The star power of Barack Obama has seen the United States eclipse Australia as the place most people want to visit and do business with.

The annual Country Brand Index, which ranks nations like retail brands, found the US had unseated Australia, which held the top spot for the past three years.

Australia has slipped to third, with Canada rising to second place.

New Zealand and France complete the top five country brands in this year's index that included 102 countries.

"The revitalisation of Brand USA, and other factors, have resulted in the effect on Australia's ranking," said Tim Riches, chief executive of FutureBrand Singapore, which conducted the survey.

"It highlights the importance of keeping a country brand fresh, relevant and engaging in a highly competitive international marketplace."

The index is based on a survey of about 3,000 business and leisure travellers from nine countries.

In addition to branding countries, it also identifies global trends in travel and tourism, which FutureBrand says is the world's fastest growing economic sector.

The US was seen as the ideal place for business, one of the top places for families, shopping and quality products, as well as one of the countries people wanted to visit whether for the first time or again.

The survey echoes a similar poll that showed the US was the most admired country globally, largely thanks to Mr Obama's global popularity.

It also identified the United Arab Emirates, China and Vietnam as the top three nations likely to become major tourist destinations in the next five years.

Croatia, South Africa and India also made the list.

With the global economic crisis tightening purse strings across the world, the survey showed that bargain-driven travel would remain a major trend.

It says consumers will "think like financial analysts in choosing destinations and properties that are undervalued and booking trips that allow them to maintain the style they were accustomed to in boom times".

The top 2009 CBI Top Country Brands are:

1. United States

1. United States 2. Canada

2. Canada 3. Australia

3. Australia 4. New Zealand

4. New Zealand 5. France

5. France 6. Italy

6. Italy 7. Japan

7. Japan 8. Britain

8. Britain 9. Germany

9. Germany 10. Spain

- AFP