Branding and promoting a country amidst a long-term conflict: The case of Colombia

This paper examines Colombia as a practical case of branding and marketing within the context of conflict ridden destinations. It will examine the history and development of the country brand from the tourism development point of view, relating it to the terrorism that has hit the country for the last half a century. This enormously diminished Colombia's reputation in many ways, substantially lowering tourism arrivals. This paper presents an account of how Colombia has reacted to this situation: it will show the efforts put into brand building and tourism promotion that has succeeded, inter alia, in attracting more tourists to the country in recent years.