JTB to Roll Out New Advertising Campaign October
By: , July 3, 2013The Full Story
The Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB) is slated to unveil a new advertising and promotional campaign in October, which is designed to strengthen Jamaica’s position as a premier tourism destination, and cement its place ahead of its competitors.
Tourism and Entertainment Minister, Hon. Dr. Wykeham McNeill, who made the disclosure during his 2013/14 Sectoral Debate presentation in the House on July 2, said the new campaign will replace the existing promotions, which were based on the decade old ‘Once You Go, You Know’ slogan, “that has successfully intrigued and attracted visitors to Jamaica.”
In his presentation, themed:‘A Sector for the People: Making Tourism for Us All’,Dr. McNeill, while acknowledging the “effectiveness” of the campaign which the slogan underpinned, pointed out that based on the results of “extensive” market research, the JTB decided that a “new, fresh and exciting” campaign is needed to “keep us at the forefront of our competition.”
“The new creative was shot earlier this year and the campaign will be ready for launch in October, in time to take us into this (2013/14) winter season,” the Minister added.
Dr. McNeill informed that a “critical” part of the new campaign will be the strong emphasis on using new information outlets, such as social media networks, to streamline promotions to target and expand markets.
“As we expand our markets and use new creative(s) to attract visitors to our shores, we must also explore ways to capitalize on Jamaica’s rich resources and natural competitive advantage to expand our market segment offerings. Segments such as health tourism, sports tourism, community tourism, and events tourism can offer a distinct competitive advantage,” the Minister argued.
Dr. McNeill also highlighted the “rapidly growing” volun-tourism niche of the travel industry which he said, “although small at this time,” presents “good opportunities for Jamaica, particularly with respect to our Diaspora.”
“The JTB has facilitated and encouraged volun-tourism through volunteer groups that have travelled to Jamaica over the years. Just last month alone, we had the RuJohn Foundation, as well as two groups that came, working along with (United States) Ambassador, Pamela Bridgewater. I take this opportunity to thank them for their ongoing efforts,” the Minister stated.
Contact: Douglas McIntosh