BY DEBAJYOTI CHAKRABORTY
KOLKATA, 25 SEPTEMBER 2023:
“We are a resilient nation, and if we can make a comeback from a 30 year long war, then the two years covid -19 global pandemic is nothing compared to that. After the covid we have faced the economic meltdown. But once again like in our past we have slowly managed to bounce back and our tourism sector which at present contributes as the third highest in the nation’s GDP, hope to reach the second spot by next year,” says Mr. Thisum Jayasuriya, Chairman of Sri Lanka Convention Bureau.
And he has reasons to celebrate as Sri Lanka Tourism has witnessed one million tourist arrivals in the first nine months of this year, with India being the biggest resource market having 22.4% contribution. The target this year is to have a total 1.5 million tourist arrivals and have an ambitious target of 2.24 million tourist arrivals for the year 2024.
Mr. Thisum Jayasuriya further added that the target this year is US$ 2.5 billion revenue generation from tourism. Though at the present the business has witnessed a 15% drop compared to the peak period before covid in 2018. Focus is also being given on film tourism offering a single window policy. South Indian stars Mammootty and Prabhu Deva have already shot their films in Sri Lanka this year.
Talking To The Travel and Tourism Times, Mr. Nalin Perera, Director General of Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) has informed that to further promote tourism the island country has embarked upon three roadshows in Kolkata, Ahmedabad and Pune in India.
“ Besides leisure travellers we wish to focus on Sri Lanka as a hub of MICE and wedding destinations. Prominent Indian corporates like Pfizer, Tata, Coca Cola, Bosch and other pharmaceutical ginst have picked Sri Lanka for their MICE destinations. The Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) has also held its convention in the Lankan capital recently. Already this year over two lakhs Indians have visited Sri Lanka. We are organising promotional activities and our partner airline Sri lankan is also undergoing a revamp. It has commenced nine out of the 11 destinations and hopefully direct flight services from City of Joy will also commence soon which will further boost the connectivity,”he added.
Mr. Nalin Perera further added that the roadshows will be followed up by the travel agents and media FAM trips. He said that the target next year is to have over 5 lakhs Indians travelling to Sri lanka as Asia is expected to gain in tourism as Europe is going through a tough time.
When asked which are the biggest tourist attractions to the Indian travellers he said that the Ramayana Trail, Murugan Trail and Wedding destinations are the most preferred. “ We are also focussing on wellness tourism, business tourism, adventure tourism and even medical tourism.About 30,000 tourists have visited Sri Lanka to see the Asia Cup Cricket this year,” he said.
The top officials of Sri lanka tourism will meet the representatives of the state tourism department and chambers of Commerce in Kolkata today to discuss the potential investment opportunities for fresh investments in the tourism sector in both the countries.
Sri Lanka Tourism has showcased its traditional sun and the pristine beaches, water sports, rainfall, wildlife, religion, hiking , heritage, culture and everything of the country except the snow. “ Everything that we project is natural and not artificial,” they said.
The first of the three series of Sri Lanka Tourism Roadshow was organised on Monday at the Taj City Centre in the cultural capital of India, Kolkata. Several hundreds of travel agents have participated in the B2B session with the DMCs and the hotels and resorts representatives of Sri Lanka. An audio visual tourism promotional film was also shown highlighting the attractions.
Smt. Shirani Herath of Sri Lanka Tourism Promotional Board, Shaimala Shabir of Sri Lankan Airlines ( Kolkata) , Chithra Fernando, Director of Araliya Beach Resorts and Spa, Richa Khera, head of business development of Riu Hotels and Resorts, Nisal Rajitha Perera of Jetwing Travels, Shobhan Chakraborty of Spiceland Holidays, Dilshan Priyasthana of Ceylon Experiences, Gautam Kapoor of Royal Holidays,Deppak Cole Director of MasterReps representative Serene Travels, Dhirendra Ratwatte of Cinnamon Hotels and Resorts, Vikram Dayal, India Representative of Thema Collection and Connaissance De ceylon, Thilanka Dissanayake of Artkin Vivek Kerkoven of Ramada by Wyndham, Colombo, Viker Rerroven of Satina Collections Spence Travels, Meelaka Niwunhella of Araliya Resorts and Spas etc were present.
“ It is a very good country and cruise tourism is also becoming popular these days and Sri lanka has been easily sold to the customers and is both economical and picturesque. We only hope that the direct flight services start soon from Kolkata to Colombo and the business from the east will further peak up. The present team of Sri lanka Tourism is energetic and working with enthusiasm to boost the tourism of the country ,” added Mr. Saptarshi Bhattacharrya , director of Prajatak Guru Travels and KolkataTours, who has attended the Roadshow along with his wife.
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