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Achieving wider recognition is part of the development agenda of contemporary cities, which are all confronted with the need to stand out and compete against one another. City branding reads as and plays an important role in this struggle for recognition. The identity of a city is generated over a long period, as it undergoes historical change, resulting in cultural diversity as the product of a specific environment. This paper discusses the possibility of using the cultural and historical heritage of Trebinje and its identity as an asset to create its city brand. Trebinje is a small city situated in the vicinity of Dubrovnik, a major tourist destination with a rich cultural and historical heritage and an excellent city brand. Dubrovnik may be seen as jeopardising the development of Trebinje’s authentic identity; on the other hand, the strong historical ties between the two cities can actually be used as an asset to develop Trebinje’s city brand. The material and non-material heritage which helped the formation of Trebinje’s identity, is analysed. The Mediterranean region in which it is located, its rich history, authentic architecture and different cultural influences, including the national poet Jovan Dučić, have all helped create Trebinje’s genius loci. The same factors may be used to communicate its new image. After that, the paper outlines models of the possible use of the recognised assets to brand the city and emphasise the importance of the effective presentation of these assets for creating a recognisable city image. It also proposes specific actions and interventions that may contribute to branding the city.

This paper considers the possibility of including cultural heritage in cultural and tourist development policies. The tourist potential of historically and artistically significant urban entities will be described and assessed in the paper, with a focus on the cases of Trebinje and Jajce two Bosnian and Herzegovinian towns with preserved historical town cores. The two towns were both founded in the Middle Ages and have developed to this day, with their urban areas continuously expanding and being built up. Their spatial and cultural historical complexes are diverse and multilayered, with various natural and man-made structures dating back to different epochs. They are the greatest cultural monuments and a testimony of the past, of the physical and spiritual development of these communities. Trebinje is an old town located at the intersection of various influences and interests, with a rich and long history which has altered not only the appearance and contents of its town core, but also its significance and its functional impact on the broader surroundings. The Old Town, a surviving historical complex, which originated in the Middle Ages and developed considerably under Turkish rule is one of Trebinje's tourist resources. Nowadays, tourism is becoming one of the world's most important industries, its appeal coming from the natural cultural and historical values of towns and cities. Due to that, the natural cultural and historical values of Trebinje and Jajce can be preserved only if their economic potential is also taken into account.