Rs.20 m digital campaign to sustain tourist arrivals
The government has already planned to roll out a digital media campaign this week scheduled to go ahead until end January at a cost of Rs.20 million.
Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) Chairman Buddhika Hewawasam speaking with the Sunday Times Business said that they are carrying out a target marketing campaign through this digital platform by creating own strategic content attracting different segments like MICE from India.
The main markets identified for this campaign are India, China, Russia, the UK and Germany, he said.
Moreover, depending on the feedback and response from the markets they would consider extending this campaign.
With January being the peak month for travellers to Sri Lanka, authorities believe they will be able to sustain the arrivals with numbers set to increase.
“We have increased year on year and we need comparatively higher numbers and we want this to continue,” Mr. Hewawasam said.
This month arrivals are expected to top 250,000 and by January numbers are believed to increase further ranging between 275,000- 300,000 tourists.“Everything is back in shape,” he said adding that the initial cancellations were particularly from the last minute bookings and this tend to fluctuate. But now tourists are reassured of their stay in Sri Lanka.”
With Nuwara Eliya being the only concern, he pointed out that occupancies were at around 30 per cent there due to the rail and road link still under construction.
However, beach holidays around the country are generating healthy numbers, he said.
Commenting on the oncoming monsoon weather conditions prevailing at the moment in Sri Lanka, Mr. Hewawasam assured that the industry and authorities are closely adhering to the National Building Research Organisation (NBRO) regulations.
He noted that all hotel sites and attractions have received NBRO clearance and any areas considered risky are avoided based on government information and warnings.
Mr. Hewawasam also said that another campaign was already carried out under the theme “Sri Lanka is ready” by creating about 250 clips on different areas and different sites by bloggers and influencers that voluntarily supported them.
Meanwhile, Sri Lanka Association of Inbound Tour Operators (SLAITO) President Nalin Jayasundera said that they have already approved the board paper to carry out the digital media campaign and had requested for it to be expedited.
With tourists continuing to arrive on the shores of Sri Lanka the next campaign is awaited in a bid to ensure that this trend could be sustained.
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