City Marketing Campaigns of Grand Canal Cities: A Case Study of Hangzhou

Abstract

The Grand Canal of China links onshore cities from north to south, from Beijing to Hangzhou. More canal cities are now realizing the value of city marketing with this heritage as a catalyst for revitalization. This paper aims at evaluating the marketing campaigns launched by those cities, especially Hangzhou as an example, examining how effective those campaigns are and what is a sustainable way for formulating and launching city marketing campaigns in the future. Furthermore, as the wealthiest city among the grand canal cities, this paper will look into the obligations that Hangzhou has in promoting the entire line for tourism development. The findings revealed that citizens are hardly aware of the marketing initiatives of Hangzhou city, with the majority of respondents having never seen any campaigns or official documents related to city marketing in Hangzhou. Despite the fact that Hangzhou city is an attractive destination among the canal cities, its fame and reputation do not correspond with its city marketing efforts. It is suggested that Hangzhou city should use its natural resources to market the city in various ways and attract different resources inflow to help the city achieve sustainable development in the long run.