Stupid tourism slogans of Europe ... Australia embracing new casinos?

Beautiful Barrie - "Ontario's Most Progressive City."

Brea - "The City of Oil, Oranges and Opportunity."

 Andorra - "Best Possible Welcome to Tourists."

Funny how some slogans never quite catch on,isn't it? Remember North York - the city with a heart, and those stupid road signs with the big red splotch on them? Ugh. Embarrassing.

But probably only middle-of the-barrel when it comes to slogans.

I spotted a funny item at lonelyplanet.com the other day, talking about the best and worst slogans in
Europe. And it always amazes me how silly some of them can be. I mean, not everyone can pull off something as simple as "I Love New York," but who on earth came up with "It's Got to be Austria?"

As lonelyplanet's wag wrote, "actually, no it doesn't."

Austria is a beautiful country (see photo above for typical alpine scenery that could be, um, Switzerland for all we can tell), but the slogan is empty.

Some slogans, of course, aren't bad. Latvia says "Best Enjoyed Slowly" and I kinda like that. Switzerland says "Get Natural," and that, too, sounds good. It probably doesn't hurt that when you start to look at the words you think it might be saying, "Get Naked," or maybe that's just me? I mean, there are a lot of naked people in Europe; hikers and bathers and all. Aren't there?

France, and I didn't know this, doesn't even have a slogan. Thirty years ago it could've been "A rude waiter awaits," but nowadays they're just so darn nice over in Paris and it wouldn't work. Liechenstein, likewise, doesn't have a slogan. But the country isn't big enough to hold one, anyway.

The better slogans have something clever or, like the one in Switzerland, at least give a hint as to what they're trying to market. When Ontario license plates say "Yours to Discover," it carries no meaning of any kind. Mind you, it's better than the declarative New Hampshire plate - "LIve Free or Die."

Those crazy Americans. I bet THEY don't have city councillors who feel the need to start a Facebook page that tries to keep out communists like the new one that Toronto councillor Giorgio Mammoliti has. I hadn't realized Toronto was so infiltrated by commies, so I really want to thank Mammoliti for bringing it to my attention. I read the story about him in the Star this morning and, thankfully, was able to warn my son to peer behind trees on our North Toronto street and to keep an eye out on the subway ride downtown today, lest he be attacked by someone carrying "we want our libraries" literature.

AUSSIES WANT CASINOS?

I don't know about this, either. I read an item in the Australian Telegraph the other day, saying that folks in the tourism biz are talking about new casino's to try to attract more travellers.

Gee, aren't awesome beaches and wineries and the Sydney Opera House and ferry boats and the 
Outback and kangaroos enough? Maybe not.

"There is this 1970s view that casinos are just for gaming, but that is no longer the case," John Lee, Tourism and Transport Forum CEO, said in an interview with the Telegraph. "In terms of inbound tourism, the biggest forward market is the Chinese market and they enjoy their food and enjoy a bet. We shouldn't have to apologize for developing the right sort of product to accomodate that."

Yes, you should.

 

Comments

[greeting cards]

Yeah there are really some tourism slogans in some places that would make you think twice. Sometimes they over use adjectives. Sometimes, they cannot connect the words with the tourism itself. And yeah I would have to agree with you, Australia has a lot to offer and I think casinos can be just pretty everywhere, not really much more of a magnet to tourists, I guess.