Skift Travel News Blog

Experience Abu Dhabi has launched a new global campaign titled ‘Find Your Pace’, with the aim of inspiring curiosity ‘for every type of traveller.’

The campaign video follows four characters as they explore Abu Dhabi for the first time, with destinations featured in the campaign including Al Ain Oasis, Louvre Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, Louvre Abu Dhabi, and the Al Wathba Fossil Dunes.

You can take a look at the video below:

Sri Lanka has finally announced its plans to roll out its global tourism marketing campaign urging tourists “You’ll Come Back For More,” marking the first such campaign since 2007.  

Skift had earlier highlighted the country’s 16-year gap in robust tourism promotion. The country had developed a comprehensive consumer campaign in 2021, which had then been shelved.

The new campaign is set to unfold in phases, initially focusing on communicating the restoration of stability in the country and its readiness to welcome tourists, this will run through February. Subsequent stages will elaborate on the central theme of “You’ll come back for more,” targeting key source markets of Sri Lanka Tourism.

Ogilvy, the creative agency behind the campaign, based its strategy on insights revealing that over 30% of tourists visiting Sri Lanka are repeat travelers.

The government has also urged the private sector to play a pivotal role in attracting tourists, with Tourism Minister Harin Fernando emphasizing that the government’s responsibility was restricted to ensure an enabling environment.

Tourism Targets

This year’s target for tourist arrivals in Sri Lanka is 1.5 million, a goal viewed by some as modest given the destination’s capacity and potential.

According to the latest tourism data, Sri Lanka had welcomed 1.3 million tourists by November, with India leading as the largest contributor with almost 260,000 arrivals, followed by Russia with 168,000 tourists.

The country plans to welcome 2.5 million tourists next year.

Free Tourist Visas

As part of a broader strategy to rejuvenate the tourism sector and achieve a target of 5 million arrivals by 2026, Sri Lanka announced issuing free tourist visas until March for visitors from seven countries — India, China, Russia, Japan, Thailand, Indonesia, and Malaysia.

The backdrop to these efforts includes last year’s wave of anti-government protests, beginning in April, triggered by severe shortages of food, fuel, and medicines. The country declared a state of emergency, facing what is considered its most significant economic crisis.

Destination Canada has joined forces with Nicole Byer, host of the Netflix show ‘Nailed It!’, on a series of short videos designed to teach viewers ‘how to winter the Canadian way.’

The campaign is made up of four short videos, which sees Byer in a series of humorous sketches and locations as she shares her tips and techniques on how to navigate the Canadian climate from the perspective of a cold weather novice.

The tongue in cheek videos cover a range of topics, including how to fall with grace when skiing, how to ensure your winter wardrobe is couture, how to get involved in winter sports (or at least pretend you know the rules), and how to master the cold plunge.

You can watch the full video series on the Destination Canada website.

Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority has launched a new cat-inspired campaign designed to highlight the ‘#PurrrfectVacation’.

The ‘All About You’ campaign was created by FABLEfx, and stars Leo the cat as he journeys across Ras Al Khaimah to discover all that the Emirate has to offer whilst maintaining his ‘laid-back demeanor’.  

According to a release, the feline character was inspired by a real rescue-cat named Leo, who found a home in Ras Al Khaimah and became a social media icon in the process. 

In addition to the creative elements of the campaign, there is also a gamification element where players have the opportunity to win a trip to Ras Al Khaimah and discount vouchers.

“Ras Al Khaimah’s wealth of experiences comes to life in a whimsical way in our new campaign. The decision to choose a cat character for the Ras Al Khaimah’s latest marketing campaign is a strategic one that is based on consumer insights, brand alignment and research that shows ad campaigns featuring mascots are 37% better positioned for greater market share,” said Raki Phillips, CEO of Ras Al Khaimah Tourism and Development Authority.

“This was reinforced with a YouGov survey that validated that the presence of the cat in our campaign resonates with our target audience and adds to its likeability with scores of up to 90% among tested campaigns in all markets. This creative campaign will help put the Emirate on the map for new tourists, with the help of a fascinating and memorable character, who was once a real-life and beloved icon in the Emirate”, said Raki Phillips, CEO of Ras Al Khaimah Tourism and Development Authority.”

easyJet has launched a new campaign in collaboration with creative agency VCCP London that features some of the world’s most renowned faces in art brought to life.

The ‘Get Out There’ campaign sees Mona Lisa, David, The Thinker, Girl with the Pearl Earring, and even a pair of cherubs as they embark on journeys through Europe – with the much loved tourist attractions becoming the tourists themselves. 

As more and more creative agencies continue to utilize the power of AI-generated content for their marketing campaigns, easyJet and VCCP London chose to find and cast real people to star in the campaign in order to ‘capture the humanity and unbounded spirit of these historic icons experiencing travel for the first time.’

“We are so excited about our new brand platform. With this campaign we have redefined the role of advertising at easyJet and taken it back to fundamental marketing principles. We know travel is a category where distinctiveness is a challenge, and we think this work makes easyJet more emotional and memorable than we’ve ever been before,” said Gabriella Neudecker, customer and marketing director at easyJet.

Virgin Voyages have expanded their partnership with Chief Entertainment, Lifestyle & Celebration Officer, Jennifer Lopez, with the introduction of Jen AI, a new personalized invitation tool.

Thanks to the newly launched campaign, customers will now have the opportunity to create a personalized invitation from Jennifer Lopez, or at the very least, an impressive resemblance of her, thanks to the Jen AI tool.

By simply answering a few questions, guests will have the power to generate a personalized invitation from Lopez thanks to augmented reality, which can then be shared with friends and family.

Take a look at the tongue in cheek video from Virgin Voyages about the new tool below:

You can create your own personalized invite by visiting the Virgin Voyages Jen AI website.

At Skift, we are looking to unearth the most creative and forward-thinking innovations in travel through our Skift Ideas Franchise, which includes the Skift IDEA Awards, Skift Editorial Hub and the Skift Ideas Podcast.

You can listen and subscribe to the Skift Ideas Podcast through your favorite podcast app here.