Sanya, China Takes Home One Silver and Two Bronzes at IAI International Travel Awards Ceremony

SANYA, China, May 30, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The South China city of Sanya collected a silver and two bronze awards at the IAI Festival and Travel Awards ceremony held in Beijing on the evening of May 28, 2021, at which winners of the coveted honors were announced. Most noteworthy, the Wonderland Sanya campaign, created by the Sanya Tourism Promotion Board (STPB), won the silver award in the Cultural Tourism IP category. The Sanya International Travel Destination-Integrated Marketing Communication campaign and the 2020 TOP 50 Travelers Conference, co-hosted by STPB and Qyer.com, garnered two bronzes in the Brand Marketing category.

"STPB has taken an open and novel approach to exploring the integration of culture and tourism as a part of its ongoing efforts to promote Sanya as a travel destination," said STPB executive deputy director Wu Xiaolin during her speech at the ceremony. "With an open mind, we welcome any and all proposals for new products and campaigns based on a joint marketing model. We will continue to grow the brand by expanding on the reasons that a traveler might choose Sanya as a destination, whether it be the value proposition or the lifestyle options that the city offers, or simply the many ways that holiday makers can have fun there. We actively seek to bring on board high-quality projects, develop new tourism models based on the most demanding of standards while continuing to amplify the message that has successfully branded Sanya in both domestic and international markets as a travel destination of choice. The aim is to make contributions to the development of Sanya as a world-class tourism locale alongside the establishment of the Hainan Free Trade Port."

STPB launched the promotion campaign themed Wonderland Sanya in December 2020 after completing an analysis of traveler preferences and segmenting source markets based on an in-depth study of the local tourism market. Targeting major consumer groups in the 18 to 35 age bracket in tandem with themes that are more relevant to young consumers, the campaign has attracted an increasing number of domestic travelers who had given up their international travel plans due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The creator of the campaign leveraged the city's tourism resources in a move to attract the targeted younger demographic, which, in turn, helped to boost the development of the market.

As for marketing communications, STPB has rolled out a new joint marketing model by integrating product and media resources in tandem with market needs. With an increased focus on the collection of tourism-related data and updates to the subsidy policy, alongside the city's branding efforts and public-private joint marketing, the Board is proving successful in facilitating the rapid recovery and return to steady growth of the tourism market.

Going forward, STPB plans to raise awareness worldwide of Sanya as a warm-climate, seaside travel destination by adding the following to-dos to its roadmap:

• Constantly research and put into action marketing models that are in line with the current development trends of the local market;
• Combine the hosting of innovative offline marketing campaigns with the construction of an online platform that re-enforces the messaging that highlights the uniqueness of Sanya as a travel destination;
• Create different promotional themes for each target market, including, among others, as a spot for destination weddings, health and wellness tourism, as well as a vacation destination with something to offer every member of the multi-generational family.