New country branding for Sri Lanka Tourism to be unveiled at WTM

• Tourism Minister says in the process of selecting global branding agency
• Prime Minister Wickremesinghe to grace launch event  
• Global marketing campaign to follow country branding exercise 

The new country branding for Sri Lanka Tourism will be unveiled at the World Travel Mart (WTM) in London in November this year, Tourism and Christian Religious Affairs Minister John Amaratunga said yesterday. 

“We are now in the process of selecting a global branding agency for this purpose. Our objective with this initiative is to give Sri Lanka a distinct brand identity which will help us differentiate our island in the global competitive tourism landscape,” he said. 

The minister added that the strategy for this task was unanimously approved by all relevant bodies governing tourism in Sri Lanka, and it also received the endorsement of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.

The launch event in London will comprise several activities including the engagement of media as well as key leaders from the global travel industry. The activities in London will be graced by Wickremesinghe, Amaratunga and tourism officials. 

“The strategic positioning of Sri Lanka as a destination was developed by a special committee that volunteered their time and professional acumen, with assistance from the governing bodies for Sri Lanka Tourism (SLTDA) and Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB).  

“At the invitation of the chairman of this committee, the team engaged the global advertising agencies with representation in Sri Lanka to contribute to the process. They made an invaluable contribution towards this process, for which I am most grateful,” Amaratunga said.  

This launch will be followed by several communication activities in the print, outdoor and digital media which will be deployed in our generating markets as well as the high potential and high yielding markets, which have identified in the strategy.

“The development of the strategy has been an inclusive process wherein we engaged the multinational agencies in the country and share our perspectives with the two foremost bodies engaged with tourism – Sri Lanka Association of Inbound Tour Operators (SLAITO) and the Tourist Hoteliers Association of Sri Lanka (THASL). 
“I am confident that this collective and inclusive effort will help drive awareness of Sri Lanka as a destination, and will be the forerunner to help achieve our ambition of surpassing 3 million visitors in 2019,” Amaratunga noted. 

Following the launch of the new brand identity, a global marketing campaign will be undertaken, for which the RFP process will be executed in the final quarter of 2018. The tourism authorities intend to launch this campaign at ITB in Berlin in March 2019, which is the largest annual tourism fair in the world. 

“We will present Sri Lanka as a dynamic destination that offers the world our renowned beaches, ancient history and cultural heritage in addition to the myriad of other treasures that exist in the island.

“We will also highlight our unique wild life offerings, our heritage cities and the places of worship spanning across the island. The city of Colombo too, with its growing offerings to tourists in retail, entertainment and other varied activities will be featured in our communications,” Amaratunga said.