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Tourism advocates pitch novel pathways to explore Sri Lanka
View(s):By Wasantha Ramanayake
Sri Lanka could be the next leading biking destination, as it has already been recognised for the ‘Pekoe Trail’, which is all about tea, nature, culture, and travel, consultant Miguel Cunat told the 10th World Tourism Leader Summit held in Colombo recently.
The Pekoe Trail was highlighted by TIME magazine as one of 100 great global destinations to visit in 2025.
Designing a tourist trail of cinnamon, red rice, or tea would be “uniquely Sri Lankan”, Mr. Cunat said. He pioneered the Pekoe Trail, the country’s latest tourism offering after the Cultural Triangle and Ramayana Trail.
Diversification from what is traditionally offered, such as culture, nature, sun and sea, is key to promoting tourism in the future, he explained.
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake presents a token of appreciation to the founder and the Head of the Sustainable Tourism Unit of the Colombo University (STUUoC), Professor Dr DAC Suranga Silva
Sri Lanka could promote solo and niche tourism, or special interest tourism of smaller groups. “These should be in the frontline of our strategy to promote tourism in the future,” Mr Cunat said.
Trail tourism is such a niche product for hikers and bikers following a specific trail while experiencing special interests such as architectural, culinary or heritage interests. Supporting local communities is a better mechanism to push tourism into remote corners and communities more equitably and sustainably as the industry grows, Mr. Cunat said.
“It needs to be done with the right strategy, the right funding, and the right technical expertise.” Mr. Cunat underscored the need to plan, implement and manage such trails sustainably.
Peter Hill, Fits Air vice president for passenger services and former CEO of SriLankan Airlines under Emirates, suggested promoting domestic travel as the easiest way to travel within half an hour to 50 minutes from Colombo to any part of the country. The cheapest option is using small 50- to 70-seater aircraft from Ratmalana Airport. “What is needed is the support of the authorities,” he said.
He also suggested flights into countries in Africa where there is a considerable presence of Sri Lankans through certain islands in the Indian Ocean, such as Mauritius, Seychelles, Maldives, and Madagascar, to increase revenue, serving as a stepping stone for Far Eastern countries such as China.
Speaking on the process of building and promoting a unique, attractive identity to differentiate Sri Lanka as a tourist destination Shangri-La Regional Head of Operations for the Indian Ocean region, Kieran Twomey, said that Sri Lanka has all the raw ingredients, the culture, wildlife, coastline and extraordinary people as a destination.
An integrated global branding campaign could be distilled into four words, ‘one country, one story’, such as for Malaysia, ‘Truly Asia’, he explained. One unified national brand archive where everything relates back to it, and hotels should have a 12-month calendar tied to food and culinary experiences and festivals such as the Sinhalese and Tamil New Year, which are unique to Sri Lanka, to promote the country year-round, he said.
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake presented a token of appreciation to the founder and the Head of the Sustainable Tourism Unit of the Colombo University (STUUoC), Professor Dr DAC Suranga Silva, for his contribution to organising the Tourism Expo 2025 commemorating the World Tourism Day 2026.
The Tourism Expo 2025 consisted of events starting from school tourism club competitions in the nine provinces, the tourism fair ‘Colombo Travel Mart 2025’, the job fair, the SME awareness programme, the 10th International Tourism Research Conference and the 10th International Tourism Leader Summit.
The STUUoC was established to foster sustainable development of the tourism sector by empowering learners and delivering cutting-edge contributions to the field.
| Marine tourism potential discussed Sri Lanka could develop the marine tourism sector, said Australian University Professor Noel Scott in his keynote address to the 10th International Tourism Research Conference in Colombo recently. Professor Scott from Edith Cowan University said that Sri Lanka could develop the blue economy and marine tourism. For that, the country could implement the marine tourism policy actions developed by the Sri Lankan researcher under the Australia Awards Programme 2025, Prof Scott said. These policies involve establishing eco-certification programmes, strengthening collaboration among whale watching, yachting, scuba diving and lifesaving associations and improving product quality and diversification, he said. Sri Lanka has some directions for the development of the marine tourism sector. “What is needed is the implementation,” he said, adding that the universities have a greater role to play. Oceans have now officially been recognised to be sustainably managed. This is especially relevant to Sri Lanka considering its strategic location and abundant marine species such as whales and turtles and the potential for the production of energy. Sri Lanka has also experienced devastating marine environment pollution caused by shipping accidents. The 10th International Tourism Research Conference (ITRC), under the theme “Sustainable Transformation and Tourism”, organised by the STUUoC and Alumni Association of Tourism Economics and Hospitality Management with the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority, Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau, Ministry of Tourism and Sri Lanka Tourism, as an important part of the Tourism Expo 2025, ended at BMICH on Wednesday. According to Dr DAC Suranga Silva, chair of ITRC, more than 400 delegates, researchers, academics, industry leaders, policymakers, and postgraduate and graduate students joined the conference. The conference featured five technical sessions on sustainable connectivity, new tourism products and circular economy, digital technologies, AI and smart solutions, human resource development and service quality, and shared prosperity with a special focus on Indo-Sri Lanka tourism, while a diplomatic and global leaders’ discussion with 25 foreign research scholars provided valuable insights into global sustainable tourism strategies, challenges and best practices, explained Prof Silva. The co-chair of the conference, Professor Mubarak Kaldeen, said that alongside 20 research papers presented, five research publications relating to tourism economics and sustainability were launched. In parallel to the UN World Tourism Day 2025 celebrations, a travel and tourism training workshop was held jointly with the Swami Vivekananda Cultural Centre, of the Indian High Commission, Colombo, he said. | |
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