Being from Seattle, I always smile when I see something from my city in a different part of the world. Our city of just 800,000 people (3 million in metro area) has a lot of athletes, artists, musicians, movies, buildings, and companies that are recognizable all over the world. I saw a lot of Nirvana shirts in Croatia and Sicily last fall. There seems to be a Starbucks everywhere. Bruce Lee shirts are popular in Asia. Dale Chihuly glass art is in Singapore hotels. I heard Macklemore songs playing on the beach in Indonesia. Jimi Hendrix shirts are popular in Europe. Microsoft, Boeing and Amazon are huge all over the world. I was surprised when I told a Malaysia taxi driver that was from Seattle and he wanted to talk about Kurt Cobain and grunge music. All these are Seattle area things, but I’m not sure that it is that different from a lot of other American and Canadian cities. Every big city in North America will claim a lot of people that are recognizable all over the world. When I visit other America and Canadian cities, I always hear people talk with pride about the famous people from their hometown.
Space Needle in Black Hole Sun sculpture in Seattle
Recently, I was on Lombok island in Indonesia which is the island just to the east of the popular Indonesian tourist island of Bali. Lombok has a population of 4 million people which is about the same as its more famous neighbor of Bali. Until visiting, I knew nothing about Lombok. In fact, after visiting, I still can’t name anyone in Lombok, or Bali, or anyone in Indonesia. It got me thinking about what places in the world are the most recognizable. What places have small populations, but are still known to everyone because of their tourism, or famous people or cultural exports. In other worlds, what places (unlike Lombok) are punching above their weight.
Popular Indonesian Island of Bali on the left and the almost unknown island of Lombok on the right
So what does it mean to punch above your weight? If you have a small population and people have heard of your place it means you need to have something of significance. It can be a company like IKEA of Sweden. I see the same Swedish furniture in Airbnb’s all over the world.
It can be a singer. The world’s music is dominated by English speaking countries (American, English, Canadian, Irish, Australian). I am frustrated that restaurants with “live music” all over the world are usually singing the same songs in English… John Denver, Elton John, Beatles, Billy Joel, etc…. Actors also can make a country recognizable but the huge movies in the world are mostly from Hollywood.
Athletes are another way to get your country recognized and punch above your weight. Lionel Messi is one of the most recognizable soccer players in the world although Argentina is relatively large at 46 million. Just as well known Ronaldo is from smaller Portugal (10 million) so it is easier to call Portugal punching above their weight in producing popular soccer players.
Food is also a way to get your country on the map. Mexican food is huge and I have seen Mexican restaurants in places like South Korea, Italy and Indonesia. The Thai government has helped spread Thai restaurants all over the world which has greatly helped their own tourism industry.
So what are some of the places that are really punching above their weight?????? I have found a few…
Everyone has heard of Hawaii even though it only has 1 million people. Hawaiian shirts are popular everywhere- especially in South East Asia. Hawaiian music has its fans. Hawaiian Poke restaurants are now being found in Europe and Asia. Surfing was born here. Many movies have been filmed here. But tourism is the reason that most people know Hawaii. It is popular for North Americans, Japanese, Koreans and Chinese. Europeans also visit even though it is a loooong flight. They get 7 million visitors per year.
Ireland has only 5 million people in it. Not much more that Lombok or Bali that I talked about earlier. I have found Irish pubs all over the world (Europe, Japan, Korea, South East Asia, Mexico….) Guinness is one of the most popular beers in the world. U2 is one of the leading bands in the world. Saint Patrick’s Day is celebrated in many countries as a celebration of Ireland every March. Irish people have a pretty significant diaspora because of famine as well as several other economic conditions that have caused emigration. This probably has contributed to the popularity of their country even though they don’t have that big of a tourism industry. It still blows my mind that only 5 million people live in Ireland.
Our recent island hopping in Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia made us aware of the influence of Jamaica to beach culture all over the world. Every town with beach cafes and bars will have at least one Jamaican themed place. It is also common to find Jamaican beach bars in Mexico and Central America. Jamaica is synonymous with marijuana culture which is growing in many places. Usain Bolt from Jamaica is probably the most famous sprinter ever. Bob Marley brought Reggae music to the world and can be heard in restaurants and bars everywhere…even those that aren’t decorated with Jamaican colors. Jamaica has only 3 million people in it. Marley, reggae, and pot have made Jamaica the most well known Caribbean island even though it only has 3 million people.
I enjoy finding places like Lombak that are great interesting and beautiful destinations even though they are unknown. I really should be looking for those hidden gems instead of writing blog posts about places punching above their weight. But I can’t control what direction my brain takes me sometimes….