Egypt has topped the Best Country Brand for History category in the 2007 Country Brand Index (CBI), putting the country ahead of a renowned group of historically rich destinations that include Italy, China, Greece and France.

The distinction underscores Egypt's strength in the tourism sector and reflects a successful marketing strategy that has made Egypt one of only two countries in the MENA region to be included on the Index.

CBI is now in its third year of providing a comprehensive branding study that includes rankings, trends and travel motivations of tourists around the world. Over 2,600 international travellers participated in the study, which was conducted by FutureBrand, a leading global brand consultancy, in conjunction with public relations firm Weber Shandwick’s Global Travel & Lifestyle Practice.

CBI examines how countries are branded and ranked according to key criteria and also provides an extensive overview of the challenges and opportunities within the worlds of travel, tourism and country branding (visit http://www.countrybrandindex.com for complete results).

Egypt also figured prominently in the Best Country Brand for Art and Culture category, joining Italy and France in the top three, while placing ahead of India and United Kingdom.

"Egypt has successfully leveraged its storied past, ancient sites and mystical structures such as its pyramids to boost its status in the two categories and improve its performance in the tourism market. A strong brand presents enormous business opportunities as it helps build investor confidence, which is what we expect for Egypt with its remarkable performance in this year's CBI," said executive director, FutureBrand, Rina Plapler.

Egypt and fellow CBI chart-topper UAE are the Middle East and North Africa region's top country brands this year, helping draw the attention of the global market to the exciting opportunities presented by the booming region.

The UAE, which has been hailed as one of the 'Rising Stars' among the world's top tourist destinations, topped the Best Country Brand for Resort/Lodging Options category, joined the United States (US) as the top two in the Best Country Brand for Shopping category, and figured within the top five in the category Best Country Brand for Conferences.

Australia once again topped the CBI list of the world’s top country brands this year, with the US at second and the United Kingdom moving up to third. Other countries making the list included Japan, Canada, France and Greece. – TradeArabia News Service