1. Development of CountriesHuman Asset ManagementBusiness StrategyBloom ConsultingCountryBrandRanking TourismEdition 2012Bloom Consulting Since 2003

2. Country BrandDevelopment of CountriesHuman Asset Management Ranking Business Strategy Tourism Edition 2012Bloom Consulting Country Brand Ranking An IntroductionThe Bloom Consulting Country Brand Ranking is the only country or nation brand rankingwhich classifies countries by the effectiveness of their country brand strategiesand its subsequent impact on the countrys GDP.In order to do so, Bloom Consulting has taken into account variables that define the economicperformance of the countries as well as variables that characterize the strategies accuracy andmarket acceptance.Bloom Consulting has used hard facts, such as economic indicators and an analysis of the offi-cial country brand strategies as well as soft data indicators, thereby measuring the economicimpact of each countrys tourism brand strategy. Furthermore, this marks the first time thatOnline Search Demand (OSD) has been incorporated into a ranking of this type.The 2012 Bloom Consulting Country Brand Ranking Tourism accounts for the most compre-hensive, objective research done in the field so far. In accordance with the Bloom Consulting 3TApproach (see page 3), Bloom Consulting creates separate Rankings for Trade and Tourism.It includes 161 countries and all economic data comes from recognized sources such as theWorld Bank, United Nations, and the World Tourism Organization.Bloom Consulting Since 2003 countrybranding@bloom-consulting.com / +34 91 308 0286 (CET) Page 01

3. Country BrandDevelopment of CountriesHuman Asset Management Ranking Business Strategy Tourism Edition 2012An introductory note from the CEOWelcomeFor the second consecutive year, I am proud to present to you with the Bloom ConsultingCountry Brand Ranking!Over the last nine years, I have had the privilege of working with Bloom Consulting in countrybranding strategies all over the world. From my experience, the most striking fact I found sofar is that most countries, regardless of their economic development, geographic location or evensize, have very similar issues when developing their own country brand strategy. These issuesare very much related with internal concerns, such as accountability or stakeholder management,and also the tangible measurement of brand strategy investments.Our objective when launching this ranking was precisely to tackle this issue: how much morerevenue can a country brand attract to its own national economy?Let me just say how excited I am with the new feature in our algorithm - Online SearchDemand (OSD). For the first time in any country or nation brand ranking, we analyze howwell positioned countries are in the biggest search engines and how searched they areby tourists in general.To conclude, I encourage you to use this ranking internally and use it as an asset and a toolto demonstrate the importance your country brand has on your economy. Although we wouldhave liked to go deeper and give a detailed description on each countrys performance, itsimpossible to do so in this overview. However if you are interested to find out more informationon your country, please do not hesitate to contact us. I would be happy to send you all the infor-mation you require.Welcome to the Bloom Consulting Country Brand Ranking 2012. We hope you appreciate thegreat results and findings as much as we did!Jos Filipe Torres - CEO Bloom ConsultingBloom Consulting Since 2003 countrybranding@bloom-consulting.com / +34 91 308 0286 (CET) Page 02

4. Country BrandDevelopment of CountriesHuman Asset Management Ranking Business Strategy Tourism Edition 2012Introduction to Country BrandingThe 3T approach In creating a country brand strategy we focus on three main areas:attraction of trade, tourism and talent.The traditional approach when facing the challenge of attracting trade, tourism and talentis to create, or simply improve, perceptions under one umbrella strategy. Ultimately thiswill fail, as we see over and over again around the world. It is impossible to communicateentertainment to investors and simultaneously communicate a qualified and hardworkingworkforce to potential tourists. They messages repel each other, destroying the coreobjective. Most of the time agencies attempt a compromise in order to better createan overall strategy. As a result, they weaken their brand, as each factor is not brandedup to its potential.In order to solve the problem of having a single multi-dimensional strategy,Bloom Consulting has developed a 3T approach to country brandingthat separates each T.T1. Attraction of TradeT2. Attraction of TourismT3. Attraction of TalentTraditional Umbrella Strategy Bloom Consultings 3T Approach T1 T2 T3 T2 GDP GDP T1 T3 Impact ImpactThis way, were able to calculate growth projections and calculations individually,in order to better define the objectives of an overall strategy.Bloom Consulting Since 2003 countrybranding@bloom-consulting.com / +34 91 308 0286 (CET) Page 03

