ABSTRACT
Globalisation has affected tourism in most cities, but the particular qualities of national capitals mean that they are often at the leading edge of change, having to cope with different versions of national identity and the tensions between the global, the national and the local. At a time of increasing city competition, national capitals are at the forefront of efforts to gain competitive advantage for themselves and their nation, to project a distinctive and positive image and to score well in global city league tables. Capitals have always been international in their outlook, well connected with their counterparts across the world and comparing themselves internationally rather than with other cities in their own country. Developments in globalisation have meant that they are more entwined in the world system of cities and face more intense competition than ever. Yet capitals remain their nation’s focal point – the centre of government power, frequently the main business, commercial, artistic and educational centre, and the symbolic centrepiece of the nation, representing it to the world and to itself.
