Branding Montenegro as a Tourism Destination

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Branding Montenegro as a Tourism Destination

MA Thesis in European Studies Graduate School for Humanities Universiteit van Amsterdam

Main supervisor: Prof. Dr. Luiza Bialasiewicz Second Supervisor: Dr. Karin van Leeuwen

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Pictures front cover explained

Upper left corner: the beach and island Sveti Stefan as depicted on the website of Grand Luxury Hotels.1

Upper right corner: picture of the online gallery of the Regent Porto Montenegro hotel.2

Bottom left corner: picture of the multimedia section ‘canyons’ on the National Tourism Organisation of Montenegro’s website.3

Bottom right corner: personal photo from the Illyrian fort in Kotor.

1 “Photos & Videos of the Aman Sveti Stefan,” Aman Sveti Stefan, Grand Luxury Hotels, accessed June 25, 2018, https://www.grandluxuryhotels.com/hotel/aman-sveti-stefan.

2 “Gallery,” Porto Montenegro: Gallery, Regent, accessed June 25, 2018, https://www.regenthotels.com/regent-portomontenegro/gallery.

3 “Canyons,” Multimedia: Photo, National Tourism Organisation of Montenegro, accessed June 25, 2018,

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Maps of Montenegro4

4 The bottom picture is taken from Montenegro Pulse (“Home,” Home, Montenegro Pulse, accessed June 26, 2018, https://www.montenegropulse.com/). Montenegro’s municipal (left) and regional division (right) are administratively registered.

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List of figures

2.1 “Ancient” Skopje versus socialist Skopje 15

2.2 Logo of accession of Montenegro to NATO 18

3.1 Logo TripAdvisor 25

3.2 Croatia’s and Montenegro’s brand name and mark 27

3.3 The old bazaars in Sarajevo and Skopje 30

3.4 Montenegro in Europe and on the Mediterranean shore 32

3.5 Stara Maslina in Bar 35

4.1 Montenegro in Europe and the Montenegrin flag 36

4.2 Sveti Stefan 37

4.3 ‘Wild Beauty,’ a closer look 38

4.4 Map of Budva and Sveti Stefan 44

4.5 Symbolic Porto Montenegro 45

4.6 Sahat Kula in Stara Varo š 48

5.1 ‘Croatia Sailing Yacht’ stops in Montenegro 55

5.2 Reduce Your Carbon Footprint project in Montenegro 60

6.1 Perast at the Bay of Kotor 69

8.1 Budva in brochure TUI Netherlands 183

8.2 Hotel Majestic in brochure TUI Netherlands 183

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1. Introduction

The four pictures on the front page depict a holiday destination in Europe. The destination is known for beach tourism, luxury travel, alternative (active) travel and incoming cruise ships. It could be Greece, it could be Italy, it could be Croatia. The flag betrays, however, it is one of Europe’s youngest and smallest nations; Montenegro.

The official slogan of Montenegro’s national tourism organisation is called ‘Wild Beauty.’5

Montenegro’s ‘destination brand’ is encapsulated in this slogan. A ‘destination brand’ is what a destination’s competitive identity consists of.6_{In order to be competitive in the international}

tourism market, a destination needs to stand out.7_{Given Montenegro’s status as a ‘nation,’ the}

concept of ‘nation branding’ is applied when Montenegro ‘brands’ itself. Branding does not just take place among nations, but on several levels, such as among cities and regions. Many principles underpinning ‘nation branding’ stem from branding in (product) marketing.

‘Nation branding’ is the central concept of this thesis. Place branding can benefit a destination economically. Beside economic amelioration, place branding can also be used in order to ameliorate a place’s reputation. In this thesis, it will be argued that many countries have been attracted to apply nation branding to improve their reputations. Many countries have either not be independent during the Cold War or were not able to pursue their own course. After the collapse of both the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia, many countries were able, again, to choose for their own. They entered the international stage and could independently try to improve their reputation. Hence, the attraction for many countries to support their - often bad or lacking at all - reputation on the international stage via nation branding. Montenegro is an interesting case study, because it only became an independent country in 2006. Montenegro needs to catch up quickly with other countries, concerning branding. As will be argued in this thesis, tourism is a very useful tool in the field of branding. Montenegro is relatively new on the international tourism market. Montenegro is therefore a very interesting case to investigate how nation branding works, especially via tourism.

5 “Home,” Home, National Tourism Organisation of Montenegro, accessed June 11, 2018,

https://www.montenegro.travel/en.

6 European Travel Commission and World Tourism Organisation, Handbook on Tourism Destination Branding, (World Tourism Organisation: Madrid, 2009), 18.

7 Keith Dinnie, “The Relevance, Scope and Evolution of Nation Branding: Defining ‘Brand’ and ‘Nation-Brand’,” in Nation Branding: Concepts, Issues, Practice, ed. by Keith Dinnie (Butterworth-Heinemann: Oxford, 2008), 14-15.

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This has led to the title of this thesis:

Branding Montenegro as a tourism destination And also the research question:

How does Montenegro try to rebrand itself as a destination in order to attract international tourists?

In order to understand how nation branding in tourism works, with a special focus on Montenegro, it is important to first understand the concept of nation branding. One needs to understand what it stands for, why it is relevant and how it works. This will be discussed in the first chapter of this thesis; Chapter 2 Nation branding. This chapter will remain on a general level with various examples of branding.

Chapter 3 is called ‘Tourism from a metageographical perspective’ and elaborates on the theoretical framework of the first chapter. Once the concept ‘branding’ is understood, it will be explained why tourism is a useful tool in the branding industry. Why is especially tourism such a useful tool to support a place’s image? Furthermore, the ‘-re’ in ‘rebranding’ Montenegro as a tourism destination’ will be explained with the help of ‘metageography.’ Montenegro is located on the Mediterranean shore, but is often geographically perceived as a Balkan country. It is important to explore the connotations behind ‘Mediterranean’ and ‘Balkan.’ This relates to the concept of ‘metageography.’ In the research for this case study, the extent these geographical names play a role in Montenegro’s (re)branding attempts will be looked at. Should Montenegro be seen as a Mediterranean country, rather than a Balkan country? Part of Montenegro’s Mediterranean legacy is the history. This history can arguably be put in opposition to the country’s recent post-socialist history. Does Montenegro distance itself not just geographically, but also historically? My hypothesis relies on the importance of geographical names and historical legacies and whether this reliance is justified will be discussed.

