© 2020 Elsevier Ltd The purpose of the present study is to understand whether people can recall a destination logo to the extent that they can draw it from memory. A sample of 307 tourists and 313 Emirati nationals were asked to draw the Abu Dhabi destination logo. After drawing the logo, the respondents were asked to complete a questionnaire about their recommendations for a logo for Abu Dhabi, as well as its importance and performance elements and perceptions. The collected drawings were classified by the correct colour and logo shape into five categories, from ‘totally wrong’ to ‘near perfect drawing’, and a path analysis was performed to understand whether better drawings from memory affect the place performance perception. The results show that people tend to draw the same symbol as the one they recommend for the destination logo, which was in this case a falcon. The research has limitations but is a novel method in testing a destination brand, and it opens up ideas for further research.