branding and tourism, while data from Slovakia do not indicate such connection. All the above-mentioned indexes are highly and significantly correlated, despite the fact that they use different approaches, methodologies, and data.