Branding of Tourism-Related Products and Services for a Competitive Advantage in Sri Lanka: An Intellectual Property Perspective

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to examine whether and to what extent branding and the trademark regime can be used in a business way to extract value from tourism-related products and services in Sri Lanka. From an intellectual property perspective, the study highlights the importance attached to distinctive signs, namely; trademarks, collective and certification marks, and geographical indications in the context of tourism promotion. With the objective to investigate the application of the trademark system to brand touristic offers, this study elucidates the most recent scholarly contributions by employing a systematic literature review method. The findings of this study reveal that, even though Sri Lanka is a top tourist destination, it has barely scratched the surface of its true potential for tourism promotion by the using of branding and the trademark system of the country. This paper offers relevant information to tourism stakeholders for effective use of the trademark rights in the tourism business and proposes avenues for future research in the scholastic field. In terms of originality, to the best of the author’s knowledge, this is the first research article that explores the use of branding and trademark system in the tourism sector in Sri Lanka.