This is where the theory will be linked to practice, which can only be understood with the help of the theoretical framework of chapter 2 and 3. Chapter 4, called ‘Wild Beauty,’ is about Montenegro as a destination brand. In tourism terms, how does Montenegro want to be perceived and what is the current status of Montenegro’s tourism industry? The current status has contributed to Montenegro’s branding message as it is nowadays. The branding message

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is constituted both by economic benefits, as well as the challenges the country faces (sometimes) due to these economic benefits.

The final chapter is on the ‘translation’ of branding Montenegro on the international tourism market. It will be explored how the international market brands Montenegro, notably how certain actors brand certain kinds of tourism in Montenegro. Via several ways, international actors have contributed to a greater or lesser extent to the challenges Montenegro faces nowadays and seeks solutions for. A changing brand message is a response to these challenges. How these actors brand Montenegro to their targeted audiences and how international actors possibly contribute to the challenges Montenegro faces, will be investigated, as well as how they keep the system intact. Still existing incongruences between Montenegro’s nation branding attempts – what it at least hopes to brand - and how Montenegro is often branded internationally keep these challenges intact.

Finally, a conclusion will follow in which this thesis is summarized and an answer to the research question will be given. What will be concluded after the research, will also lead to general recommendations on how to develop tourism in Montenegro. Besides, suggestions for further research will follow.

A few words need to be dedicated here to the methodology and the type of sources. In order to write about ‘nation branding,’ about connotations on the Mediterranean and the Balkans and theories on branding in the tourism industry, general (primary) sources on these theoretical issues will be looked into. Examples of these sources include, among others, theories of ‘nation branding’ father Simon Anholt and Maria Todorova’s theories on Balkanism.8

Secondary sources will be used to support the theoretical framework. Especially secondary sources on Montenegro will be looked into in the fourth and fifth chapter. In relation to the case study international tour operators’ websites and holiday offers will be investigated. These include, for example, the websites of the several TUI ‘source markets’ and those of Sunweb.9

In order to understand the Montenegrin stance on the branded message of Montenegro, ‘official’ sources will be looked into, such as official documents (of the Montenegrin Ministry of Sustainable Development and Tourism) and the National Tourism Organisation’s information. To strengthen the arguments in chapter 4 and 5 statistics are used, as well as information gained from conducted interviews. The Statistical Office of Montenegro 8 Simon Anholt, Places: Identity, Image and Reputation, (Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2010) and Maria Todorova, Imagining the Balkans, (New York: Oxford University Press, 2009).

9 Such as “TUI Netherlands,” Home, TUI Group, accessed May 1, 2018, https://www.tui.nl, “TUI Germany,” Home, TUI Group, accessed May 1, 2018, https://www.tui.com and “Sunweb Belgium,” Home, Sunweb Group, accessed May 1, 2018, https://www.sunweb.be/nl.

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(MONSTAT) has, for example, provided a high amount of data. In addition to documented sources, interviews are crucial to gain an in-depth understanding of the dynamics of branding that cannot be obtained from documents, statistics and articles. The interviews were conducted both in Montenegro – including interviews with the Ministry of Sustainable Development and Tourism, (British) tour operator Black Mountain, (Montenegrin) tour operator Ocean Pink Travel and the University of Montenegro: Faculty of Tourism – and in The Netherlands – including interviews with (Dutch) tour operator Montenegro Reizen, Europe Destination Marketing and tour operator TUI Netherlands. I have been able to get in touch with most of the interviewees after the conduction of the interview for follow-up questions in order to clarify some issues. In addition, a questionnaire had been sent and filled in by the National Tourism Organisation of Montenegro. This wide variety of sources and methodology will support a justified and elaborate answer to the research question.

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2. Nation Branding

In order to better understand the application of nation branding in the tourism sector, one first needs to understand the concept of nation branding. This is the topic of the first chapter. General theories and ideas will be highlighted here. Many nations have been branded. The controversy over Russia’s tourism board’s logo – it included the Crimea -10_{and Estonia’s}

complete brand book11_{are examples that fit nation branding campaigns. Branding projects}

have been used as examples to underpin theories and ideas in this research field. In some cases, examples were used that are similar to Montenegro. Hence, where it fits, Montenegro will be used as an example. One should keep in mind that this chapter is dedicated to a general assessment of the concept of place branding, not Montenegro only. Chapter 4 and 5 focus on the case study.

Furthermore, a note should be made. Place branding in this thesis involves nation branding. Place branding can also involve other geographic entities, such as regions and cities (for example the I Amsterdam signs spread over the whole city fitting city branding).12

Mainly, this thesis will focus on nation branding, rather than on other entities. What is most important, however, is the concept of branding. The term ‘nation’ in itself is contested, but in the literature and practice of branding, it is often equated with a state. In this thesis there will be no in-depth look into the concept ‘nation’ and this equation will be made as well. A definition that could be given to this term, is as follows:

‘[…] any community larger than one of mutual acquaintance that claims some form of collective, bounded, territorial sovereignty in the name of distinctive identity, or any population in its capacity as a society on whose behalf such claims are asserted.’13

Despite primarily focusing on branding, issues will be called upon that relate to the ‘nation,’ especially claims to national distinctiveness.

10

Gunseli Yalcinkay, “Russian Tourist Board Unveils New Visual Identity Inspired by Suprematist Art,”

Dezeen, published January 17, 2018, https://bit.ly/2l6SwMA.

11 Enterprise Estonia, “Estonia Style,” (Estonia, 2002),

https://www.eas.ee/images/doc/eesti_tutvustamine/brand_estonia/estonia-brand-book.pdf.

12 “Home,” Home, Stichting Amsterdam Marketing, accessed February 21, 2018,

https://www.iamsterdam.com/nl.

13 Aviel Roshwald, The Endurance of Nationalism, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006), 3. This is not necessarily a perfect definition of the term. The focus of this thesis is on branding and for the sake of the length of this thesis, there will be no deep elaboration of this concept.

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2.1 Place Branding: Why and How?

The purpose of branding - whether a city, region or in the case of Montenegro a nation – is quite simple. Geographical entities are equated to act like brands in order to reach certain goals.14_{Branding originates from the functioning of brands in the field of marketing. A brand}

comes with positive and/or negative connotations. People buy products, because of the reputation that has been built by the brand. Likewise, people do not buy products if a brand comes with a negative connotation. Something similar applies to place branding. Simon Anholt, perhaps the most influential figure in the field of place branding, argues that reputations go before nations on the international stage. If a (company of a) country is to export products internationally, some countries come across more hurdles than others.15_This

is based on the reputation a country bears. Anholt uses the example of Canada versus Bangladesh. One can imagine the same applies to Montenegro. It is likely that a relatively new state in south-eastern Europe like Montenegro has to struggle a lot more with its reputation than say Sweden. This is where nation branding comes in, since nation branding tries to brand nations (more) positively in order to change the existing reputation. The overall goal appears pretty simple, but how does that work in practice?