5. Country BrandDevelopment of CountriesHuman Asset Management Ranking Business Strategy Tourism Edition 2012Understanding the MethodologyThe Ranking VariablesThe Bloom Consulting Algorithm, was developed to create and calculate the ranking, taking intoaccount both hard and soft data and includes groundbreaking processes to show the relationshipbetween a countrys economic performance and the projections of the countrys brand strategy.The ranking is derived from four variables that take into account both hard and soft data. Theranking does not use any survey or interview based data, meaning that it provides the mostobjective, accurate results possible.Bloom Consulting Country Brand Ranking Algorithm variables Historical Bloom Consulting CBS Economic Rating Growth Economic Country Brand Performance Ranking Bloom Consulting Since 2003 countrybranding@bloom-consulting.com / +34 91 308 0286 (CET) Page 04

6. Country BrandDevelopment of CountriesHuman Asset Management Ranking Business Strategy Tourism Edition 2012Understanding the MethodologyThe Ranking Variables in more detailHistorical Economic PerformanceStrategies and economic returns do not have an immediate cause and effect relationship, there-fore Bloom Consulting looks at the countrys long term (five years)* historical economicperformance in international tourism receipts. This way, the Ranking reflects more consistenttrends rather than the volatile changes that might occur in the recovering economic climate.Economic GrowthThe growth in international tourism receipts of each country is also an important indicator whenmeasuring the countrys economic performance, therefore Bloom Consulting computes thecompound annual growth rate for the economic tourism performance. This way, it is possible togarner how much the industry grew or decreased and the impact it had on the revenue. Again,data spanning five years was used to reflect consistent trends rather than brief volatile changes.Bloom Consulting Country Brand Strategy (CBS) Rating Bloom Consulting also rates the impact of each countrys branding strategy. The CBS Rating takes into account the uniqueness of each countrys current brand strategy (Brand Tags) and theaccuracy of the Online Search Demand. A brand strategy that is more unique and more alignedwith tourist searches will receive a better Rating.* UNWTO covering the years 2006-2010.Bloom Consulting Since 2003 countrybranding@bloom-consulting.com / +34 91 308 0286 (CET) Page 05

7. Country BrandDevelopment of CountriesHuman Asset Management Ranking Business Strategy Tourism Edition 2012Measuring Country Brand Strategy AccuracyThe CBS Rating CBS Rating is calculated using brand strategy economic performance analysis and analysis ofOnline Search Demand. The country brand strategy is measured through brand tags, the keywords that reflect the brand strategy of each country. For the first time in any country or nationbrand ranking, Blooms Online Search Demand (OSD) is able to show if a country supplies whattourists are seeking, and how well the country is matching this demand.Brand tags function as the supply side of the tourist-destination equation. Thousands of brandtags were collected from each countrys official tourism agency and then classified into 38different clusters that relate to adventure sports and activities, natural features, beaches, localculture and traditions, or gastronomy. Each cluster is assigned an economic value in order to ratethe relative returns gained from each brand tag.Domestic and international tourist searches for the brand tags and related words were thenanalyzed, country by country, in the most used search engines, to show the countrys accuracymatch and quantify Online Search Demand. By considering the OSD, Bloom Consulting is ableto show if a country offers what tourists are seeking, and how well the country is matching thisdemand. This identifies the gap between supply and demand. The more accurate a country is, thebetter the CBS Rating .Just as international rating agencies rank countries credit risk, Bloom Consultinguses the CBS Rating Classification SystemScore DescriptionAAA Very StrongAA StrongA Slightly StrongBBB Very GoodBB GoodB Slightly GoodCCC Slightly WeakCC WeakC Very WeakD PoorBloom Consulting Since 2003 countrybranding@bloom-consulting.com / +34 91 308 0286 (CET) Page 06

