Jamaica wins Best Practice Gold Adrian Award in New York

The focus of 2020 HSMAI Adrian Awards was on Best Practices, Innovation and Community, showcasing industry’s most exceptional efforts

• The Adrian Awards represent the largest and most prestigious global travel marketing competition
• The award celebrates Jamaica’s comprehensive crisis response
• Competition has always been a showcase and benchmark of best practices in hotel and travel marketing and media

The Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB) was recognized by the Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International (HSMAI) with a Best Practice Gold Adrian Award for public relations excellence in the Crisis Communications/Management. The JTB’s entry, titled “Communicating Through a Crisis: A Model for Tourism Leadership,” focused on the destination’s thorough and thoughtful response to the pandemic, with an emphasis on innovative marketing and international communications. The focus of the 2020 HSMAI Adrian Awards was on Best Practices, Innovation and Community, showcasing the industry’s most exceptional efforts that will drive hospitality and tourism recovery.

“It is an honor to have our marketing and communications efforts lauded by an international entity at a time when we have worked so hard to show true tourism leadership globally,” said Donovan White Jamaica’s Director of Tourism. “A nimble and strategic approach to marketing will remain a top priority for the JTB as we continue working towards a strong recovery for the tourism industry.”

The award celebrates Jamaica’s comprehensive crisis response and ability to engage potential travelers at home due to border closures at the onset of the pandemic. At the heart of the JTB’s strategy was the debut of GEN-C, a generation born out of the shared experience of COVID-19 shutdowns. Attributed to Jamaica’s Minister of Tourism Hon. Edmund Bartlett, this global positioning of a new group of travelers was the basis for an international thought leadership platform. The award also celebrated Jamaica’s exceptional efforts to foster emotional connections, virtually, with Jamaican culture for people at home. The digital Escape to Jamaica series highlighted cuisine, wellness, and music through cooking demos, fitness classes, and weekly DJ sessions. Overall, the campaign achieved remarkable success with media impressions in the billions.

The Adrian Awards, presented by the Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International (HSMAI), represent the largest and most prestigious global travel marketing competition. Hosted annually, the competition has always been a showcase and benchmark of best practices in hotel and travel-related marketing and media.