A nation wants to build a positive image of itself in order to attain the benefits that come with having a positive connotation– whether economically, politically or in another field - and to become equated with that brand. This previous sentence encapsulates the most important elements of place branding. Here follows an explanation of all these different elements. It should be noted most examples are from the field of tourism, however tourism is not the only ‘field’ in which place branding is applied. Other fields include among others hosting international events – these can work as outlets for branding the nation or city positively, such as the Olympic Games and the Eurovision Song Contest. It includes being a European Capital of Culture as well. This project roughly aims at bringing Europe closer to its citizens and regards ‘raising the international profile of cities’ of ‘secondary’ value.16_It

14 Simon Anholt, Places: Identity, Image and Reputation, 4. 15 Ibid., 4.

16 “European Capitals of Culture,” Actions, European Commission, accessed February 21, 2018,

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could still fit into branding. Still, tourism is often related to place branding.17_{More on the}

relationship between branding and tourism follows in the third chapter.

The created image should be positive. Whether the created image is truthful, could be questioned. In order for an image to work successfully, only positive elements should be included, hence negative elements should be left out. This seems simple, but it is artificial in the sense that there is a side – which constitutes a place as well - that the spectator is not allowed to see. A symbolic example of such selectivity is represented in the YouTube videos by Karabakh Travel,18_{linked to the Nagorno-Karabakh Ministry of Economy.}19_{In these}

videos, the breakaway region is presented as a beautiful destination to go to, however this region is generally perceived as having a bad reputation and still being in a frozen conflict. The ‘country’ is trying to move forward to a better future and distances itself from its past and reputation. This example is chosen, because it serves ‘selectivity’ in the most extreme sense, since the region’s reputation and status are possibly almost exclusively negative. It shows how this selectivity works. It is a recurring theme in many nation branding applications,20

however often on a more moderate level, including in Montenegro. Videos like the aforementioned one also exist for Montenegro.21_{Such videos and other tools of using nation}

branding come with selectivity. The feeling of being selective should however not be felt by the receiver of the message, otherwise the opposite of what it aims at is achieved. If the receiver feels the message is selective and therefore not entirely true, the receiver does not believe in the message. Is the message convincing enough to be taken as truth? Selectivity is about trying to make people change their minds about certain places, in particularly the bad reputation. It will be looked at how people should start to think about Montenegro.

Similarity and the opposite ‘distinctiveness’ are enhanced by today’s use of nation branding in a globalizing world. On the one hand, place branding is similar – in pattern - in different places, because countries try to move forward by building a positive image of itself.

17 There will be not be much focus on other levels of place branding (such as regions and cities) and how tourism can relate to it, but for example the European Commission’s website on the European Capitals of

Culture project also acknowledges the opportunity it (the project) offers to boost tourism.

18 “Admirable Nature of Karabakh,” Karabakh Travel, YouTube, published December 15, 2015,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGzRhYgNLwc. This is an example of such a video. It can be argued that it cannot rely on much else than nature.

19 The word ‘selectivity’ is preferred to ‘artificiality,’ since the former word implies that it is not entirely true, since it leaves out certain elements. Artificiality implies much more in being created, rather than partially being true.

20 Leslie de Cherchatony, “The Relevance, Scope and Evolution of Nation Branding: Why Countries Engage in Nation Branding,” in: Nation Branding: Concepts, Issues, Practice, ed. by Keith Dinnie (Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford: 2008), 17.

21 “Pictures That Get You Moving – MONTENEGRO,” Montenegro, YouTube, published, August 1, 2014, https://youtu.be/i1YHnh3y8N4 . This video was published by the National Tourism Organisation of

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On the other hand, due to globalization, countries need to stand out in order to become subsequently equated with that brand (with specific (positive) connotations). This goes back to selectivity. It is however not just about selectivity, but about being convincingly selective.22

A country should be imagined by the international community as different from others. This distinctiveness has become even more important in the globalizing world, especially after the end of the Cold War. Central and Eastern European countries needed to get ‘back’ to the international arena. These countries tend to be forgotten due to their non-presence on the global stage.23_{If there is almost no image, there is almost no reputation as well. This means}

that these countries need to work all the much harder in order to establish a positive reputation. This principle is pretty simple. The more well-established and positive image a country bears in the international community, the less harm bad news causes. If something bad happens in the United States the image of the country will not be severely damaged,24

whereas it does so if something similar happens in Montenegro, because Montenegro has nothing to build on. Hence, positive news will only come as a confirmation of a positive reputation, especially if the reputation is established. If a country does not have a well-established and positive reputation in the international community, the more harm negative news might cause on the country’s reputation.

Countries like Montenegro have been “off the map” for too long to feel relevant for most other countries. Given the idea of relevance, news from Montenegro and countries alike is not widely covered unless the news is relevant to other countries. Probably Montenegrin news is much more covered in its surrounding region, than in the West. Countries like Montenegro will unlikely permeate through the international news on a frequent scale, let alone positively (in order to alter and establish a good reputation). Their best way into people’s mind more likely, is by applying branding. States try to become ‘brand states,’ a term that has been coined by Peter van Ham.25_{Reputation matters in all cases, except if a}

country is not interested at all in participating in the international community, reputation does not matter. In today’s world, it has come however almost impossible to not engage in the global world – with some exceptions that try to, such as North-Korea.

22 The same is true for the communities themselves. Communities do not evolve around being (partially) true or false, but how style shapes how communities are imagined (among the community members themselves). Communities, according to Benedict Anderson, are already necessarily imagined when communities are larger than “primordial villages of face-to-face contact.” Benedict Anderson, “Chapter 4,” in: Imagined Communities:

Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism, Benedict Anderson (London: Verso, 1983), 49.

