Monaco turned a bankrupt rock with no income tax into the world’s densest playground for millionaires, casinos, and Formula 1. Here is how.
Battle Lake, Minnesota punches far above its 857 people with a working artists’ gallery, a 23-foot roadside chief, and Glendalough State Park next door.
Minden, Nebraska, The Christmas City, lights its courthouse and hides a 50,000-piece roadside museum just off I-80. Here is its tourism scorecard.
Rochester, Minnesota is where the Dalai Lama gets his checkups and 1.3 million patients a year arrive at the world’s No. 1 hospital, the Mayo Clinic.
Salem, Massachusetts turned the 1692 witch trials into a 1.8 million visitor tourism economy, where solemn history and Halloween kitsch now compete for the soul of the Witch City.
Rhinelander, Wisconsin turned a fake monster, the Hodag, into a town brand that helped power $302.8M in county visitor spending.
Willow Creek, California, the self-styled Bigfoot Capital of the World, where a 1958 footprint and a 1967 film built a whole town brand.
Remer, Minnesota, population 391, branded itself the Home of Bigfoot and built a 25-foot sasquatch and a festival drawing thousands to a town of a few hundred.
Santa Claus, Indiana renamed itself in 1856, and the gift has paid off ever since: a Santa post office, America’s first theme park, and a brand that draws investors.
Munich turned the 1810 royal wedding of Crown Prince Ludwig and Princess Therese into Oktoberfest, a billion-euro brand drawing nearly 7 million visitors.
