second chapter addresses the issue of demand. Here again, much has changed in the interim. The strength of the Canadian dollar, travel patterns of Canadians, Mexicans and the US residents are examples of changes that have taken place in the region since the chapter was written. The authors of this chapter point out that data on outbound travel from the US and Mexico is based on estimates. Whereas Statistics Canada has for several decades gathered highly specific tourism data, neither the US nor Mexico has to date developed an accurate, cohesive system of record- ing travel data, relying instead on a variety of sources and the aforementioned estimates. Chapter 3 addresses supply and organization while Chapter 4 is devoted to key issues, events and issues of tourism in the region. Like the previous chapters, they contain a great deal of information. However, much is also omitted. One wonders why the publisher would not devote a chapter to each of these topics. Chapter 5 consists of a listing of addresses, telephone numbers and in many cases, web-site or e-mail addresses of provincial and state tourism offices for each country. It is useful to have this information in one location but, since most of those looking for information on state tourism offices, for example would turn to the Internet in the first place, it would seem more useful to devote these pages to expanding the cursory information provided in the other chapters. As the editor also points out, ‘‘a handbook y could be developed for all three regions y’’ (p. vi). He is correct and thus one wonders why this was not done. While North America looks like one large region on the map, tourism in each of the three countries comprising the continent is radically different. Further, if a picture is worth a thousand words, the photograph of the Statue of Liberty on the front cover of this book leaves one wondering if the publisher is aiming this little volume at the US market, making a political statement, or both. No doubt this book will find its place as a historical record of tourism in North America. The authors have done a near heroic job of selecting the bare bones of the subjects addressed in its pages. A handbook is meant to be brief. However, considering the size of the continent, it is rather too brief. The book is fine as far as it goes. The publisher, one hopes, will greatly expand a second edition. Nancy Chesworth Department of Business and Tourism, Mount St. Vincent University, 166 Bedford Highway, Halifax, NS, Canada B3M 2J6 E-mail address: Nancy.Chesworth@msvu.ca. doi:10.1016/j.tourman.2007.02.018 Tourism Marketing for Cities and Towns, Bonita M. Kolb. Butterworth-Heinemann, Boston, MA (2006). 310pp., Paperback, ISBN: 0 7506 7945 X This book is subtitled ‘‘Using Branding and Events to Attract Tourists.’’ In the Preface, Kolb states her purpose as ‘‘teaching readers how to develop a city’s brand to attract tourists and their spending’’ (p. xv). She describes her work as a combination of theory and practice and she describes the book’s intended audience as both students studying in tourism and affiliated programs and practi- tioners working in the field of tourism and economic development. In her words, the book’s unique selling proposition is that ‘‘What is unique in this book’s approach is that it encourages those studying or working in tourism to view tourism development as a community- based effort y’’ (p. xv). The book contains 12 chapters. The first two-thirds of the book is focused on developing the background for understanding tourism, the tourist, and how cities work as attractions within the tourism system. The last-third of the book address branding and activities that support the city- as-brand. Chapters open with bulleted chapter objectives. A large number of real-world examples, in the form of mini-cases boxed off from the rest of the text, appear in each chapter. Finally, all chapters end with worksheets designed to facilitate the implementation of the topics discussed it that chapter. Turning to the content of the book, the opening chapter is titled ‘‘Tourism to Cities and Towns’’ and provides an overview of urban tourism. The second chapter is ‘‘Marketing Theory and the External Environment.’’ This chapter outlines the evolution of marketing thought from the production approach to the consumer approach. It then examines forces in the micro- and macro-environment that can impact the marketing of tourism. It concludes with a worksheet for analyzing the destination’s external environment. In the third chapter, ‘‘Tourism Product Analysis,’’ Kolb provides the reader with the tools to conduct a product analysis, do a competitor analysis, and argues for the importance of involving the community in the tourism branding process. ‘‘Strategic Analysis’’ is the title of the fourth chapter. In it, Kolb describes SWOT analysis. This chapter concludes with a number of work- sheets designed to facilitate a community’s SWOT analysis and strategic planning. Chapter 5 is titled ‘‘Segmenting and Targeting Potential Tourists.’’ In it, Kolb describes the marketing process, discusses targeting strategies—undiffer- entiated, concentrated, and differentiated—and illustrates various approaches to segmentation. The behavior of the visitor is reviewed in the next chapter, ‘‘Tourist Purchase Behavior.’’ Consumer behavior-oriented topics, including ARTICLE IN PRESS Book reviews / Tourism Management 29 (2008) 390–401 397