SL’s discount image barrier for economic growth
Sri Lanka has to actively pursue high-end tourism, as simply 2 million tourists will not be adding anything to the GDP, a top international hotel chief said.
Minor International Group CEO Dillip Rajakarier used his keynote at CA Sri Lanka’s 46th National Conference to highlight that Sri Lanka should elevate the destination as a top value proposition. “So long as the country is known as a discount destination or value destination, Sri Lanka will not reap the benefits. They talk about price always being discounted, and it starts from the top because they talk about achieving 2 million tourists, which will not be adding anything to the GDP.”
On the technological side, AI, blockchain and the digital platforms have rewritten the rules for strategy for technology and also for transformation, he said, pointing out that a small app in Colombo can serve a market in Sydney. “While cyber threats and data governance actually redefined our competitiveness as much as our infrastructure today, the environment and the green strategy are not optional anymore. Climate change and the risks today are rewriting some of the supply chains and the sustainability of becoming a currency.”
Producer to a brand builder
Drawing from Minor International’s growth journey, he said that when he joined Minor International, it was a food company, and Minor’s first venture was to bring pizza to Thailand. “Thais don’t like cheese, and few Thais like pizzas, but we did bring pizzas to Thailand, and we secured the franchise of one of the big Global names from the US, which is the pizza company, and it was a hit. We retained the top spot. Fast forward to 2001, we parted ways, and we built our own brand, which is now called the Pizza Company. We did things differently. The brand quickly differentiated itself from its rivals with a fresh, innovative approach in terms of pizzas appealing to the Thai palette and also for the tourists who visit Thailand, and we quickly overtook our previous partner in that top spot. It remains the most loved pizza in Thailand today, and now we’ve started to even franchise the brand outside Thailand, so if there’s one industry which can be a springboard to global recognition, it is tourism.”
Sri Lanka is not just another island destination, he stressed, noting that it is a living museum. “It’s a wellness sanctuary, wellness sanctuary and then adventure playground wrapped all into one little Pearl in the Indian Ocean.”
So, to transform this potential into a global positioning, it is important to move from price to value. To do this, ensure the sustainability of this country is maintained. Ensure the local economies are thriving. Learn from some other countries which have really led from being a price-sensitive tourist destination to a value proposition.”
Last year, the TV series White Lotus was filmed in Minor hotels in Thailand, which is called the soft power, which totally transformed the country from being just a discount destination to a value destination, which has seen a high rate increase by more than 40 per cent.
Sri Lanka is one of the cheapest destinations, Mr. Rajakarier said, noting that one can buy a hotel room for US$ 60 a night. “For $ 60, I cannot travel from London to Birmingham. It will cost me more, and that’s how Sri Lanka has been positioned.”
Building a national brand
“Tourists don’t buy hotels. They buy a story, and the story must be consistent, it must be powerful and more importantly, must be aspirational,” he noted further, saying that sustainability should be looked at as a strategy, because the next generation of travellers will choose these nations that care about sustainability.
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