23 Simon Anholt, Places: Identity, Image and Reputation, 65. 24 Ibid., 135.

25 Peter Van Ham, “The Rise of the Brand State: The Postmodern Politics of Image and Reputation,” Foreign

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2.2 Reduction versus Richness

The relevance has been shown to make use of the concept of place branding. Place branding might serve in establishing a (more) positive reputation on the international stage. The image should purvey a message that portrays the country as “forward-looking” and often eliminating the more negative elements of the past, but at the same time trying to be distinctive in the globalizing world. As for the past however, in order to be distinctive nation branding often refers back to ‘national’ traditions or at least more glorious historical times.26_{A very obvious}

example of on the one hand neglecting certain elements of the past and on the other hand highlighting other elements from the past, has been played out and is still being played out by (the Former Yugoslav Republic of) Macedonia.27_{This country jumps into history with its}

so-called ‘antiquisation’ policy by claiming to be the right heir of Macedonian nationhood and not paying attention to its more recent past.28

The point to make here is that branding

tends to be selective in its past. On the one hand, it highlights certain times, on the other it

26 This is reminiscent of Eric Hobsbawm’s idea of the invention of traditions. Eric Hobsbawm, “The invention of Tradition,” ed. by Eric Hobsbawm and Terence Ranger (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1983). 27 The left picture is taken from Weekend Steden (“Porta Macedonia,” Stedentrip: Skopje, Weekend Steden, accessed June 26, 2018, https://bit.ly/2tC3wW0) and the right one from Booking.com (“Martina Apartment,” Accommodation, Booking.com, accessed June 26, 2018, https://booki.ng/2MqOQB6).

28

Author unknown, “The ‘Skopje 2014’ Project: Rebranding a City along Ethnic Lines,” LSE, published December 15, 2015. http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/lsee/2014/12/15/brand-old-skopje/ and “Appendix VI: Europe Destination Marketing,” 166.

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discredits others. In this thesis, it will also be looked at how Montenegro also tries to distance itself from the same socialist past.

This distinctiveness is mainly played out on the international level. Nations need to be different from each other, but different voices within the country are often not allowed to play a role on the international level. Many authors who have written on nation branding have argued that the image of a country is often simplified and does not take into account the differences that are internal to the country.29_{In the era of globalization the world has arguably}

become more complex, because more international players have been playing a role in the international community. Simple, coherent messages from countries/players are needed in order to cope with the complexity globalization brings. This is problematic, because it generalizes the different strands that might exist within a country. On the one hand, it could help unify the country, which relates to nation building, on the other hand, it also poses a threat to the unity within a country. Expressing a simplified narrative about a nation might trigger divergent national consciousness from people that do not identify with that narrative.30

Nation building and unifying the country is quite important in our case study. The Montenegrin language for example is the official language of Montenegro, but it is still an issue of dispute.31_{Nation branding might serve the purpose of nation building, such as with}

regard to language issues. If the Montenegrin language is actively promoted as part of nation branding, people might eventually identify their language as Montenegrin (rather than Serbian). A way to overcome identity problems of a top-down approach in constructing the state’s narrative is by an approach of ‘co-creation.’32_{This means that there is a participatory}

value to the process of creating a national narrative. The purpose of nation building will not be focused on especially in this thesis, but one has to keep this in mind.

29 Such as Simon Anholt (For example: Simon Anholt, Places: Identity, Image and Reputation, 38) and Zana Volcić & Mark Andrejević (Mark Andrejević and Zala Volcić, “Nation Branding in the Era of Commercial

Nationalism,” International Journal of Communication 5 (2011), 609,

http://ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/article/view/849/544) do.

30 This might be an explanation for the recent problems in Spain in relation to Catalonia. Anholt also writes on the discomfort Catalonians possibly experience with regard to their identity that does not correspond with the ‘brand image’ of Spain in the international community. This is a bold statement to make and should be looked into in order to see whether this actually is the case. Simon Anholt, Places: Identity, Image and Reputation, 25. 31 Mark Lowen, “Montenegro Embroiled in Language Row,” BBC, last updated February 19, 2010,

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8520466.stm. This issue is not only playing an issue in Montenegro, so has it in other ex-Yugoslav republics. Bosnian for example is recognised as one of the three official languages of Bosnia and Herzegovina alongside Serbian and Croatian. All three languages are supposed to be varieties of the pluricentric language of Serbo-Croatian. Furthermore, this is not a typical ex-Yugoslav issue. A similar issue is playing out in Moldova. It can be questioned whether ‘Moldovan’ is a language of itself or actually just Romanian. The presidential website has no option for the Romanian language, only ‘Moldovan,’ Russian and English (“Home,” Home, Preşidinţia Republicii Moldova, accessed February 22, 2018,

http://www.presedinte.md/).

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Alongside either serving or weakening nation building, there is another process at stake when reducing the nation to an essence. Paradoxically, reduction could eventually lead to expressing the diversity of the country. If nation branding works well, that is to say if it helps in establishing a positive image of a country that is better resistant to bad news, only then a country is able to showcase the richness of the country. This means in other words that a country is more than just the simplified imago it usually promotes. This is what Simon Anholt calls the extracting of the complexity back out of the distillate.33_{A country needs to}

make a distillate first in order to capture people’s imagination. It is taken for granted that a global world is in need of simple and coherent messages to understand the different actors that (try to) operate in this world. This idea stems from marketing. In marketing, it impossible to ‘know’ all the different actors well enough (to trust them). A brand needs to be equated with the quality of a product. If a well-established (positive) brand launches a new product, it is more easily trusted upon than on a totally new brand. This applies to countries or brand states as well. What Anholt calls a ‘cloud of trust’ needs to be established (on the basis of previous experiences),34_{so that brand (‘country’) loyalty can come into existence.}35_{Montenegro needs}

to prove its ‘quality’ through branding in order to diversify its image. The international community needs to be familiar first with Montenegro in order for Montenegro to start ‘sub-branding.’36

Once a simplified country image is well and positively established, ‘sub-branding’ can come in. This also depends on the audience. Different regions within for example the United Kingdom can probably be more easily branded in European countries, than in Brazil. Arguably the United Kingdom is more relevant to Europe than it is for Brazil. Here one gets back to the principle of relevance and the paradoxical relationship between reduction and diversity in nation branding.

33 Simon Anholt, Places: Identity, Image and Reputation, 40. 34 Simon Anholt, Places: Identity, Image and Reputation, 23.

35 Mark Andrejević and Zala Volcić, “Nation Branding in the Era of Commercial Nationalism.” This comes back in the whole article.

