Of myths and glory days in tourism
The story of comebacks is inherent in Sri Lanka’s tourism industry and today the expectations of achieving their potential is falling short of being gained due to the lack of adequate promotions and marketing.
The industry waited for a number of years for the possibility of a global promotion campaign to kick off but just before it could finally take off there was a change of government and most believed that the preparations made for the commencement of it would take place any time soon.
However, since the new administration took office there have only been continuous promises.
July 26 was the last date given for the nation branding campaign to be launched but that wait is now over and it turned out to be a mirage.
Deputy Tourism Minister Prof. Ruwan Ranasinghe said at a media briefing held recently that if anyone believes global campaigns will bring in more travellers then it is a “myth.”
He noted that there was some concern regarding the procurement of the previous campaign. This has led to growing frustration over the current developments so much so that some believe it is necessary that authorities need to consult with those involved in the sector without basing decisions on their own understanding.
Connaisance de Ceylan Chairman / Managing Director Chandra Wickramasinghe told The Sunday Times Business that global promotions were needed and the campaign has to start mainly on social media. Targetting the Indian traveller it is good to carry out promotions during this time of the year whereas the European sector needs to be targetted around September/October.
He pointed out that tour operators need to be supported as they generate around 60 per cent of the formal traffic to the destination. Achieving the target of 3 million arrivals is only possible with a proper promotional campaign since travel fairs only provided space for business-to-business meetings with tour operators.
This is where travel agents and tour operators ensure that they are able to meet to educate them on the respective destinations to be marketed.
In 2018 there were 24,747 rooms and the country generated a traffic of 2.3 million arrivals while in 2024 the number of rooms had increased to 55,455 and welcomed 2.05 million arrivals.
This clearly highlights the potential Sri Lanka has and the need to significantly increase numbers and not just bask in glory days! State officials indicate that one of the main concerns among the current administration is becoming increasingly evident in that they are averse to any expenditure especially in large sums.
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