Discovering Sri Lanka’s lesser known attractions through the eyes of social media influencers

Reaching over 10 million global social media users through 416 blogger articles in 2018, Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau successfully hosted 32 travel bloggers and social media influencers during the last seven months, in a bid to showcase Sri Lanka as a prime dream destination. 

During 2017, a total social media of 68 million has been recorded via all social media platforms. For both 2017 and 2018, it has been recorded altogether 79 million. 

The travel bloggers, social media influencers covering various popular social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and Youtube were part of Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau’s visiting blogger platform. 

The total combined reach on virtual travel blogger platforms and popular social media hit over 79 million, for both 2017 and 2018, while over 12 million global social media users and followers engaged with the original content created by bloggers and influencers. The outcome has been reflected in the renewed interest shown by tour operators and travel agents who cite that Sri Lanka remains a favoured holiday destination year after year. 

The travel bloggers, social media influencers covering various popular social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and Youtube were part of Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau’s visiting blogger platform. 

SLTPB recorded that nearly 416 blogger articles, posts, videos have been generated by the visiting bloggers and influencers up to June this year. It is believed that the reach of the content on social media will increase as writers share anecdotes and visuals from Sri Lanka. 

The bloggers and influencers were from key European markets including Germany, France, along with Czech Republic, Hungary Norway, Australia, China, India and Middle East. 

Tourist arrivals from these countries have been gaining momentum and it is learnt that these visiting programs enhances the visibility of Sri Lanka as a preferred travel destination. 

As part of the campaign, bloggers visited several popular tourist sites and many lesser known attractions throughout the island. Locations such as Anuradhapura, Habarana, Trinco, Arugam Bay, Pothuvill, Badulla, Riverstone – Matale, Ella, Udawalawe and Southern Costal Stretch are some of the highlights of the campaign. 

Altug Galip AKA kyrenian an instagrammer from Cyprus with 1.3 million followers said his visit to Sri Lanka has left a memorable indelible impression. Speaking to the SLTPB he said that Sri Lanka was akin to a piece of art with so many colours to see and photograph. Photos by Altug garnered over 150,000 likes and comments.

YouTube sensation Mickey Bustos from Canada who has a fan base over 2.4 million on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube gained nearly 1.1 million in engagement for his content on Sri Lanka. In one of his videos he said, “We had no idea that Sri Lanka has so many amazing things to checkout – Sri Lanka must put it on every traveller’s bucket list.”

Leading Travel Instagrammer from Singapore Dotz Soh who has follower base of 975,000 on Instagram said that travelling around in Sri Lanka felt like being in Heaven.

The bloggers and social media influencers were carefully selected by SLTPB and were grouped based on their style of destination exploration, similarity in travel interests and way of presenting. Last year the SLTPB noted a reach of 68 million through similar campaigns. 

During their exploration tours, Travel Bloggers and Influencers engaged in with many social networking sessions organised by hospitality partners including Ozo Colombo, Mount Lavinia Hotel Colombo, Hilton Colombo, Amari Galle, Avani Kalutara, Club Hotel Dolphin Waikkal, Hotel Sigiriya, The Grand Hotel – Nuwara Eliya, Nilaveli Beach Hotel, Jetwing Surf, Mahaweli Reach – Kandy, etc.

According to SLTPB, the reason for the success on this destination promotion through social media was due to the support given by industry partners and rich travel content available throughout the destination for social media content creators.