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2.3 Aligning Substance, Symbolic Actions and Strategy

In the penultimate paragraph quality and previous experiences were already mentioned. These two constitute a dual relationship together with branding. Branding cannot go entirely without previous experiences (and quality). If a country makes

substantial progress, but is not mentioned in the media, also due

to not engaging (well enough) with nation branding, the image of a country is unlikely to alter. If a country does make progress and does try to portray itself with these assets, perceptions are more likely to change. If a country engages in nation branding, but does not do anything substantially, it

does so purely for branding reasons and the reputation is unlikely to change. Actual policy and branding need to be aligned.37_{For example, if North-Korea would promote itself as the}

perfect country, most people would among others be questioning what life is actually like in the country. The portrayed image and the actual policy would not correspond. It can however be questioned whether North-Korea wants to engage in branding at all, since it tries to engage limitedly with the international community.38_{There need to be a branding strategy, substance}

and symbolic actions.39_{These need to converge in order to work successfully. Symbolic}

actions should be seen as affirmations of a certain direction that a country is going in, as well as affirmations of the existing images of the country. Russia ‘taking’ over Crimea, can be seen as a symbolic action, one which fits the image that Russia bears in the West. As for Montenegro, Montenegro joined NATO on June 5, 2017. Montenegro had to adjust its policy to become a member of the organisation and its formal recognition can be seen as a symbolic action for siding with the West and showcasing in which direction it is going.40_{Joining NATO}

37 Simon Anholt, “The Relevance, Scope and Evolution of Nation Branding: Nation Branding Issues and Initiatives,” in: Nation Branding: Concepts, Issues, Practice, ed. by Keith Dinnie (Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford: 2008), 23.

38 There will be no elaboration in this thesis to what extent North-Korea tries to isolate itself. 39 Simon Anholt, Places: Identity, Image and Reputation, 13.

40

This is best symbolised by the anger it caused among the Russians. Russia does not back Montenegro’s accession to NATO. For example: Author unknown, “Montenegro Ratifies NATO Membership in Historic Shift to Western Alliance,” The Guardian, published April 28, 2017, https://bit.ly/2LQKZNj.

Figure 2.2 Logo of Accession of Montenegro to NATO

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is considered a symbol of a country’s place and status in the international community.41

Joining NATO might contribute to a more positive image of the country and fits the strategy the country pursues. Substance, symbolic actions and strategy all come together in Montenegro’s integration in NATO.

If a country makes use of nation branding without actually making a difference, nation branding operates in a vacuum and the nation will not see its reputation improve. The vacuum refers to branding only and not actually engaging in adapting policy accordingly. Branding also requires a product – in this case a country – that is worthy of being branded. A country is worthy of being branded as making progress, if it is actually making progress. This is often overlooked and countries apply it as if it will quickly make an impact without doing something substantially. This will come back in the case study of Montenegro. The alignment or non-alignment of policy and branding comes back in Anholt’s statement on ‘competitive identity.’ He, who coined the term ‘nation branding’ himself, has later stated that ‘competitive identity’ would have been a more appropriate term to use than ‘nation branding,’ because it is much more about competitiveness than about branding.42_{‘Nation branding’ as a term has}

however become widely accepted as a term in relation to boosting a(n) (international) reputation that comes with different benefits.

A country like Montenegro needs to brand itself in order to alter the image. Opinion is unlikely to change otherwise. The country has to do this by aligning its strategy with substance and make use of symbolic actions. Subsequently, Montenegro needs to brand it accordingly.

2.4 Summary and Geography

In this chapter is has briefly been explained how nation branding works. What is most important, is the working of branding. ‘Nation’ is a contested term one should keep in mind. When a branding strategy is developed it is hoped that a geographical entity becomes equated with an acting brand to reach certain goals. This originates from marketing. People often buy products on the basis of the good reputation of the brand and the converse also applies. What follows is that a reputation goes before the product. The same applies to nations. In the international arena positive and negative connotations go before the ‘brand state.’ In order to change the reputation of the nation, nation branding is an appealing concept. Subsequently, countries engage in creating a positive image of themselves and leaving out negative issues. 41 Peter Van Ham, “The Rise of the Brand State: The Postmodern Politics of Image and Reputation,” 5.

42 Simon Anholt, “The Relevance, Scope and Evolution of Nation Branding: Nation Branding Issues and Initiatives,” 22. This thesis sticks to the more ‘traditional’ view on ‘nation branding.’

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Often countries portray themselves as moving forward and distancing themselves from (certain parts of) the past. Therefore, this can be selective. Often this pattern of forward and (selectively) not backward-looking view is similar in countries applying nation branding. However, countries try to be distinctive from one another in order to stand out in the globalizing world. Almost all countries try to engage in the international community, even more so after the end of the Cold War. Many countries have tried to come ‘back’ to the international community that have often long been forgotten. Many Central and Eastern European countries had to rebuild an image from scratch. There is a rather weak image of these countries. This image needs to become well-established and positive. The more positive and well-established a country’s image is, the more resistant it is against bad news and the more easily it can engage in the international community. Much harm can still be done to these countries if the image remains weak. What makes it even harder for them to become an important player in the international community is that many other countries do not see them – with a bad reputation or even lacking one – as relevant to them. Hence, the attractiveness of becoming a brand state is. This is their ‘easiest’ and most attractive way to engage in the international community.

Due to the complexity of a global world, a simple and coherent message should be sent throughout the world. This is somewhat paradoxical, because the message is rather bland. Once a country is understood properly on the international stage and it has established a stable image, it can diversify its image. It needs to build up a ‘cloud of trust’ so that people become loyal to it, like in marketing (brand loyalty). If it would promote a too diverse image from the beginning, it would make the image uncoordinated (as opposed to coherent) and therefore difficult to engage with in the global world. Nation branding should come first, before being able to do branding on lower levels. What is furthermore important is that nation branding also has its effect on the domestic audience. It could contribute to nation building, but it could also harm nation building if people do not recognise themselves in the expressed image. Nation building can be more easily supported by the concept of ‘co-creation.’

Finally, aligning strategy, substance and symbolic actions are incredibly important. If these elements are not aligned images are unlikely to change. One cannot do without the other elements.

Many countries try to distance themselves from the (certain) past, such as post-Soviet and ex-Yugoslav states. Not just do they try to dissociate themselves from the past, sometimes there is also a geographical side to the story. Both the history and the geographical location of some

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countries can come with negative connotations. Montenegro, for example, has by declaring independence been moving away from its relationship with Serbia and hence,43_{moving away}

from its shared (Yugoslav) history. The geographical side relates to the fact that countries like Montenegro feel overshadowed by a bigger regional identity. The ‘Balkans’ or else Serbia/Yugoslavia have obstructed Montenegro from earning its own reputation, which is now determined by these bigger entities. The Balkan region has a rather fixed reputation, often negative, with which Montenegro has to deal. It is not just about altering the existing image, but also about creating their own image.44_{The Montenegrin non-presence has to turn}

into a visible presence. Due to Montenegro’s almost non-presence the country has to work very hard to earn a good reputation on the international stage. This dissociation of geography and past is not just typical of Montenegro, there are other examples. Estonia, for example, has been trying to distance itself both from the Baltic connotation, as well as the Soviet past.45

This geographical side relates to the term ‘metageography.’46_{Metageography is about how}

geographical units are not merely geographical units, but also come with different connotations. When imagining ‘Balkans,’ different connotations come to mind, as is discussed by Maria Todorova’s work Imagining the Balkans.47_{This metageographical aspect}

is something that countries play with in the field of nation branding, including Montenegro as being a Mediterranean destination (rather than Balkan). This metageographical side is looked at in the next chapter, especially in relation to tourism. Tourism is a very useful – arguably the most useful – tool to apply nation branding on. Why that is, is explained in the next chapter.

