Terrorism and France Nation Brand
France’s Nation Brand, one of the most admired Nation Brand’s in the world is on a downturn due to terrorism (at least in the Tourism and Talent dimensions)
France’s brand depreciation in the two dimensions can be seen in the decline of its digital appeal from international tourists and people who want to work, live or study in the country.
If we look closely at the Digital Country Index, we see a sharp decline in online searches for France. This drop-in searches followed the continuous terror attacks that took place in the country.
Search volumes related to working and living in France, for instance, have fallen by 22% in the last year. This signals a deep suffering international perception of the Country.
One might argue that although there was a downturn in searches immediately after each attack, it would eventually stabilise and reach its former numbers. While we may see online searches increase in the months following terrorist activity, it is imperative to analyse the trend in online interest over time.
At a city level, for instance, Paris had a gradual 13% decrease in searches throughout the year. Although interest may fluctuate, terrorism is indeed hurting the City Brand.
#DigitalCountry and #DigitalCity show that online perceptions can influence reality and vice versa. Compared to the previous year, there was a 6% decrease in hotel bookings, decrease of 1.3 million visitors in 2016, and loss of 15% of the Louvre museum’s visitors prove to be tangible examples of a correlation with terrorism.
Countries, Regions and Cities must now pay closer attention to their digital appeal as it serves as a great measurement tool to predict several things. Tourism and Talent are only two of them.
I invite you to read more about Digital Demand D2© the Technology behind the Digital Country Index
Thank you and remember to visit Bloom Consulting website for more information about our projects and Nation Branding
