Web based accommodation guide

Leisure Marketing Services have introduced a web based accommodation guide on Sri Lanka. This is the first time that a comprehensive web based guide on Sri Lanka is introduced. A long felt need from a marketing perspective of the hospitality industry of Sri Lanka has been fulfilled with the launch of the accommodation guide. The trends in tourism have changed over the years with many travellers preferring to search and decide on the places to be visited and where they would like to stay once a destination has been decided on.

Therefore, a comprehensive accommodation guide will provide the required information for the travellers. Not only the foreign tourist, even the domestic traveller will be able to plan his holidays with the information on the accommodation sector being available on the web.

The comprehensive web based guide, covers hotels, guest houses, holiday bungalows and all types of accommodation outlets. It will also provide the opportunity for service and facility providers to showcase themselves for the benefit of visitors by advertising. Places of accommodation will be highlighted under different categories and listed under the respective towns.

All information will be provided on a standard format with a link to their respective web page. Hotels could publicise their special offers for the benefit of the browsers, who in turn will be potential customers.

"I have been involved with the travel trade for a considerable period of time from a tourism promotion and advertising perspective. The need to promote the destination and the products at a time when the tourism industry is not doing well was felt by most hoteliers. Yet they could not spend much on advertising. Looking at ways of doing it at a low cost the idea of a web based guide was pursued" said Cholitha Daswatte, partner of Leisure Marketing Services.

"We have tried to provide the service at a very nominal cost. An accommodation outlet could recover the cost of their insertion in the guide by just realising one or two room nights per year. It is more of a promotional investment that will bring in high returns" said Imasha Fernando, the other active partner of LMS.

Launched one month ago, LMS plans to capture 80 per cent of the accommodation providers in Sri Lanka by the end of 2009. "Our aim is to make this the best web based accommodation guide on Sri Lanka and hope to improve the contents and format as we go along" said Imasha Fernando.

"We are there to support our clients and will look into all their needs in relation to web based advertising solutions. If they do not have their own website we will assist them to develop one at a nominal cost," said Daswatte.

LMS plans to publicise the website abroad around April this year once they have covered a fair cross section of the accommodation sector at least with 125 places for starters. Devinda Fernando said. "In the leisure sector all could be considered as service providers and facility providers.

May it be a shop, a hair dresser, Safari Jeep provider, diving station, a super market they all cater to the needs of the travellers.

By advertising on the specific page in relation to their area they could capture the attention of the visitor who is planning to visit the area. Even an art gallery for that matter, they are all a part of the tourism product of Sri Lanka."