After the ghastly terror attacks that shook the country on Easter earlier in April this year, Sri Lanka saw a major dip in its tourist traffic from all of its regular tourist markets. Since India is a popular neighbour that did not abandon the destination in its tough times (many Indians were seen taking holidays to Sri Lanka post the attack and our honourable PM also recently visited the country), a high profile delegation from the country recently did a multi-city tour in India, showcasing its products, introducing attractive packages and beckoning people to come and visit without any security fear. BOTT gives you a detailed report on the event.
Priyanka Saxena Ray
Geared to not to let a terror attack take away its tourism bounty, a high profile delegation comprising representatives from Sri Lanka Tourism Board, SriLankan Airlines, THASL was led by Hon. John Amaratunga, Minister of Tourism, Wildlife and Christian Religious Affairs and Austin Fernando High Commissioner for Sri Lanka to India. The team had come together to showcase the various attractive tourism facets of Sri Lanka alongside urging the India media to popularise the destination and send across the message of “safety” to the discerning traveller. Another highlight of the afternoon was a special attractive B2B package that has been introduced by the SriLankan Airlines, which comes just in time with the announcement of their third daily flight from Delhi, starting July 4, this year.
Austin Fernando High Commissioner for Sri Lanka to India started the afternoon discussion whilst stating that the perfect example of the fact that all’s well in his country is the fact that the honourable PM, Mr. Modi, recently visited Sri Lanka, in a move to show solidarity to the nation. His opinion was seconded by the Hon. John Amaratunga. The Minister enlisted the numerous attractions of Sri Lanka – from beaches to casinos to religious trails – ensuring that there is something of interest for all age groups in Sri Lanka.
“This is the first time we have ever come to a country to address concerns regarding tourism and to urge them to consider Sri Lanka in their travel plans. India is an important source market for us and considering that outbound is said to grow immensely from here in times to come, we certainly had to make a multi-city visit in India. Many countries have revised and relaxed their travel advisories to Sri Lanka and we are inching towards normalcy in tourism. Though the road is not so easy and we are aware that it will take time, we will continue continue promoting the destination. We are adding new products to our kitty to give a traveller his money’s worth and would also be roping in a PR agency to market our destination,” shared Kishu Gomes, Chairman, Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau.
Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau in collaboration with SriLankan Airlines, The Hotels Association of Sri Lanka (THASL) and inbound tour operators has introduced attractive packages, specifically targeting India, the number one source market, to revive the industry that had a temporary setback due to the recent incident. The package offered includes discounted airfare, accommodation, transport and more, ranging from 30 to 60 per cent. This package is unique to India and can be availed across Sri Lankan Airlines’ network covering 12 cities in India with 123 weekly flights. The package includes accommodation options across 83 hotels in Sri Lanka.
“India has been the number one source market to Sri Lanka over the past decade and in 2018 recorded over 400,000 visitors to the island,” said Dimuthu Tennakoon, Head of Worldwide Sales and Distribution (HWSD) of Sri Lankan Airlines. Additionally, Master Card, which has over 180 million Indian card holders, has also come on board to promote the launched packages through their well-connected channels.
India accounted for 18.2 per cent of the inbound tourist to Sri Lanka, some – 424,887 arrivals in 2018, registering an impeccable 10.5 per cent hike from the previous year. Sri Lanka also aims to progressively promote the destination for weddings and film shoots this year, with leisure being the primary focus.
