Travel / Lifestyle

Call to develop new strategies to woo tourists

Lanka's tourism product second to none:

by Surekha Galagoda

Sri Lanka has a tourism product that is second to none in the world but we have to develop new strategies to attract tourists to our country, said Senior Lecturer, Economics Department, University of Colombo Dr. D.A.C. Suranga Silva.

He is also the chairman, Community Based Tourism unit, Ministry of Tourism, Senior Consultant Western Province Tourism Ministry and Advisory Committee member for Provincial Council Tourism Development Committee.

He said by word of mouth, the large number of Sri Lankan embassies abroad and the large number of Sri Lankans living abroad could be approached to promote the tourism product.

Dr. Silva said that there are about 30% repeat tourists who visit the country annually and they could be approached to promote the country as a tourist destination as word of mouth is the best and most effective way to attract tourists to the country.

In the same manner Sri Lankan embassies abroad can promote our country as a safe and secure destination where tourists have never been targets. As the product is excellent they only have to do the promotions.

He said that our propaganda network is not strong and targeted at present to say "Tourists are safe in Sri Lanka". Therefore we should start a specific market campaign based on these lines.

Increasing the number of tourists is not a viable solution during the time of war. Therefore we should target at increasing the tourist expenditure by attracting high spending customers.

Even though the number of arrivals is constant we can increase the income by adopting strategic methods such as developing nature tourism, culture tourism and health tourism to attract the high spending clientele to Sri Lanka.

He said that at present most tourists prefer destinations which practise sustainable tourism and the fundamental requirements of sustainable tourism are community well-being, ecological balance and tourist satisfaction.

Dr. Silva said to develop friendly relations between the tourists and the community the community should benefit or else they become hostile towards the tourists. Therefore it is essential to have some community activity where the tourists could get involved with the community and both parties benefit.

He said that our country is not land locked. Therefore we have all the potential to develop the services sector, but a vicious circle was created by the tourism industry due to terrorist activities. When the tourists were not visiting Sri Lanka they had two options - one was to improve the quality of service while the other was to reduce the quality of the product and thereby reduce the cost of production.

The industry opted for the easy way out and promoted the low priced packages. This resulted in large numbers of less affluent tourists coming to Sri Lanka and the country became known as a cheap destination. To develop the tourism industry, all stakeholders should get together and ensure sustainable tourism development whereby the communities as well as the country benefits as the results of underdevelopments, the symptoms of underdevelopment and the causes of underdevelopment have been the major stumbling blocks to develop the tourism industry.

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Emirates' exclusive First and Business class specials

A choice of free accommodation at exclusive hotels in Dubai, enhanced by credit or an exciting excursion and free 96-hour visa await passengers flying Emirates first or business class to the USA, Europe, the Mediterranean or Africa in an attractive new offer unveiled this week by the airline's Colombo office.

Starting from June 15, first class passengers transiting through Dubai can opt for two nights' accommodation in a deluxe room at the luxurious Ritz Carlton Dubai together with US$ 100 credit at the hotel, or a 'Sundowner' dune dinner safari and a free 96-hour visa courtesy Emirates.

Business class passengers are offered a choice of one night's accommodation in a deluxe room at the Jumeirah Emirates Towers plus US$ 100 credit at the hotel or the Sundowner dune dinner safari and a free 96-hour visa.

The US$ 100 credit provided with the free accommodation offer may be used for food and beverage or spa facilities. The free accommodation offer includes room, taxes, service charges and breakfast.

Emirates Sales Manager Colombo, Devika Ellepola said: "This provides a great opportunity for passengers to take time off and experience the magic of Dubai. It adds superb value to travelling with Emirates."

Royal Jordanian rewards top travel and cargo agents

Royal Jordanian Airlines recognised the efforts made by travel and cargo agents in Sri Lanka who were presented with awards, at a recent awards ceremony at the Hotel Ceylon Continental.

Vice President Marketing, Sales and Services Hussein Dabbas said: "We are a niche airline and our vision is to be the airline of choice connecting Jordan and the Levant with the world.

He said: "Sri Lanka is a very popular Honeymoon destination for Jordanians but travel restrictions and visa requirements need to be removed if this market is to achieve its full potential.

We are a very travel oriented people, love to travel overseas and enjoy your greenery, beautiful beaches, wildlife, tea, shopping, culture and artefacts in Sri Lanka which is reputed to be a value for money destination."

The Gold award went to The Traveller Global (Pvt) Limited. Two Silver awards were given to Trans World Travels and Buraque Travels while two Bronze awards were presented to Superlink Travels (Pvt) Ltd., and Travel World (Pvt) Ltd.

In the Cargo category, Expolanka Freight Limited won the top Gold Award, while two Silver Awards were presented to Apollo Marine International (Pvt) Ltd., and Speedmark Transportation Lanka (Pvt) Ltd., and two Bronze Awards went to ATE Lanka (Pvt) Ltd., and Scanwell Logistics Lanka (Pvt) Ltd.

A special Gold Award of Appreciation was presented to Mag Consultants and Agents (Pvt) Ltd.