Pity the world’s tourism boards. Around the world, these agencies are tasked with summing up in just a few words and in several languages an entire country’s wonders.
While a slogan usually takes a back seat to other drivers of tourism—attractions, favorable exchange rate, Instagram cachet (I’m looking at you, Kyrgyzstan)—it can help change a country’s image.
The UK travel site Family Break Finder gathered and mapped the English-language slogans from tourism boards around the world. And some could definitely use the Don Draper touch.
Slovakia, for example, beckons visitors by asserting: “Travel in Slovakia—Good Idea.” Latvia goes with “Best Enjoyed Slowly,” and Tunisia with the rather vague ”I feel like Tunisia.”
El Salvador has used the slogan “The 45-minute country” to tout the short distances between attractions in the small Central American country. But its current official slogan is “El Salvador: Impressive.”
Some slogans aim to change a country’s image. Colombia in 2007, for example, debuted the slogan: “The only risk is wanting to stay.” The words, meant to reassure travelers nervous about the country’s decades-long internal war and drug trafficking, apparently worked; tourism has boomed since then.
And some countries appeal to tourists without acknowledging troubles. Syria this year launched “Syria Always Beautiful,” despite a notoriously brutal ongoing civil war.
Others lean on alliteration—”Epic Estonia,” “Beautiful Burundi,” “Incredible India,” “Brilliant Barbados,” or “Live, love, Lebanon.”
Bold claims are popular: “The Dominican Republic has it all,” “All you need is Ecuador” and “There’s nothing like Australia.” ”Unique, original!” beckons tourists to Nicaragua. Oman tells travelers: “Beauty has an address.”
Others are more understated: “Yes, it’s Jordan.” Uganda’s is simply “You’re welcome.”
Here is Family Break Finder’s map of all the world’s slogans.