43 Lidija Vujačić, “Madonna, Glamour and Politics: Nation Branding and Pop Concerts in the Promotion of Montenegro as an Elite Tourist Destination,” History and Anthropology 24, no. 1 (February 2013): 154,

https://doi.org/10.1080/02757206.2012.759111.

44 Simon Anholt, Places: Identity, Image and Reputation, 136-37 and 40.

45 Peter Van Ham, “The Rise of the Brand State: The Postmodern Politics of Image and Reputation,” 4. 46 As coined in Lewis and Wigen’s book (Martin W. Lewis and Kären E. Wigen, The Myth of Continents: A

Critique of Metageography, (Berkeley, Los Angeles and London: University of California Press, 1997)). 47Maria, Todorova, Imagining the Balkans, (New York: Oxford University Press, 2009).

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3. Tourism from a metageographical perspective

As mentioned in the previous chapter, this chapter is about the role tourism can play concerning branding. Tourism campaigns promote destinations, whether they be cities, regions or countries. The marketing is arguably much deeper than solely aiming at economic benefits. The relationship between branding and tourism will be set in this chapter. Tourism branding works, most importantly, through the appeal of geographical connotations and imaginations. This chapter elaborates on the use of ‘metageographical’ containers to frame particular places. In the case of this thesis, two specific metageographical containers deserve special attention: the notions of a ‘Balkan’ and a ‘Mediterranean’ space. At the end of this chapter, also more words are dedicated to the role history plays. History can be an obstruction in a country’s forward-looking path.

3.1 Tourism as a Branding Tool

Tourism brings in money, but serves more than just the economy. People go on a holiday to a certain destination and spend money in the country they visit. This money benefits the national economy of the country. Therefore, tourism to the country often needs to be stimulated. Often is stressed here, because a tourism industry that is too successful also has its downsides. More on such disadvantages will follow later in this chapter. Economic motives are not per se the only reasons for branding a tourism destination.

As previously argued, many countries receive insufficient foreign attention. This relates to the idea of relevance. News about big international players or about neighbouring, culturally-close countries is often covered, or otherwise news about countries that is important for another reason. News about countries that does not fit into these categories often does not ‘seem’ relevant enough to be covered. News about the USA and Russia might be well-covered in most countries, news about Serbia might be well-covered in Montenegro and other countries in the region, but mostly Serbian news stays out of international attention, unless it is relevant somehow for other international players. Arguably Montenegrin news is even less likely to be widely covered.48_{Here one goes back to branding; to get into the international}

attention, a country needs to brand itself. Anholt argues that the receiver of the message will unlikely pay attention to branding messages, unless there is something of interest/relevance for the receiver.49_{When branding takes place in the field of tourism, the receiver clearly gets}

48 This is a bold statement and assumption. It could be argued that Serbia is ‘more important’ on the international stage than Montenegro.

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something offered. Simply put, people go and pay for a holiday trip in order to be paid back in the form of having a good time. Whether people go for ‘escapist’ (fun) reasons, in order to learn about the local culture or for another reason, is not important.50_{People expect when}

booking to be paid back by feeling that their money was well-spent. Depending on the experience, the image of the visited place/country might possibly adjust (positively or negatively). Amelioration is what countries aim for. This is a vicious circle, because people might more likely go back when their expectations have either been met or transcended and when they tell others about it.51_{The latter issue has become even more important with the use}

of social media, an element that will be discussed later.

When a place is especially concerned about having a bad image, amelioration of the existing image is all the more important. Nation branding, in this case branding a tourism destination, does not take place in a vacuum. If a country does not engage in actually living up to branding messages, branding fails to achieve alteration and amelioration of images. In addition, the so-called ‘cloud of trust’ is now damaged.52_{This cloud of trust encompasses}

among others the previous experiences of others (and being told about these). People might choose to go to Montenegro, because other people have told them that the trip is a worthwhile investment. Also a tour operator can act as a ‘cloud of trust.’53_{If people have always}

experienced positive experiences when booking with a certain tour operator, they might trust a new destination is branded ‘truthfully’ on that tour operator’s website. If the destination does not match their expectations, both trust in the tour operator is breached, as well leave the people a destination behind with a negative image in their mind. In chapter 5 special attention will be dedicated to tour operators and how they function.

Thus, a successful branding strategy involves expectations meeting reality. People invest time in their holidays that cannot be paid back if there are negative experiences.54_The

degree of success also depends on other factors. Not only theorists on (themes related) to nation branding, also more marketing focused studies have argued ‘living the brand’ is central

50 Bonita Kolb, Tourism Marketing for Cities and Towns: Using Social Media and Branding to Attract Tourist, (New York, Routledge 2017), 6.

51 Simon Anholt, Places: Identity, Image and Reputation, 89.

52 Bonita Kolb, Tourism Marketing for Cities and Towns: Using Social Media and Branding to Attract Tourist, 3.

53 Tour operators and how they function will be given special attention in chapter 5. How tour operators build trust is another issue that will not be extensively discussed in this thesis. An example of building trust by tour operators with the use of social media is as follows: Rezdy, “An Introduction to Social Media for Tour Operators,” (Australia and the United States), https://bit.ly/2yarBsR.

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to successful nation branding.55_{‘Living the brand’ means that the brand message should}

match reality. This has substantially changed with the rise of social media. Initially living the brand primarily was meant to serve encounters with local inhabitants of the destination.56

Local people need to live the brand, in other words, to identify with the brand, in order to meet tourists’ expectations. Here ‘co-creation’ needs to be stressed in order to include the inhabitants in the nation branding project. Organisations that deal with nation branding should engage with inhabitants for the purpose of ‘co-creation’ and subsequently identification with the nation brand. In this thesis, this is exemplified by the nation brand ‘Wild Beauty’ as is dealt with by the National Tourism Organisation of Montenegro.57_{From this perspective}

nation branding (can) also serve(s) the nation building project. It can be argued that such a basis is essential for young nation-states. For example, this has been argued for some south-eastern European countries, like Kosovo and Slovenia.58_{Whether this also applies to}

Montenegro, will be questioned.

