Suitcases of Peru- Innovative Tourism Marketing

Every traveler's felt it: That moment of false hope when you mistake someone else's suitcase for yours on the luggage return belt. If you're creative (and practical), you tie a ribbon, tie or tag, to your bag to identify it among the hordes of grey and black  suitcases at the airport. One Peruvian creative agency realized that moment presented an opportunity to put eyeballs on their client—Peru tourism—and turned a few boring suitcases into an incredibly successful campaign to bring more visibility to Peru as a tourist destination.

As showcased in a video by Tribal 121, a creative agency based in Lima, the "Suitcases of Peru" campaign launched in  2016 to inspire travelers to visit Peru. As the video states, digital display ads in New York cost $124,000 per year, and in London, $260,000 per year. Instead of shelling out hundreds of thousands of dollars, Peru's tourism board, PromPerú, and Tribal 121 had a different plan: They decorated a series of suitcases with majestic images of the South American nation, then gave the luggage to some of the country's most recognizable travelers: fashion designers, chefs, musicians, and athletes among them.

These suitcases are personalized with images of the most famous and interesting tourist places of Peru. These bags were delivered to Peruvian celebrities who travel around the world, effectively promoting Peru as a travel destination, while also saving money on big advertisements. The development of this idea is when some of these famous Peruvians are at the airport, they are the center of attention and these bags promote and advertise the country of Peru.

The campaign has now been expanded so that ordinary people can order a Peru-branded suitcase too, via the Peru brand Facebook page. We're told they're so popular they're currently sold out, but more will be made available via an arrangement with a luggage brand.

I am hoping the Jamaica Tourist Board may consider a campaign like this. The best thing is that this campaign can go on for years as Jamaicans travel around the world. Even giving these suitcases away to select tourist visitors on arrival would ensure that even when those tourists travel to other destinations Jamaica will still be a conversation starter.