Cinnamon spearheads Sri Lanka’s destination recovery plan
View(s):Spearheading a tourism-industry-led revival after the Easter Sunday attacks is Cinnamon Hotels and Resorts, strategically driving forth multiple campaigns, promotions and initiatives in the recent four month period.
“First and foremost, the support and love Sri Lanka received soon after the attacks from across the globe was truly reassuring and promising,” said Jit Gunaratne, President Leisure Sector John Keells Group, in a statement. “We received truly uplifting messages from celebrity guests that Cinnamon hosted throughout the years, urging and encouraging us to show the world our true Sri Lankan spirit.”
To first project a positive image of the country, Cinnamon created a video featuring comments by international celebrities urging the world to visit Sri Lanka. The heart-warming video produced by Cinnamon in collaboration with the Sri Lanka Tourism Board as part of the ‘Love Sri Lanka’ campaign saw celebrities hosted by Cinnamon such as celebrated English food writer and TV personality Nigella Lawson, celebrity Aussie chef and restaurateur George Calombaris and world famous musicians such as Shaggy and Joaquin Quino McWhinney of Big Mountain sharing their love and support went viral within a few days. The video also showed footage of countries around the world, from France to Indonesia, from the Netherlands to Dubai, all in solidarity with Sri Lanka.
The feedback, engagement and response to the video led Cinnamon to further engage with popular celebrities as destination ambassadors to promote Sri Lanka, among them Miss World 2017 Manushi Chhillar, and former Miss Sri Lanka and famed Bollywood actress Jacqueline Fernandez.
“Our top source market over the past decade has been India, and one of our main objectives through strategic partnerships with destination ambassadors was to further penetrate our key Indian demographic,” said Dileep Mudadeniya, Vice President John Keells Holdings, Head of Brand Marketing Cinnamon Hotels and Resorts.
The visits of Ms. Chhillar and Ms. Fernandez garnered much publicity through the public relations network across India through several mediums such as Television, Print, Social Media and online.
“Cinnamon has always strived to be a hospitality trendsetter by using digital marketing strategies as well as the latest trends in influencer marketing to create visibility for our brand and Sri Lanka,” noted Mr.Mudadeniya.
Cinnamon has also been shortlisted for the International Travel & Tourism Awards 2019 (ITTA) under the Best Digital Campaign in Tourism category for the Cinnamon Travel Blogger Conference Asia (Cinnamon TBC Asia) – a pioneering digital strategy implemented to enhance Cinnamon’s digital footprint among the virtually influenced global tourist market.