Destination Cardiff: Transformation or tokenism?

In 2023, Cardiff’s destination brand was boosted when it was voted both ‘the best city in the UK’ and ‘the friendliest city in the UK’ by readers of Conde Nast, an acclaimed travel magazine. Cardiff was also named as ‘City of the Year 2023’ at the annual EG Awards, for its green vision towards housing. These accolades provide obvious destination branding opportunities for Cardiff and support the assertion that brands influence a destination’s future by drawing on its socio-cultural capital and natural features to augur values and attributes to those who visit the destination as well as those who reside there (Blain, et al, 2005; Gover & Go, 2011; Campelo, et al., 2014)