8. Country BrandDevelopment of CountriesHuman Asset Management Ranking Business Strategy Tourism Edition 2012Bloom Consulting Country Brand Ranking 2012 TOURISM EDITION - WORLD RankingRank CBS Rating 1. United States of America AA2. Spain AAA3. France AA4. China A5. Turkey AAA6. Thailand AAA7. Germany BBB8. Macao AAA9. United Kingdom BBB10. Australia BBBDue to the historical brand equity and the fact that both have strong country brand strategies China, Hong Kong and Macao have been considered as separate countries in this ranking.Bloom Consulting Since 2003 countrybranding@bloom-consulting.com / +34 91 308 0286 (CET) Page 07

9. Country BrandDevelopment of CountriesHuman Asset Management Ranking Business Strategy Tourism Edition 2012Rank CBS Rating 11. Austria AA12. Italy BB13. Hong Kong A14. Malaysia A15. Netherlands BBB16. Mexico AAA17. Switzerland A18. Canada BBB19. Croatia AAA20. Russian Federation A21. Portugal A22. Singapore A23. India A24. Greece BBB25. Republic of Korea BBB26. Belgium A27. Morocco AAA28. Japan BB29. United Arab Emirates AAA30. Sweden BB31. Egypt BB32. Ireland A33. South Africa BBB34. Poland BB35. Hungary AAABloom Consulting Since 2003 countrybranding@bloom-consulting.com / +34 91 308 0286 (CET) Page 08

10. Country BrandDevelopment of CountriesHuman Asset Management Ranking Business Strategy Tourism Edition 2012Rank CBS Rating 36. Czech Republic A37. Indonesia B38. Saudi Arabia CCC39. Finland AAA40. Argentina AA41. Lebanon CCC42. Denmark A43. Norway AA44. New Zealand A45. Philippines AAA46. Slovenia AAA47. Brazil B48. Slovakia AAA49. Dominican Republic BBB50. Ukraine B51. Israel CCC52. Peru A53. Bulgaria BB54. Chile A55. Malta AAA56. Estonia AAA57. Cyprus A58. Luxembourg CCC59. Romania A60. Jordan CCCBloom Consulting Since 2003 countrybranding@bloom-consulting.com / +34 91 308 0286 (CET) Page 09

11. Country BrandDevelopment of CountriesHuman Asset Management Ranking Business Strategy Tourism Edition 2012Rank CBS Rating 61. Kenya AAA62. Lithuania AAA63. Guatemala A64. United Republic of Tanzania A65. Ethiopia A66. Viet Nam CC67. Uruguay BBB68. Mauritius A69. Colombia B70. Albania BB71. Iran B72. Costa Rica BB73. Tunisia CCC74. Panama CCC75. Cambodia BBB76. Sri Lanka AAA77. Serbia A78. Bahrain B79. Bahamas B80. Barbados BB81. Maldives AAA82. Cuba CC83. Ecuador AA84. Jamaica CCC85. Kazakhstan CCCBloom Consulting Since 2003 countrybranding@bloom-consulting.com / +34 91 308 0286 (CET) Page 10

12. Country BrandDevelopment of CountriesHuman Asset Management Ranking Business Strategy Tourism Edition 2012Rank CBS Rating 86. Iceland AAA87. Latvia BB88. Oman C89. Pakistan CC90. Venezuela BB91. Bosnia and Herzegovina BB92. Uganda A93. Georgia A94. Nepal AAA95. Ghana CCC96. El Salvador B97. Fiji BB98. Botswana AAA99. Belarus BBB100. Namibia AA101. Armenia AAA102. Montenegro CCC103. Nigeria CCC104. Honduras BB105. Trinidad and Tobago B106. Zimbabwe B107. Kuwait CCC108. Mongolia AA109. Seychelles A110. Saint Lucia ABloom Consulting Since 2003 countrybranding@bloom-consulting.com / +34 91 308 0286 (CET) Page 11

