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Monday, 7 October 2019 09:33 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
The Sri Lanka Tourism Alliance recently launched a Resilience Action Plan and a Crisis Response Plan along with www.lovesrilanka.org – a website dedicated to travel to Sri Lanka, at the Cinnamon Future of Tourism Conference.
The Sri Lanka Tourism Alliance was formed by a group from Sri Lanka’s private sector shortly after the Easter attacks. The launch of the Love Sri Lanka website and campaign in May brought with it an outpouring of support and love from the public. Within a few weeks, Love Sri Lanka was being endorsed around the world, with over 400 members from the travel industry locally and internationally signing on to be part of the Alliance.
Skift, a top international travel intelligence firm recently cited the Alliance as – “How Sri Lanka’s tourism Industry went into damage control mode should also go into Asia’s textbook on crisis handling.”
The Resilience Action Plan – the blueprint for the Alliance’s work – is intended to assist the industry move forward in a united, successful and sustainable way. The vision is to help build a more resilient and stronger private sector that embraces international sustainable tourism best practices, and where tourism benefits are driven to communities and people across Sri Lanka at every level.
Crisis events are inevitable. While most industries and businesses will be subjected to the adverse impacts of any major crisis, the negative effects on the tourism industry can be particularly severe and recovery more complicated than other sectors. The Crisis Response Plan will assist the Sri Lankan tourism industry to plan and be prepared to mitigate the impact, thereby restoring momentum sooner.
Since its inception, The Alliance’s actions have been directed by the private sector, for the private sector. In developing the two plans launched, the Alliance drew upon the existing national 2025 Tourism Vision and 2020 Tourism Strategic Plan. The Alliance seeks to be a vehicle to deliver results that benefit the visitor economy.
“Tourism in Sri Lanka is an industry built on inclusivity. The Alliance hopes to bring everyone together onto a common platform to discuss issues and implement solutions that help us sustainably grow tourism,” said Resplendent Ceylon Managing Director and Sri Lanka Tourism Alliance Founder and Co-Chair Malik Fernando.
“We need to focus on unity in the face of the challenges we have experienced. The two plans we proudly launch today are just the beginning; we will focus on producing results within a 20-month time frame to come back bigger, better and stronger,” said Jetwing Hotels Ltd. Chairperson and Sri Lanka Tourism Alliance Co-Chair Shiromal Cooray.
