‘So Sri Lanka’ to become newest tourism tagline

• To be officially launched at WTM in London on Nov. 5
• “Very natural, simple and highly adaptable”- tourism official
• Global promotion campaign early next year to target 5 key source markets

By Nishel Fernando 

‘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.