13. Country BrandDevelopment of CountriesHuman Asset Management Ranking Business Strategy Tourism Edition 2012Rank CBS Rating 111. Kyrgyzstan CCC112. Azerbaijan CC113. Senegal C114. Belize BBB115. Macedonia BBB116. Yemen C117. Angola C118. Rwanda BB119. Antigua and Barbuda B120. Madagascar CCC121. Algeria CCC122. Republic of Moldova B123. Laos People Democratic Republic CC124. Brunei Darussalam B125. Saint Kits and Nevis AA126. Zambia BBB127. Mozambique B128. Bolivia CCC129. Nicaragua CC130. Grenada BBB131. Cape Verde C132. Sudan B133. Samoa B134. Guyana BBB135. Cameroon CCBloom Consulting Since 2003 countrybranding@bloom-consulting.com / +34 91 308 0286 (CET) Page 12

14. Country BrandDevelopment of CountriesHuman Asset Management Ranking Business Strategy Tourism Edition 2012Rank CBS Rating 136. Paraguay D137. Solomon Islands BBB138. Dominica BB139. Myanmar B140. Togo CCC141. Suriname B142. Burkina Faso CCC143. Lesotho BBB144. Bhutan B145. Gambia B146. Cte dIvoire D147. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines CC148. Bangladesh C149. Timor-Leste B150. Sierra Leone B151. Comoros CCC152. Tajikistan CCC153. Swaziland CC154. Federated States of Micronesia D155. So Tom and Principe A156. Djibouti CCC157. Tonga D158. Kiribati BBB159. Papua New Guinea B160. Burundi CC161. Marshall Islands DBloom Consulting Since 2003 countrybranding@bloom-consulting.com / +34 91 308 0286 (CET) Page 13

15. Country BrandDevelopment of CountriesHuman Asset Management Ranking Business Strategy Tourism Edition 2012Bloom Consulting Country Brand Ranking CommentsThe United States continued its number one reign in the 2012 Bloom Consulting Country BrandRanking Tourism. The AA Rating indicates that the US tourism brand is very accurate whenconsidering tourism demand, and has a strong positive impact on its tourism industry. Althoughthe US saw a decline in tourism receipts from the previous year, the strong overall performanceand excellent CBS Rating ensured their continued supremacy.The remaining top countries include other strong economicperformers such as several powerhouse European countries,the upcoming BRIC countries and Asian economic hubs.Asia in particular performed extremely well in the 2012Ranking. Eight Asian countries finished in the top 25,with China as number four. Aided by both strong tourismreceipts and CBS Ratings , Thailand (6) and Malaysia(14) significantly improved from last year. For the firsttime, Macao was evaluated as an individual country andfinished with a bang at number eight. A notable absencewas Japan. With a BB rating that could not counteractthe residual effects of the tsunami, Japan suffereda three spot drop to number twenty-eight.Bloom Consulting Since 2003 countrybranding@bloom-consulting.com / +34 91 308 0286 (CET) Page 14

16. Country BrandDevelopment of CountriesHuman Asset Management Ranking Business Strategy Tourism Edition 2012Bloom Consulting Country Brand Ranking Comments, ContinuedThough European countries, especially Germany, the UK and Italy, have slipped in the Rankingsince last year, twelve European countries remained in the top 25. The continued prominencedespite decreased tourism receipts indicates that strong CBS Ratings can help weather thelingering economic stress in Europe.Interestingly, Africa had some surprising developments,especially in light of the recent political developments.Although none finished in the top 25, the top 50 was filledwith noticeable improvements from last year. Morocco (27)and United Arab Emirates (29) led the way with a respec-tive 3 and amazing 16 jump up in the ranking powered byAAA ratings.Decreased tourism opportunities were visible in several performances. Egypt (31) noticeablysuffered from the downturn in the industry, while Saudi Arabia also dropped. Notably, the studyestablished several African countries making slow but steady improvements, with Kenya, Tanza-nia and Ethiopia as countries to watch. This indicates both shifting tourist interests and thegeneral economic potential for the continent.Bloom Consulting Since 2003 countrybranding@bloom-consulting.com / +34 91 308 0286 (CET) Page 15

