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Last Updated : 2024-04-19 21:46:00
‘So Sri Lanka’ will become Sri Lanka’s new tourism tagline from November 5, replacing ‘Wonder of Asia’, Mirror Business reliably learns.
Sources close to developing the tagline said the “out-of-the-box and simple” tagline aims to bring out the authenticity of Sri Lanka’s tourism product with greater engagement with travellers and locals.
Speaking to Mirror Business, Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB) Chairman Dehan Seneviratne, who was not in a position to reveal the new tagline officially, however noted that the new tagline would be officially launched at WTM in London, on November 5.
Neither confirming nor denying the ‘So Sri Lanka’ as the new tagline, Seneviratne said the new tagline will be “very natural, simple and highly adaptable”.
“Some may wonder why it is so simple. But ‘why’ will be answered when you see the roll out of the tagline and the new brand identity,” he said.
The new tagline was coined by the advertising agency J. Walter Thompson (JWT), which secured a US $ 2 million bid to develop a new brand identity and tagline for Sri Lanka tourism.
Seneviratne noted that the new tourism tagline has received the concurrences of the president and prime minister, while the SLTPB director board and industry stakeholders have also endorsed it.
Destinations such as Slovakia, Belize, Kiribati and Ukraine also launched similar out-of-the-box tourism slogans, recently.
Commenting on the new brand logo, Seneviratne said, “It’s different to what we have now. It has freshness and absolute simplicity. Therefore, it can be easily adaptable to engage people.”
The success of the new brand identity will however largely depend on the execution of plans, according to marketing experts.
Seneviratne stressed that launching the new brand identity of Sri Lanka at WTM 2018 in London will enable the new brand to receive the required exposure.
WTM 2017 said to have attracted around 50,000 senior travel industry professionals, tourism ministers and international media.
Seneviratne noted that a special advertising campaign will be launched from November 5 to February, next year, to promote Sri Lanka tourism under the new logo and theme.
Subsequently, the SLTPB plans to launch the much-awaited global promotion campaign next March, at ITB Berlin, the world’s largest travel trade fair.
The comprehensive, three-year campaign will focus on five major source markets of Sri Lanka— India, China, Germany, the United Kingdom and France— as well as five other emerging markets and high-yielding markets such as Japan and the Middle East, according to the SLTPB officials.
Seneviratne emphasised that the promotion campaigns and new brand identity would appeal to all types of potential tourists as each tourist brings a unique value proposition.
“It’s not only about high-yielding tourists; we need the critical mass to come into the country as well. Some tourists come to the country as middle or low-income tourists. However, they spend quite a lot of money and are helpful in promoting Sri Lanka Tourism, though they might not necessarily stay at five-star hotels.
They keep on travelling around the country while sharing their experiences on social media, which is very helpful for promoting Sri Lanka Tourism,” he pointed out.
Seneviratne noted that the global promotion campaign would have a lot of emphasis on social media and digital channels on the line of changing dynamics of media. (Nishel Fernando)
Ashok Thursday, 25 October 2018 11:19 AM
Not A GOOD One.
DillonDP Thursday, 25 October 2018 03:34 PM
Well the tagline has no meaning or perspective, does it mean if every other destination fails the last resort will be Sri Lanka "So Sri Lanka" Rather stick and promote with wonder of Asia
Premawathie Thursday, 25 October 2018 04:48 PM
either you are a sour grapes or you cannot understand english. The perspective will be evident after they roll it out. JWT is a professional organisation and I am sure they will have some world class ads for us. Wait and see.. how can you assume anything until you see the promotional material?
Cynical Thursday, 25 October 2018 04:50 PM
I like it. Its a very catchy and simple tagline.. and some things (like your attitude) are So Sri Lanka!
Mk Thursday, 25 October 2018 07:17 PM
Dillon, you are correct. what does So Sri Lanka even mean. Catchy for the sake of being catchy without a meaning is being silly. And it seems like people connected to JWT are criticising your comment.
DillonDP Friday, 26 October 2018 12:51 PM
MK, i know and agree with your statement, 2 million $ is not a Joke to reinvent the wheel, i wonder if we can even cover the cost. But changing the cover of the book they assume the contens in the book will change
Singhela Thursday, 25 October 2018 04:00 PM
Corruption, Strikes, Lack of Road manners, Lack of punctuality, Disorganized 'Free for all'''So Sri Lanka''
Harith Thursday, 25 October 2018 04:28 PM
I can come up with better, yet simple one. 'Sri Lanka we go'
Ahamed Thursday, 25 October 2018 04:42 PM
So Sri Lanka? How how,? Nothing creative these days huh?
Siri de Alwis Thursday, 25 October 2018 05:00 PM
Sri Lanka is one of the most expensive tourist countries compared to the comfort and service given in European countries like Italy, Spain and Greece. Time to come, our country will be much more expensive that normal tourist cannot effort to visit. It is a matter of time.
Ahmed Thursday, 25 October 2018 05:18 PM
so sri lanka ? it doesn't sound good. who proposed this unimpressive tagline ? the previous names were better. compare this with wonder of asia and a land like no other. how it feels ? "so sri lanka" will only suite "so yahapalanaya". please dont put our country down in a time lonely planet has listed sri lanka as 1 of the top countries to travel in 2019
Smart guru Friday, 26 October 2018 11:04 AM
As a Srilankan obviously I will lean towards “the wonder iof Asia” theme, but that’s not important as the marketing should appeal to majority of the tourist traveling to sl mostly Europe, Australia, Middle East etc. if “so Srilanka” is a catchy theme FOR THEM, let’s roll with it! Actually many countries have such funky or modern themes these days! At the end of the day we need more tourists more money.
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