by Monica Poling
Last updated: 12:20 AM ET, Sun February 12, 2017
While many tourism boards find that it is imperative to develop a sense of place in their promotional campaigns, aLithuania's State Department of Tourism is apparently more focused on developing a sense of "emotion."
Or at least that was the reason cited by the tourism department for posting stock pictures of Finland and Slovakia on social media to represent Lithuania
The decision to use images from other EU countries is a puzzling one under any circumstance, but especially when considering that Lithuania introduced the tourism slogan "Lithuania. Real is Beautiful" late last year.
"I believe that with this concept, clear values, and targeted use of them, we will become more visible, more interesting, and will stand out against other states, or at least among the neighbouring countries", said Jurgita Kazlauskiene, (former) Head of State Department of Tourism in a statement when rolling out the "Real is Beautiful" campaign.
Even the World Tourism Organization lauded the campaign, before the revelation of the campaign's less than real imagery--in a press release.
"The mix of creativity and ownership is a basic ingredient of a consistent branding strategy. Lithuania has demonstrated strong willingness to support its tourism sector and its unique treasures such as nature and culture," said UNWTO Secretary-General Taleb Rifai in the release.
Not surprisingly, Kazlauskiene has now been asked to step down.
The tourism gaffe caught fire on social media, as users began posting iconic images of visitor locations around the world and tagging them #RealIsBeautiful. A few, apparently inspired by Team Trump, also used the hashtag #AlternativeFacts.
Reportedly, even Lithuania's Prime Minister Saulius Skvernelis joined the conversation, tweeting "From tomorrow, we start working in the new government building in Karoliniskes," alongside an image of the Berlaymont Building in Brussels. As of press time, however, Prime Minister Skvernelis' Twitter account had been suspended.
Although the tourism chief has stepped down, the "Real is Beautiful" campaign continues.
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