My Jamaica Your Jamaica

THE WEEKLY GLEANER | DECEMBER 10 - DECE MBER 16, 2020 | www.jam aica-gleaner.com | I17 world’s largest department store, Macy’s, all used Jamaican themes for advertising and promotion. The‘A fi wi country’slogan was intro- duced in the campaign titled‘Discover Jamaica - We Are More Than A Beach’ (1975-1984). This campaign focused primarily on encouraging residents to vacation in Jamaica. It is also under this campaign that the JTB won the coveted ASTA Presidential Citation, from the UK’s Travel Awards, and was placed by The New York Times among the top five tourist boards in the world. For health, fitness and sporting events, ‘Make It Jamaica Again’ (1984- 1994) highlighted the diversity of the Jamaican tourism product. During this period, Jamaica became the first Caribbean country to welcome 1,000,000 visitors in a calendar year. It was during this period that the JTB also received the Big Apple Award for re- storing Jamaica’s image after Hurricane Gilbert and partnered with the Jamaica Hotel & Tourist Association to develop the annual Jamaica Product Exchange Trade Show (JAPEX), the premier travel trade event and the single most impor- tant business generator for Jamaica’s tourist industry. With the increased popularity of the island’s music and artistes, the JTB incorporated even more of the is- land’s experiences to position Jamaica internationally for visitors. One Love (1994-2003) was complemented by direct travel agent support services, and the JTB pioneered the Jamaica Travel Specialist Programme. That programme would cease after a few years, to be replaced by the Jamaica Travel Specialist: A One Love Rewards Programme in 2012. The JTB’s out-of- the-box approach to marketing, using data to specifically target consumers, was marked with ‘Once You Go, You Know’ (2003-2015). In expanding its aggressive and tar- geted multi-media approach, the JTB, for the first time, used cinema adver- tising to reach an audience of over 7.4 million moviegoers in four major US cities, and launched the first travel marketing website in the Caribbean. With rapidly changing marketing trends emerging, the JTB rode the wave with ‘Home of Alright’ (2015- 2018), increasing Jamaica’s presence on several social media platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Pinterest. Destination Jamaica has grown to become a global leader among travel destinations. The Jamaica Tourist Board continues its legacy of market- ing one of the world’s most engaging, renowned and beautiful destinations. At its core is an international team sup- ported by everyday Jamaicans who work to make each visit to this island an unforgettable experience. On the map, Jamaica may seem like a small dot in the Caribbean Sea, but the island’s influence on world culture is the size of a continent. The destination stands as a cultural giant, justifying that claim that Jamaica is the Heartbeat of the World (2019-present). A Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB) campaign poster. CONTRIBUTED MY JAMAICA, YOUR JAMAICA THE WEEKLY GLEANER | DECEMB R 10, 2020 - JANUARY 9, 2021 | www.jamaica-gleaner.com | MY JAMAICA, YOUR JAMAICA