the story
The Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau promotes the country as a safe and beautiful destination. Suitable to visit on holiday or as a wedding and honeymoon destination.
the challenge
Sri Lanka has seen a drop in tourism numbers from the UK since the Easter Sunday bombings in 2019. With security issues being a key concern amongst travellers.
The tragic events saw tourist numbers drop significantly as people were wary of traveling to a country which Lonely Planet had named best in the world to visit in 2019.
the answer
With the peak season for holidaying in Sri Lanka approaching, markettiers hosted an afternoon of media interviews with arguably Sri Lanka’s most well-known export legendary former cricketer Kumar Sangakkara.
Kumar promoted the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau’s key message that the country is ‘open for business’ following the bombing, that security has been stepped up to protect tourists and the overall beauty and breath of the tourism offering.
the successes
The strategy implemented ensured strong coverage across TV, radio and podcasts. We secured coverage on SkySportsNews, Reuters TV, ESPN TV, BBC Radio 2, BBC Radio 5 Live, Talksport. In play podcast coverage included the Wisden podcast and Cricketer podcast.