Sri Lanka Tourism UK wins - Marketing Excellence Award

It was a proud moment for Sri Lanka Tourism UK office when they received the world’s premier marketing recognition award from the Chartered Institute of Marketing UK. The Sri Lanka Tourism UK office topped the Hotels, Leisure and Tourism category surpassing 10 other nominees which included some of the most recognised brands in the world. The following were the finalists in the Hotels / Leisure and Travel Sector.

Roderick Wilkes and Sanjika Perera with the award

* Best Western

* Brunel’ Great Britain

* Lancashire & Blackpool Tourist Board

* Leicester Shire Promotions Ltd

* Marylebone Cricket Club

* Museum of London

* National Museums Northern Ireland

* Page & Moy Travel Group

* Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau - London

* Welcome to Yorkshire

Sri Lanka Tourism UK was the only overseas national tourist office based in the UK to be shortlisted for the Marketing Excellence Awards by the specialist industry panel; the nomination recognises their quality standards and specialist achievements in the leisure and tourism sector. The dedicated and hard working team at Sri Lanka Tourism’s London office should be commended for this unrivalled industry accolade.

The nomination particularly focused upon the integrated marketing campaign which took place between March and June 2009. This helped encourage new visitors from the UK in 2009 despite most other countries witnessing a significant decline. This campaign brought together hoteliers, ground Handlers, airlines, tour operators and the tourism offices to secure tangible and measurable results.

The award will congratulate the entire Sri Lankan tourism industry including the national carrier SriLankan Airlines who joined to provide an amazing value proposition during a challenging period. The campaign was designed and executed in the UK with the help of Romanski (creative & Media) and Representation Plus (PR). They will all share the honours of the award for the team work and synergistic marketing effort.

Winners were announced on Tuesday February 15, at the prestigious Grosvenor House Hotel on Park Lane, London, UK.

Sanjika Perera (Fellow / Chartered Marketer) - Director UK and Ireland said “Sri Lanka Tourism is thriving now but has gone through some challenging times in the past. I am proud to be a part of a world class team that gave Sri Lanka Tourism the credit it truly deserves. This award is testimony of their commitment.”

“I am happy to learn that the Chartered Institute of Marketing - the world’s largest professional marketing body has recognized SriLanka Tourism’s corporate campaign which will undoubtedly help us to contribute towards the growth of the tourism industry in our country,” said Chitrangani Herat Gunaratne, the Chairperson of The Chartered Institute of Marketing - Sri Lanka Region.

CIM Sri Lanka Region has the second largest student and professional Membership group outside the UK.