Australia’s Brand Equity as a Tourism Destination for Latin American Consumers Constanza Bianchi , Queensland University of Technology, constanza.bianchi@qut.edu.au Steven Pike, Queensland University of Technology, sd.pike@qut.edu.au Abstract Scant research has examined the measurement of destination branding performance. This paper reports the results of an investigation of brand equity for Australia as a long haul destination in a Latin American market. A model of consumer-based brand equity (CBBE) was adapted from the marketing literature and tested with data from a large Chilean sample of tourists, comprising a mix of previous visitors and non-visitors to Australia. The research took place at the launch of the nation’s new international brand campaign. The results indicate that Australia is a well known but not compelling destination brand for participants, which reflects the lower priority the South American market has been given by the Australian national tourism office (NTO). Keywords: destination branding, consumer-based brand equity, Australia, Latin America, Chile. Page 1 of 8 ANZMAC 2009