The Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB) has unveiled a new campaign under the slogan – Sri Lanka “you will come back for more”- at the International French Travel Market (IFTM) trade show in Paris, France.

Issuing a statement, the SLTPB said Sri Lanka had a strong momentum at the IFTM Top Resa with the presence of 27 exhibiting companies. 

Sri Lanka is back after 2021 with its new destination branding ‘You will come back for more”. This is the first travel fair participation after the new brand identity was adopted.

France is among the top seven tourists generating markets for Sri Lanka with over 44,000 tourists accounted for the first nine months of 2023, just behind the UK and Germany from Europe. 

Tourism in Sri Lanka is back on track, and it was proved by the presence of 27 co-exhibitors at IFTM Top Resa, the SLTPB said. 

“We launched our first phase of the campaign ‘seeing is believing’ which showed that the situation in the country is normal. We are now unveiling a new campaign, the slogan Sri Lanka “you will come back for more” which we were presenting at IFTM to the trade visitors,’’ Chairman of SLTPB, Chalaka Gajabahu explained. 

The Sri Lanka pavilion at IFTM was inaugurated by lighting the oil lamp headed by Manisha Gunasekara, Ambassador to Sri Lanka Embassy in France followed by Representatives from Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau, SriLankan Airlines, Sri Lanka Association of Inbound Tour Operators (SLAITO) and Tourist Hoteliers Association of Sri Lanka (THASL).  

Sri Lanka was able to attract a high level of attention from the trade and travel visitors who attended the event. The Sri Lanka pavilion highlighted many aspects of its potential culture, beauty, Ayurveda and many more which Sri Lanka would offer as a tourism destination. Sri Lanka stands optimized the “Sri Lanka -You will come back for more” vivid sights to attract the potential visitor segments. At the Sri Lanka pavilion, Ceylon tea was served to the visitors with a view of promoting Ceylon tea in the French market. (NewsWire)

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Sri Lanka’s Tourism authorities are set to roll out several campaigns to promote the island as a key tourist destination.

The campaigns were revealed by Sri Lanka Tourism officials yesterday (26) at a forum to give an update on its strategy going forward. 

According to Daily FT, Sri Lanka Tourism will spend Rs. 1.4 billion over the next 12 months from July to mark a fresh approach to destination marketing including two domestic campaigns.

The Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB) will roll out its global destination marketing blitz focusing on 16 key markets to boost arrivals.

SLTPB Chairman Chalaka Gajabahu stated that the SLTPB Board has approved the thematic campaign and that the campaign has been shared with the Tourism Minister to obtain Cabinet approval.

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

Chalaka Gajabahu further revealed that plans are underway to conduct two domestic campaigns to remind the hospitality extended by Sri Lankan citizens to visitors from around the world.

“A domestic tourism campaign will be launched towards the end of the year. One campaign is to remind the importance of tourism to Sri Lanka and the other campaign is aimed at the Sri Lankan diaspora towards luring visitors and investments,” he added.

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) Chairman Priantha Fernando expressed confidence in the industry’s potential to welcome two million arrivals and generate $ 3.7 billion in income this year.

Also addressing the Forum, Priantha Fernando revealed the SLTDA has set its sights on increasing arrivals to 5 million and earning an impressive $ 21.6 billion within seven years.

“As part of its long-term strategy to welcome 5 million visitors by 2030, it hopes to lift the average spending per visitor to $ 4,000, with 2.5 million of them spending over $ 500 per day, indicating a concentration on luring high-end tourists,” Fernando said.

Emphasizing President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s vision of surpassing $ 15 billion in tourism income over the next five years, the Chairman stated the industry needs to embark on a data-driven decision-making process to attract high-end visitors.

Recognising the need for additional hotels and room capacity to attract high-end tourists to Sri Lanka, he further stated plans are underway to revamp the four-decade-old Sri Lanka Tourism resorts countrywide.

Priantha Fernando revealed that in a bid to streamline and expedite tourism investments, the waiting time has been reduced to less than 50 days.

He also noted that from May 2022 to May 2023, a total of 32 projects, including 1,283 hotel rooms, with a combined investment of $ 160 million, have received approval.

The SLTDA is also finalising guidelines for tourism services, finalising 11 draft regulations for new services, and declaring new Tourism Development Areas as per the Tourism Act, he added. (NewsWire)

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