Sustainable Destination Branding: Applied to Ismailia, Fayoum, the New Capital, and New Alamein

This study explores the significance of destination branding as a crucial marketing strategy for ensuring distinction and international competitiveness, focusing on the Egyptian state's inclination towards adopting these novel promotional tools. The research aims to provide a guiding framework to support stakeholders in the tourism sector in successfully creating tourism brands for distinctive Egyptian cities. The study's importance lies in its alignment with the state's economic orientation towards bolstering the tourism sector to achieve Egypt's Vision 2030. It also presents branding as a tool to support the sector's efforts to keep pace with developments in international tourism and competitive marketing strategies. Employing a mixed-methods approach, the study examines the supportive structure for destination branding, including analyzing the characteristics of the place, the internal and external environments of the targeted areas, and the availability of foundational elements. A questionnaire measured the opinions of academic and professional experts on the foundations, advantages, challenges, and success factors of creating a tourism brand for a destination. The study clarifies conceptual ambiguities related to the brand, its components, identity sources, visual identity, place identity, and sense of place. It found that the New Administrative Capital excels in its potential to create a distinctive brand compared to Ismailia and Fayoum. The research recommends expanding tourism events reflecting the destination's identity or establishing an innovative one, increasing communication with international organizations and accredited media, creating unconventional attractions with innovative services and facilities, and mobilizing all stakeholders to promote and maintain the brand.