The brand and design company FutureBrand announced Canada was the most powerful country brand in the world for the second year in a row on Thursday at the World Travel Market in London, England.
The decision is based on the Country Brand Index (CBI), which was created through interviews with 3,400 travellers from 13 countries.
According to the CBI, the most important factors that differentiate a nation's brand are its associations and attributes: The qualities people think of when they hear a country's name, read or see images of a location, or plan a business or leisure trip.
"Canada's continued rating at the top of FutureBrand's Country Brand Index is a testament to our country's global appeal," Minister of State for Small Business and Tourism Maxime Bernier said in a release.
A country's brand is a measure of international reputation, the FutureBrand release said.
Canadian Tourism Commission president and CEO Michele McKenzie said the nod is important not only to encourage more people to visit, but to get more people to invest in the country.
"While Canada's tourism brand has grown into a powerful cultural force and a marketing tool to inspire visitation, it also has largely untapped potential as a lever to drive trade and investment in ideas, education and business," McKenzie said in the release. "In this period of global economic turbulence, by showing the world that Canada is a dynamic, modern and cosmopolitan society, we're not just inviting the world to visit us, we're capitalizing on our positive reputation to open new doors and create new opportunities."
