LTDC Public Relations Manager ‘Manchafalo Motšoeneng
Rethabile Pitso
THE Lesotho Tourism Development Corporation (LTDC) has appealed to local manufacturers in the tourism industry to make use of the agency’s new brand destination logos to promote their products.
LTDC Public Relations Manager ‘Manchafalo Motšoeneng said the brand logos had been designed in three colour-coded themes for the three areas of culture, adventure and skiing.
“We have designed a primary logo which is accessible to all tourism traders and this basic logo is similar to the one that is seen on billboards in town. However, there are themes which are specific to traders in the culture, adventure and skiing sectors,” she said.
“A tourism trader who specialises in cultural products could use the relevant logo which has a pink colour. This colour was chosen for the logo because it closely resembles the traditional red ochre which is commonly used for traditional rituals. We also chose the pinkish colour because we did not want any of the products looking dull.”
Ms Motšoeneng said the adventure sector has an orange colour.
“Orange resembles the sandstone rock features which are mostly found in the mountainous regions where the adventures usually take place,” she said.
“The logo for skiing has a blue and white colour to represent the clear blue sky and snow.”
The logos’ features, said Ms Motšoeneng, had been designed to enable even the most unique products to bear the logo without any distortions.
“We designed the features fully mindful of the fact that some manufacturers may need soft-copies in order to apply the logos onto their labels,” she said.
“We have availed them in different forms to enable graphic designers to apply them without distorting the image. We are also particular about the dimensions used for the logos and therefore appeal to the traders to ensure that the sizes and colours conform to our specifications.
“For instance, the logo’s height is meant to be seven inches and we recommend it remains as such. All the logos are accompanied by the tagline ‘Kingdom in the Sky’ or ‘Lesotho Haeso’ which we are all familiar with.”
Ms Motšoeneng said modifications had been made to the primary logo to allow flexibility and dynamism for emerging products.
“On the primary logo, most people would notice there is the image of a man wearing a hat and blanket sitting on a horse but in the modified versions, the image is slightly changed,” she said.
“The horse
is placed before the ‘L’ of Lesotho but the same message is displayed across all the logos.”
The LTDC also intends to provide logos to all the traders who would be showcasing their products next month at the Tourism Indaba in Durban, South Africa.
“We are strategising on how best to produce enough logos to cater for traders who will be attending the Tourism Indaba,” said Ms Motšoeneng.
“The logos seek to enhance the value of the products to potential buyers during the event which will be attended by tourists from all over the world. We aim to advertise Lesotho at such big platforms but we are facing financial challenges.”
She said they were considering partnering with some companies to assist in publicising the destination brand and making it accessible to traders.
Ms Motšoeneng added that the logo had been well received by the public during the Mekhoaneng to ‘Thaba Bosiu Cultural Walk’ last month which LTDC co-sponsored with its orange-themed logo.