But what if people do not identify with how the city/country brands itself internationally? When people are included in the process of brand building they will more easily be supportive of the message and more likely identify with the brand. Supportive locals might contribute to visitors’ experiences, which will at least not negatively impact their experiences. Co-creation can be enhanced at several levels, such as on a national level, but also on a local level. An example of a local level inclusion/exclusion of citizens can be found in Dubrovnik’s bid to become a European Capital of Culture in 2020.59_{Croatia has been}

assigned to have a European Capital of Culture in 2020 and several cities, including Dubrovnik, were interested in becoming one. The bid book emphasized the involvement of local citizens, as is also acknowledged by the selection panel’s final report.60_{What is however}

also stressed is that “[…] the main economic sector, tourism, has a negative effect on urban 55 Such as by Melissa Aronczyk in her text ‘Research in Brief How to Do Things with Brands: Uses of National Identity.' (Melissa Aronczyk, “Research in Brief How to Do Things with Brands: Uses of National Identity,”

Canadian Journal of Communication 34, no. 2 (2009), 291-96, https://doi.org/10.22230/cjc.2009v34n2a2236). This comes also back in the example of Slovenia in Volcić and Andrejević’s text (Mark Andrejević and Zala Volcić, “Nation Branding in the Era of Commercial Nationalism,”), but also in Kolb’s text (Bonita Kolb,

Tourism Marketing for Cities and Towns: Using Social Media and Branding to Attract Tourist, 149) and in The World Tourism Organisation’s Handbook on Tourism Destination Branding. (European Travel Commission and

World Tourism Organisation, Handbook on Tourism Destination Branding, 155).

56 European Travel Commission and World Tourism Organisation, Handbook on Tourism Destination

Branding, 22.

57 National Tourism Organisation of Montenegro, “Montenegro Travel.”

58 Mark Andrejević and Zala Volcić, “Nation Branding in the Era of Commercial Nationalism,” 600 and 605. 59 Dubrovnik City Council, “Dubrovnik – European Capital of Culture 2020: “A City in the Making”,” Dubrovnik, 2015, https://bit.ly/2JM9J8T. – Even Herceg Novi tried to bid to become a European Capital of Culture in 2021.

60Selection Panel European Capital of Culture, “Selection of the European Capital of Culture in 2020 in Croatia,” (European Commission: Zagreb, 2016), 5.

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dynamics and everyday life,”61_{and the eventual lack of strong engagement with the citizens.}62

From this perspective co-creation was, on the one hand, acknowledged on the local level, on the other hand, it would not have been used in the right degree.

The final report’s statement also touches upon some of the more negative issues of successful branding. Tourism brings in a lot of cash flows, but also comes with more negative economic aspects, such as increases in prices, not just for tourists, but also for local residents.63_{When visiting Dubrovnik nowadays the prices one pays for food and}

accommodation for example are similar to those in Western Europe. Dubrovnik might have become rapidly more expensive. Dubrovnik is symbolic of the successes of tourism (branding) from a ‘negative’ point of view. Often destinations seek to stimulate tourism, but often is apparently not always. It should be stressed however that Dubrovnik is a city and it might work differently on a national scale. Nevertheless, city branding often fits in bigger nation branding projects, such as showcased by (the Former Yugoslav Republic of) Macedonia’s ‘antiquisation’ policy in reference to Skopje’s city branding project Skopje 2014. Similar issues are at stake in Montenegro, such as how Montenegrin coastal towns promote themselves and are often more expensive than the rest of the country. This will be looked at in the following chapters.

Another way to ‘live’ the brand, which has become especially important in more recent years, is the use of social media. When people pick a holiday destination, they do not just listen to the messages as it is portrayed by tour operators or to the stories as they are told by people they know. Instead, people go and search on the Internet for reviews and pictures. Not just marketers brand a certain destination,

nowadays consumers are potentially ‘living the brand.’64_{People brand destinations}

through social media. If their ‘brand messages’ match the ‘official’ brand messages, consumers ‘live the brand.’ Locals

and the use of social media, make meeting the brand’s expectations of utmost importance. Marketers want the consumers to highlight what they want to be highlighted, not the opposite.

61 Selection Panel European Capital of Culture, “Selection of the European Capital of Culture in 2020 in Croatia,” 4.

62 Ibid., 7.

64 Ibid., 11.

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People tend to write something down when they have had a negative experience.65_To

overshadow these negative reviews, positive stories should be written down as well and people should feel encouraged to do so. The most obvious example of this is by distributing cards on which people are asked to review (positively), such as by restaurants. On TripAdvisor, for example, you can read reviews of restaurants, hotels, holiday rentals, flights and things to do. Once searching for one of those categories in a specific place, one can sort by, among others, prices (lowest or highest first), but also by ranking. Each hotel and restaurant is accompanied by reviews.66_{TripAdvisor is just one example, there are many}

similar websites. Websites like Trivago and Booking.com work similarly,67_{however these}

mainly focus on accommodations, whereas TripAdvisor focuses on many different services and products.

3.2 Marketing Strategy

In the previous section attention was mainly paid to how tourism fits a branding strategy. It is not just about economic benefits that can be deducted from successfully branding a holiday destination. When taking all the elements into account, how is a destination eventually branded? The analysis of specific case studies can highlight these dynamics. However, firstly, understanding is needed about how branding works in the field of marketing. There are general principles a branding strategy needs to take into account. These are explained below.

Just as in the field of product marketing in which a product needs to compete with other similar products,68_{a destination needs to brand itself competitively. Branding needs to}

make people make choices more easily on the basis of simplified images, as argued by Anholt. Not only should a brand name and mark be appealing to potential consumers, equally important is perhaps consistency.69_{This consistency applies to several levels. First of all,}

expectations should constantly be fulfilled. If this is consistent, brands become reliable and therefore consumers might become ‘loyal’ consumers of a brand. Marketers can be consistent in their message, as well should consumers be, because they ‘live’ the brand. When both the marketers and consumer brand a product – a consumer’s expectations are met – a 65 Ibid., 12.

66 For example: “Kotor Hotels,” Hotels, TripAdvisor (United Kingdom), accessed March 12, 2018,

https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Hotels-g295381-Kotor_Kotor_Municipality-Hotels.html. Example of a specific hotel: “Hotel Vardar,” Hotels, TripAdvisor (United Kingdom), accessed March 12, 2018, https://bit.ly/2JA9v8N. 67 “Home,” Home, Booking.com, accessed March 13, 2018, https://booking.com and “Home,” Trivago, accessed March 13, 2018, https://trivago.co.uk.

