FN ISI Export Format VR 1.0 PT J TI Culture as a location factor and a branding tool for the city of Basel AF Schönmann, Stephanie AU Schönmann, S AB As cities become more and more competitive in today’s globalized world, it is important for them to stand out in order to attract tourists, visitors, inhabitants and companies. Basel, a city located in the northwest of Switzerland, with its brand «Basel – Culture Unlimited» wants to market itself as a leisure destination and a cultural city. In order to find out how culture is rooted in the brand awareness of Basel, a tourist survey is conducted, highlighting the perceptions of tourists about the city. The theoretical part introduces the state of art of the topics cultural tourism, city tourism and place branding and positioning. Afterwards, the findings of the tourist survey will be compared to the theoretical framework and the brand messages that Basel wants to communicate. Finally, recommendations for branding improvements for Basel Tourism are given, deduced from the findings. ER