Wild Guides: Sri Lanka’s local wildlife entices travellers to visit in new first-of-its-kind film
The Sri Lanka
Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB) has engaged an award-winning team of
nature documentary filmmakers* to create a first-of-its-kind
three-minute film capturing the irresistible island of Sri Lanka, from the perspective of the
country’s rich and diverse wildlife.
The SLTPB released the film to evoke the essence of its new branding – ‘So Sri Lanka’ – which encapsulates the fact that Sri Lanka is more than just a destination, it’s a feeling.
To entice experience-seeking travellers to visit Sri Lanka – named by Lonely Planet as the best country in the world to visit in 2019 – the film captures Sri Lanka’s
stunning landscapes and vibrant
culture from the viewpoint of the country’s most extraordinary
inhabitants: its wildlife. The film includes ‘up close and personal’
footage shot with (and by!) some of Sri Lanka’s most iconic residents – including elephants, turtles, leopards, blue whales
and fishing cats.
The
filming and production team behind the film all have extensive
experience working with the BBC’s Natural History Unit, collectively
responsible for some of its most spectacular series including
Blue Planet II, Africa, Human Planet and Our Blue Planet, the digital
campaign around Blue Planet II.
The
captivating three-minute film takes us on a wild journey across the
island nation’s stunning landscapes. Footage includes following a newly
hatched sea-turtle’s journey to the sea on the endless white-sand
beaches of the south coast, to getting a soaring “eagle”-eye
view of the spectacular ancient Sigiriya rock fortress; and watching
the world’s largest elephants travel in their home in the sprawling
Udawalawe National Park, as well as witnessing doves waking with the
vibrant sunrise over Colombo.
Director and producer of the short film, Nicola Brown, said:
“Sri Lanka is such a
beautiful country with incredible wildlife and we thought a great way of
telling its story visually would be from the perspective of its
animals. To achieve this, we utilised natural history filming techniques
and technology to capture
an immersive view of Sri Lanka
that would put the viewer in their world. We also had an opportunity to
put the cameras in the animal’s world – literally. Cheeky toque macaque
monkeys in Polonnaruwa quickly learned how to unscrew our camera rigs
and even ran
away with our kit!”
SLTPB
Chairman, Kishu Gomes, added: “Sri Lanka is like nowhere else in the world. We wanted to visualise what travellers can do, see and feel when they visit Sri Lanka in a way that is as unique as our country – which
is why we wanted to tell our story from the viewpoint of our amazing wildlife. Sri Lanka
is one of the best Safari destinations outside of Africa, and we also
have many other pleasures for visitors to discover; our beaches enjoy
sunshine all year round, our
people are warm and welcoming, and our food is abundantly flavourful. Sri Lanka must be felt to be believed, and we welcome all travellers to our country for an experience like no other.”
The new ‘So Sri Lanka’
branding, developed by J. Walter Thompson and Landor, was revealed at
the World Travel Market in London in November 2018 and marked
the start of Sri Lanka’s fresh approach to destination marketing.
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