City marketing - a significant planning tool for urban development in a globalised economy

In our days it is a fact that what is projected as the ‘image’ of a city, can be more important than the reality of the city itself, in shaping visitors’, investors’, and even its own inhabitants’ opinion of it. Marketing techniques are often used to help a city’s transformation into a post-industrial centre of tourism, culture and redevelopment. In addition, urban tourism is playing an increasingly important role in deciding economic development strategies by the local governance authorities. In the current framework of the globalised economy, competition for attracting tourists is even greater. On this matter, the role of city marketing is crucial. This paper examines the importance of city marketing in urban governance decisions. It also investigates the relation of city marketing to urban tourism planning, given the relatively new trend for urban tourism quality management, and to sustainability. Finally, the paper looks at the relation of city marketing procedures to city time planning, participatory planning and urban regeneration, concluding with an acknowledgment of the significance of city marketing in urban planning in general.