In 2006 when a suave James Bond played poker at the Casino Royale within the Hotel Splendid, the world was introduced to a new dynamic location that sparked glamour and mystery, promising stunning sceneries and the presence of the social élite.
That was not the first nor it would be the last attempt at creating an attractive reality “selling” a troubled area. In 1991 the Parliament adopted a resolution declaring “an ecological State”, a concept that misfired despite good intentions: too much wildly uncontrolled building, devastation of nature and privatization of resources as “favors” to tycoons close to the power.
In 2008 it was time for “wild beauty” which relied heavily on the ecological trait of the country: going to a place unknown to most travelers, “discovering” something and therefore being a connoisseur in a very globalized world.
Another narrative was “the pearl of the Mediterranean”: the preciousness of the pearl with the ensconced nature of the jewel, just like the country itself among its namesake black mountains.
What all these attempts have in common is a clear intention of severing all ties to the former Yugoslav past, especially with the civil war of the ‘90s which was not marketable in the area.
Finally, the country modernized trying to rebrand as a luxury destination, with projects such as Porto Montenegro or PortoNovi, small élite villages with large marinas and infrastructures that are way above the average citizen, and warm welcome for big hotel chains willing to build there.
Covid-19 coincided with some tumultuous political times and social disorders, thus making an already heavy financial hit even worse. A carefully curated image of a serene and tolerant country revealed a corrupt society with unresolved nationalistic issues as soon as the tourism bubble burst. Could the unexpected halt bring the final opportunity to build a tourism sector that would rely less on the past and could lead to a new definitive and more truthful branding?
Mots clés : Rebranding|place branding|pandemic social disruption|tourism
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