Sri Lankan Airlines, the National Carrier of Sri Lanka and a member of the one world alliance, reaffirming the global appeal of its marketing communication endeavors, bagged a gold award at the PATA Gold Awards 2020.
Accordingly, the National Carrier was among the 20 winners announced recently at the virtual PATA Travel Mart 2020. SriLankan Airlines was awarded the title ‘Marketing Carrier’ for its Pan India campaign- Next Door Neighbor and Serendipity Next Door.
SriLankan Airlines’ Chief Executive Officer, Vipula Gunatilleka said, “Winning an award is a reason for celebration and an affirmation that we are heading in the right direction.
Receiving this coveted title from PATA, specially under the prevailing circumstances, gives us hope that we are capable of facing the challenging times ahead and our remedial communication content aiming to garner long-term, universal appeal can have a strong impact on our business recovery, he added. ”
PATA CEO Dr. Mario Hardy said, “The winners of the PATA Gold Awards set industry standards for excellence and innovation and provides the association with the perfect opportunity to recognise and reward the very best the Asia Pacific travel industry has to offer,”
The winning entry of the ‘Marketing Carrier’ category, ‘ Next door neighbors’ is a visual representation of multi-faceted attractions of Sri Lanka primarily targeting holidaymakers of India, with the underlying message that one does not have to look very far for exciting or serene getaways when Sri Lanka is right next door.
India being the Airline’s single largest market, it was vital that effective marketing campaigns were executed to retain the country’s appeal among the Indian travellers in the aftermath of the Easter Sunday tragedy which resulted in a massive 80 percent reduction of tourist arrivals in the country.
(LIN)