The Real Reason Many Countries Have a Negative Reputation is That They Don´t Deserve a Positive One

[Paul Barnett]

"Many countries have wasted enormous sums of public money on communications campaigns, based on the assumption that people don’t respect their country simply because they don’t know enough about it. In most cases, they are deluding themselves, and the real reason why their country has a negative reputation is that it doesn’t deserve a positive one." So,said Simon Arnholt, Publisher of the Nation Brand Index.

He argues that, "If the weakness or negativity is largely deserved, then the country needs to alter its behavior and its offerings in a very substantial way in order to earn a better or stronger reputation." But, he also makes the point that few tend to measure their reuptation to start with, and fewer still are prepared to accept the finding impartially.

I would say, that whilst his comments are about countries, they could equally be applied to cities or destinations.

What do you make of these comments? And, have you any relevant experiences to confirm or contradict them?