New tourism slogan ‘So Sri Lanka’ launched at WTM
New Tourism Minister Vasantha Senanayake unveils new slogan and logo Minister says new slogan goes well with millennial travellers Ad agency says slogan encapsulates vibrant qualities of Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka’s new tourism brand identity and slogan ‘So Sri Lanka’, which is said to be encapsulating the essence of Sri Lanka, its authenticity, diversity and richness, was launched yesterday at the World Travel Market (WTM), held at Excel Exhibition Hall in London.
The newly appointed Tourism and Wildlife Minister Vasantha Senanayake unveiled the new slogan along with the chief guest of honour Lord Nasby.
At the launch of the new strategy and slogan Senanayake said that the So Sri Lanka brand is not only exhilarating – it’s the beginning of a new era.
“We envisage that tourism will flourish to be the most significant sector contributing to our economy; that’s the goal we aspire to reach in the next few years,” he said.
“It is also important mentioning that this is the first time in history that Sri Lanka tourism has worked towards building a strategic digitalfirst perspective.
‘So Sri Lanka’ is an amplifier brand that supports and engages typical millennial travel exploration; this is important in view of the statistic that in 2020, 50 percent of travel revenue will be spent by millennials and Asia is a millennial favourite. So we are committed to making Sri Lanka future-savvy and a vibrantly relevant destination going forward,” he added.
“So Sri Lanka goes beyond being a place descriptor and embodies the vibrant qualities that inspire us about our travels and tales from the island nation,” a press statement from the Sri Lanka Tourism Bureau said.
In the last 10 years, Sri Lanka has seen a steady growth in arrivals and investments. Based on qualitative research findings on inbound tourists for the last three years, the most endearing feature of Sri Lanka as a destination brand is its authenticity.
This authenticity is an attribute that is alive in the country’s heritage, cuisine, landscape, architecture, culture and mostly in its people. Recently, Lonely Planet ranked Sri Lanka as top destination to travel in 2019, based on its diverse and authentic offerings.
“So Sri Lanka goes beyond being a place descriptor and embodies the vibrant qualities that inspire us about Sri Lanka. It is an expression that is easy to use by locals and travellers of diverse origins, be it a traveller from China or a French millennial,” J Walter Thompson CEO Alyna Hajji Omar explained.
“The objective of the brand So Sri Lanka is to inspire us to proudly own our finer qualities while at the same time be open enough to continuously work on improvements. We have moved away from investing in a passive identity and we are seeking a dialogue with our socially active millennial travellers,” she added.
Meanwhile, the new tourism logo is easily recognizable with its artisanal circular representation. It is a logo that comes alive in marketing material effortlessly.
The Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau said that in the coming months, a new marketing campaign would be launched based on the new identity, which will give a taste of the depth and versatility of the new brand platform.
The creators behind the concept and strategy of the new slogan are J Walter Thompson and they were chosen through a competitive bidding process by the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau.
The new destination brand also saw the culmination of many ideas from several key industry stakeholders in the private sector who infused their thinking and recommendations to create a new brand identity.
At WTM this time, a delegation consisting of 60 industry partners joined Sri Lanka Tourism to highlight Sri Lanka as a world-class tourism hot spot, with a variety of numerous travel and hospitality products, including the world-famous Ceylon Tea.