Sri Lanka, a safer destination for tourists - Faiszer Musthapha

"We have caged the tiger and restricted the terrorists to less than 4 sq. km. Due to the human shield, the Government of Sri Lanka is unable to clear this area in an overnight operation. But soon, LTTE terrorism will have no standing in Sri Lanka which will open-up the entire country for tourism, followed by the much awaited new brand strategy, introduced this month, to the international market," said Deputy Minister of Tourism, Faiszer Musthapha.

The new brand "Sri Lanka, A Small Miracle", the positioning that was conceptualized following months of research by A C Nielson and strategic planning sessions, will replace the current tagline "Sri Lanka, A Land Like No Other."

As part of the communication campaign, many promotions, road shows, and press conferences have been planned across fifteen cities in ten countries - a move that is expected to attract and generate more tourist arrivals into the island.

"The objective of Sri Lanka Tourism's re-branding exercise was to create a single core idea that can change people's perception of the country. The challenge faced by Sri Lanka Tourism during the brand strategy planning session in 2006, was to find an idea that embraces the truth of the country which is relevant to the potential visitor; then communicate that idea through every material item that is produced, thus establishing an integrated marketing communication approach," explained the Managing Director, Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau, Dileep Mudadeniya.

Sri Lanka Tourism's new brand positioning states, "One of the many unfathomable mysteries of Sri Lanka is how it manages to squeeze in so many different features. These include palm-fringed warm coastal beaches; picturesque highlands with sprawling tea plantations; over a two thousand five hundred year old ancient culture blended in later periods with the impact of Dutch, Portuguese, and British cultures; seven World Heritage Sites; probably the world's eighth wonder; diverse crops from coconut along the warm coastal waters to the world famous tea gardens; its range of spices; its abundant flora, fauna, and precious gem stones; all this in one picturesque island with a land area no larger than Ireland", Mudadeniya said.

"The positioning strategy was based on the key aspects of the destination - Diversity, Compactness, Authenticity - an Island which differentiate the destination from other competitors. Its friendly people truly combine these rich and diverse treasures so amazingly concentrated in this small island to provide the most pleasant, diverse, and authentic holiday experience no other Asian destination could so conveniently offer,"

he added.

As a result, all communication material have been revamped - the website has been re-launched with a new look and feel, in keeping with the brand strategy, brochures, posters, stationary, and memorabilia, with eight different themes unique to Sri Lanka have been developed, in addition to the new print and electronic media campaign that would be seen in prominent international trade magazines as well as TV campaigns on BBC, CNN, Al Jazeera, and Discovery Travel & Living.

Destination Representation Companies (DRCs) were appointed in key markets - namely in Middle East, France, Germany, Russia, and India to implement the creative execution of the new brand positioning of Sri Lanka.

To coincide with the new branding campaigne, Sri Lanka Tourism will promote value added offers for tourists arriving during the specified period. A post card campaign will be launched where 250,000 post cards will be distributed, while a discount booklet campaign will also be launched, with over 50 discount offers. Ten postcards and the discount booklet will be bundled together in to a gift box and handed over to tourists arriving in Sri Lanka.

The process to develop the new brand began as far back as 2004, with the participation of all stakeholders, where strategic planning and brain storming sessions were conducted and many related aspects were discussed and agreed upon.