Cities branding as tourist destination: case Barcelona

The competence on the global market of places branding is becoming more rigid. Many cities and regions are trying to present their comparative advantages and to brand them in order to be recognizable with their brand. That enables differentiation and positioning of the regions compared to the other cities as a tourist destination. The places, the cities and the regions that are already affirmed as well as the new places are under big pressure of attracting residents, tourists and investors. They shall achieve that with different forms of marketing, which will create a good image for the city and an excellent basis for creating a familiar brand from the city. A locality or place can be designated as product, service, person, company or event. The cities, the regions, the countries even the whole continents are competing for their own promotion, through different marketing forms in order to develop positive image and connection with certain destination, with the purpose of motivating tourists to visit them. The road traffic has become one of the main factors for life quality in the modern society and the level of its development and dynamics is one of the basic indicators for economic development. Many theoreticians that deal with branding apply different methods for evaluation of the opportunities of the cities that can be branded. A very important role in creating city brand have the following aspects: development of infrastructure (road, rail, water and air traffic), natural environment, rich historical inheritance, cultural and sport objects, education, urban infrastructure and natural surroundings of the city