68 Keith Dinnie, “The Relevance, Scope and Evolution of Nation Branding: Defining ‘Brand’ and ‘Nation-Brand’,” 14.

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product/brand’s value is strengthened. In addition, in relation to consistency, branding should take a coordinated course. Hence, the importance of handbooks like the Handbook on Tourism Destination Branding by the World Tourism Organisation, which can be very useful for national tourism organisations and administrations.70_{The conveyed message should be}

consistent, simplified – nevertheless always run through with the DNA that defines the destination, as is emphasized throughout the aforementioned handbook throughout the whole book – and competitive. A competitive identity is probably more appealing than one which is not competitive. Finally, consistency also concerns the degree of occurrence; one needs to be reminded in several ways.

Competitive brands should neither be too dull, nor too clever. ‘Dull’ here means that it should not be too general, rather symbolic of a certain destination. Being ‘beautiful’ is no longer enough and applies to many, if not all, nations.71_{‘Clever’ in this sense means that it}

should not be ‘too’ difficult to not be able to see what it stands for immediately. Shortly put, it should be immediately identifiable what it means and at the same time be different from other nation brands. National tourism organisations convey this in their brands with the help of words (the name of the nation and often additional words – or what is called the ‘brand name’) and with a logo or symbol

(what is called the ‘brand mark’).72

National tourism organisations need to put in all of their creativity in order to fulfill all of the needs of nation branding in the tourism

industry. Logo, font type, colouring and wording all matter when it comes to communicating a nation brand.73_{What this}

thesis is concerned the most with is the nation brand that has been developed by the National Tourism Organisation of Montenegro. Their official brand can be

70 European Travel Commission and World Tourism Organisation, Handbook on Tourism Destination

Branding, 24.

71 Ibid., 65.

73 Ibid., 155.

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found right here (Figure 3.2). Other brands can be found at the national tourism organisations’ websites of other countries.74

3.3 Metageography

Now that has been looked at tourism, the second part of this chapter needs to be elaborated upon; ‘metageography.’

The term ‘metageography’ was first coined by Martin W. Lewis and Karin E. Wigen in their book The Myth of the Continents: A Critique of Metageography.75_{Their definition is as}

follows: “the set of spatial structures through which people order their knowledge of the world […].”76_{This needs further explanation. What they argue is that geographical names}

might seem like just geographical names, but are not merely geographical names. They come with all sort of different connotations and through which several consequences have come into existence. The authors of this book argue that geographical units are taken for granted as if all the same and not taking complexities into account, and on behalf of this assumption policy is often based.77_{Lewis and Wigen provide the example of how Africa’s problems are}

treated. These problems are treated as if these are tied to the African landmass. One can wonder to what extent it is ‘African’ and to what extent it tells something about the African landmass. The authors look at big geographical units, such as continents and cardinal directions such as East and South. The thesis’ case study focuses on a smaller geographical unit, but the principle remains the same. The most obvious example and which relates very well to metageographical issues is Said’s notion on Orientalism.78_{Despite the fact that Lewis}

and Wigen criticize Said on some points, what is important here is that assumptions about the Orient (or East) are/were made and on which certain behaviour/policy is/was made. Such assumptions on the East were already made before the Cold War, but further strengthened during the Cold War.79_{The fact that the Cold War was officially over, did not mean that}

long-lasting metageographical connotations would suddenly disappear. Instead, these connotations arguably still have a long-lasting legacy with which many countries still seem to struggle. For example, the division between West and East still has currency in ‘the national media, in 74 For example: “Home,” Home, National Tourism Organisation of Croatia, accessed March 14, 2018,

https://www.croatia.hr/en-GB.

75Martin W. Lewis and Kären E. Wigen, The Myth of Continents: A Critique of Metageography, (Berkeley, Los Angeles and London: University of California Press, 1997).

76 Ibid., ix. 77 Ibid., 1-2.

78 Edward W. Said, Orientalism, (New York: Pantheon Books, 1978).

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popular literature, and in academic discourse.’80_{A recent article in the NOS, a Dutch public}

service broadcaster, about the municipal elections of the UK in 2018, stereotyped ‘Eastern Europeans’ negatively.81_{Dutchmen, Frenchmen and Germans were seen as positively and}

highly educated, in comparison with ‘Eastern Europeans.’ This proves the difficult legacy geographical connotations still have.

What is at stake in this case study and in many countries surrounding Montenegro, is that in these countries something in between is taking place. These countries are nowadays often seen as countries in transition. This in-between status was already present during the time of Yugoslavia.82_{Yugoslavia was seen as a bridge between the West and East. It was not}

European, as equated with West, but yet it was not non-European. The area of ‘south-eastern Europe’ was both familiar and estranged at the same time.83_{Another often used term for this}

region is the ‘Balkans.’ This region of Europe has faced the connotations for several centuries and still struggles with this ‘in-between’ status in the 21st_{century, even after Yugoslavia}

collapsed. ‘The Balkans’ is another metageographical unit that relates to Lewis and Wigen’s idea about metageography. To an extent it draws on ideas that have been developed by Said. This is what Maria Todorova argues in her book Imagining the Balkans.84_{So, what does}

‘Balkan’ metageographically mean?

3.3.1 The Balkans

For many geographical areas it is often not clear where they are exactly geographically situated. Europe, for example, has no clear boundary in the East, the East or Orient on its turn has no clear area which is officially demarcated as the ‘East.’ The same applies to the Balkans. There is a mountain range called the ‘Balkan mountains’ that is situated in Bulgaria and Serbia, but often the Balkans is thought of as the south-eastern European peninsula. Depending on the context, some countries are included in the Balkans, whereas others are not. For example, sometimes all of the former Yugoslav republics are included in the Balkans, but on other occasions the Ottoman Empire is taken as denotation for what is a Balkan country or not.85_{This shows discrepancies, because if taking all of the former Yugoslav countries as}

80 Ibid., 49.

81 Tim de Wit, “Grijpen EU-burgers in Groot-Brittannië hun Kans, Nu ze Mogen Stemmen?,” NOS, published May 3, 2018, https://bit.ly/2JRGaGg.

82 Martin W. Lewis and Kären E. Wigen, The Myth of Continents: A Critique of Metageography, 60.

83 Hywel Dix, “On Balkanism and Orientalism: Undifferentiated Patterns of Perception in Literary and Critical Representations of Eastern Europe,” Textual Practice 29, no. 5 (2015): 973,

https://doi.org/10.1080/0950236X.2015.1024722. 84 Maria Todorova, Imagining the Balkans. 85 Ibid., 12.

Branding Montenegro as a Tourism Destination

Branding Montenegro as a Tourism Destination

Table of contents

List of figures

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