Sri Lanka Tourism looks to India as key tourism source market amid European recession

• Highlights importance of focusing on India, China along with other targeted markets for growth
• Express confidence in achieving 2 m target by end of 2023
• Points to negative publicity extended by Indian media had a detrimental impact on Sri Lanka’s tourism industry
• SLAITO President Nishad Wijetunga says TAAI Convention was a great opportunity to showcase Sri Lanka, offer firsthand experience situation SL to Indian media

SLTPB Chairman  Chalaka Gajabahu

Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB) Chairman Chalaka Gajabahu yesterday identified India as Sri Lanka’s primary tourism source market for the foreseeable future, citing Europe’s ongoing economic recession.

Speaking to journalists ahead of the 67th Convention of the Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) he noted the importance of focusing on India and China, along with other targeted markets, as the country’s best bets for tourism growth.

“We are not going to go all 100 countries, but we go for the lowest hanging fruits and that is why India and China are excellent. President Ranil Wickremesinghe also said to concentrate on India and China because the numbers are going to play a huge role for the next three to four years. Although there is a recession in Europe that does not mean we are ignoring the key markets there, but the key focus will be India and China for sure,” he explained.

In line with this strategy, Gajabahu said Sri Lanka Tourism will spend Rs. 1.4 billion over the next 12 months from the end of this month to mark a fresh approach to destination marketing including two domestic campaigns.

“We are targeting 1.55 to 2 million this year and we are confident of achieving the ambitious target,” he added.

He said SLTPB plans to launch its rejuvenation campaign for Sri Lanka at the end of this month, which will be rolled out for two months, followed by a thematic campaign that will be unveiled by late September or early October, further promoting Sri Lanka’s unique offerings and captivating experiences.

“As the SLTPB prepares to launch its rejuvenation campaign and further promotional activities, the focus on India and strategic partnerships between the two countries therefore will be vital in ensuring a successful recovery for Sri Lanka’s tourism industry,” he said.

India, China, the UK, France, Germany, Russia, Australia, Spain, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, the US, the Middle East, Japan and Korea are the key focused markets, whilst he said continuous promotions will be also conducted in other markets simultaneously.

Gajabahu acknowledged the negative publicity extended by the Indian media, had a detrimental impact on Sri Lanka’s tourism industry.

“Although business-to-business (B2B) interactions were relatively unaffected, marketing efforts targeting consumers (B2C) faced challenges due to the negative media coverage. Event to date some of the channels still show the same old clips,” he alleged.

However, he said that after two successful roadshows in India, tourist numbers were showing promising signs of growth.

Sri Lanka Association of Inbound Tour Operators (SLAITO) President Nishad Wijetunga said they were glad to partner and host the event, which will also be an ideal opportunity for the industry to interact with the Indian travel trade.

“This is a great opportunity for Sri Lanka to showcase our product and give a firsthand experience of the ground situation in the country and to show we have bounced back,” he added.