17. Country BrandDevelopment of CountriesHuman Asset Management Ranking Business Strategy Tourism Edition 2012Classification, References and SourcesAdditional information about the studyBloom Consulting divided the world into eleven geographic sectors and the four economicdevelopment stages in order to maintain the singularity of the region and compare countriesin a regional context.Bloom Consulting Geographic Regions1. Central and Southern Asia2. Europe3. Northern Africa4. Oceania5. Central and Middle Africa6. Central America and Caribbean7. South America8. Middle East9. Western and Southern Africa10. Northern America11. Eastern and South-Eastern AsiaThe four World Bank Income levels12. Low Income13. Lower Middle Income14. Upper Middle Income15. High Income (Includes both OECD and non-OECD)Further sources for countries income level classifications and geographic regions:The World Bank http://www.worldbank.org/The World Tourism Organization http://www2.unwto.org/enThe United Nations http://www.un.org/en/Bloom Consulting Since 2003 countrybranding@bloom-consulting.com / +34 91 308 0286 (CET) Page 16

18. Country BrandDevelopment of CountriesHuman Asset Management Ranking Business Strategy Tourism Edition 2012Bloom Consulting Country Brand RankingFAQs1) Who is this Ranking meant for?Bloom Consulting Country Brand Ranking is for anyone interested in place brandingfrom every perspective, whether youre in government, academia, industry, finance,or just find it interesting.2) Why did Bloom Consulting create a Ranking?Bloom Consulting created the Ranking to evaluate the impact of a countrys brand strategy ineconomic terms and, above all, to answer the ever relevant question of how countries canbecome more attractive.3) How does Bloom Consultings Ranking differ from other rankings?Bloom Consultings Ranking uses variables and methodology to generate a ranking far aheadof the field in terms of objectivity and innovation. Not only does Bloom Consulting base itsresearch on objective hard and soft facts, rather than using survey based data like other rankings,it is also the first ranking to take tourist demand into account.4) What is new in the 2012 edition of the Ranking?The 2012 edition of the Ranking features the inclusion of Tourist Online Search Demand (OSD)in the Bloom Algorithm. By analysing consumer behaviour and the effectiveness of countrybrand strategies, the newest Ranking raises the bar by giving a pioneering view of the globaltourism industry from a supply and demand angle.5) How can a state have a poor CBS Rating , but do well in the Ranking?If a country has a negative CBS Rating , its brand strategy is not actively reflecting what thecountry has to offer (in the eyes of tourist-demand). Even though its economic performancemight still be strong, the tourism strategy is not taking advantage of the countrys unique sellingpropositions.Bloom Consulting Since 2003 countrybranding@bloom-consulting.com / +34 91 308 0286 (CET) Page 17

19. Country BrandDevelopment of CountriesHuman Asset Management Ranking Business Strategy Tourism Edition 2012Bloom ConsultingAboutBloom Consulting is a strategy consulting firm specialized in country branding.Jos Filipe Torres founded Bloom Consulting in 2003 and is a regular spokesperson at confer-ences and universities worldwide. Both The Economist and Forbes have interviewed Mr Torres,where he was identified as one of the top 3 country branding experts in the world.Currently Bloom Consulting has offices in So Paulo, Mumbai, Lisbon, Madrid (headquarters)and Los Angeles, as well as research centres in Tokyo and London. Bloom Consulting worksclosely with presidents, monarchs, ministers and institutions in order to define their strategy,establish their vision, and implement it. Blooms clients include the Bulgarian, Latvian, Polish,Portuguese and Spanish governments, and also regions such as Madrid, Castilla y Leon in Spain,and center and the southwest regions of Portugal.Bloom Consulting has developed the 3T approach that separates Trade, Tourism, and Talentstrategies into three different Country Branding Strategies.One fundamental point of all of Bloom Consultings projects is the CAMPRO methodology .This methodology is a combination of academic and professional knowledge under BloomConsultings management and control, key to obtaining the most accurate recommendationsand insights for all clients.Moreover Bloom Consulting has published the:Bloom Consulting US State Brand Ranking 2012and is currently developing the:Bloom Consulting India State Brand Ranking 2013Additional InformationWhile this report provides a general overview, the information presented here is buta glimpse of the findings we have at your disposal. Please do not hesitate to contact us if youwould like a personalized and detailed version of the Bloom Consulting Country BrandingRanking Report for your country, region or city.For more information, please visit:www.bloom-consulting.com/en/country-brands-rankingBloom Consulting Since 2003 countrybranding@bloom-consulting.com / +34 91 308 0286 (CET) Page 18