To Silvestrelli the Mediterranean is the birthplace of the
religious, political and cultural identity of a number of people.
ognised tourism landmarks. The
present image of the region is in
a sense unipolar, best represented by a few countries to the rest of
the world. However, with over 21
countries along the coast, there is
a dire need to broad base & unify
the current perception.
Predating Stonehenge and the Pyramids by centuries, the Ġgantija Temples in Xagħra,
Gozo was a place of religious pilgrimage for the ancient inhabitants of Malta, and even
North Africa and Sicily.
One of the main aims
of the Foundation
is to boost
cooperation among
all Mediterranean
tourism stakeholders,
enabling us to
think of ourselves
as a team working
together, rather than
competitors fighting
for the same bone
INSIDER SPECIAL EDITION
Prathish Nair is the Chief Business
Architect of Trancend|Orb Brand
Consulting. He is a passionate
brand advocate who believes in creating path-breaking ideas for business growth. He likes to break the
boundaries, spot the opportunities
and build brand experiences to
unlock true business potential. He
too is one of the MTF’s advisory
board members.
To Nair in all of history the Mediterranean has been a melting pot
of extraordinary expeditions, cultures, artists, people and without
doubt one of the most important
commercial hubs of the world.
Nair says that “To travellers from
the BRIC region, it still remains
one of the most revered destinations with its eye-quenching
imagery. The Foundation is an
important step to transform the
regional assets into globally rec-
“Destination branding is about
identifying
the
destination’s
strongest and most competitively appealing assets in the eyes of
its prospective visitors, buildi ng
a story from these that makes the
destination stand out, and running this narrative consistently
through all marketing communications. The Foundation should
work as a catalyst among the member nations and the world as a
whole to maximise opportunities
of the destination brand. The
Mediterranean region has access
to some of the world’s best assets,
both well-known and unknown,
and must strive to unlock its true
potential.”
To Nair finding a balance between
limits and usage is imperative so that
continuous changing, monitoring
and planning ensure that tourism
can be managed in the region. This
requires thinking long-term and
realizing that change is often cumulative, gradual and irreversible.
The Mediterranean is a culturally
vibrant destination which needs to
tap its resources and package them
in an unmistakable manner to appeal to all future travellers.
Nair feels that tourism has changed
in these last years and now more has
to be done to attract different travellers. Shopping tourism, spa tourism, food tourism, adventure tourism, festival tourism, are leading the
way, However, country-specific or
culture-specific events with a Mediterranean twist, such as Diwali for
Indians, Gong Chi Fa Cai for Chinese, could be explored to create
a unique yet personal experience.
2015
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