The Importance of Branding London as a Global Tourism Destination in UK

As more tourism destinations emerge and competition for visitors becomes more intense, a destination’s ability to project itself on the world stage and differentiate itself from others is ever more important. London has undoubtedly the highest popularity among international tourists. It is also dominant in terms of the amount of heritage-related investment. So, brandig London not only as a real cultural capital but also as one of the coolest global cities, as the hospitable and safe multi-cultural host of the 2012 Olympics is very important for UK tourism development. This new brand image is so different from the traditionally held view of the city of Harrods, the Royal Family. The study aims to discuss the following objectives: Reviewing the literature of branding destinations and related concepts; The advantages of branding London city as a means of promoting the city’s features, positive image and benefits by giving an example of successful destinations in branding management process; The importance of branding for 2012 Olympic Games. The result of the study shows that the real competition between tourism destinations based on intangible tourism services such as providing tourists expectation, security, satisfaction and positive image which happens by branding the destination image as a safe and hospitable location. Therefore, in order to enhance tourism in london as a UK dominant heritage site the tangible and intangible tourism services and attractions should be combined together.