Jamaica wins gold at Adrian Awards

The Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB) says it was recognized by the Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International (HSMAI) with a Gold Adrian Award for public relations excellence for its entry in the television category “Revisiting Our Roots.”

The JTB said on Feb. 26 that the accolade was announced during the annual HSMAI Adrian Awards Gala, held at the New York Marriott Marquis on Feb. 24.

To secure this coverage, the JTB said it worked with the NBC TV Today Show producers on a special feature in which co-anchors Jenna Wolfe and Lester Holt traveled to the island to explore their Jamaican roots as part of the destination’s year long 50th anniversary celebrations.

“We are very pleased to receive this esteemed award for our work in targeting the Diaspora and African American markets,” said Jamaica’s director of tourism John Lynch.

“It’s an honor to be recognized by industry colleagues, and we are excited at the prospects of continuing to build on this strong market segment moving forward,” he added.

Fran Brasseux, executive vice president of HSMAI said the judges were “highly impressed by many of this year’s entrants and made special note of the overall trend of fully integrated campaigns that span across multiple channels.

“Marketing campaigns now rarely exist in siloes with the proliferation in the array of channels available,” he said. “This upsurge has only benefited the industry as a whole and is reflected in the excellent strategy and creativity exhibited by this year’s award winners.”

Founded in 1955, the JTB is Jamaica’s national tourism agency, based in the capital Kingston.

The JTB was declared the Caribbean’s leading tourist board by the World Travel Awards (WTA) from 2006 to 2012.

Also in 2012, Jamaica earned the WTA’s vote for the World’s leading cruise destination, the Caribbean’s leading destination and the Caribbean’s leading cruise destination for the sixth consecutive year.

Additionally, the Historic Falmouth Cruise Port was recognized as the World’s leading tourism development project for the second year.

Ocho Rios was named the Caribbean’s leading cruise port, Sangster International Airport was voted the Caribbean’s leading airport and Montego Bay Convention Centre named Caribbean’s leading meetings and conference centre.

The JTB said the destination also received recognition as the World’s most romantic destination and the Caribbean’s leading sports tourism destination.

Besides Kingston, JTB offices are located in Montego Bay, Miami, Toronto and London. Representative offices are also located in Düsseldorf, Barcelona, Rome, Amsterdam and Tokyo.