Sri Lanka Tourism comes out with a 3-year strategic plan
Sri Lanka Tourism has come out with a 3-year strategic plan (20172020) addressing main challenges faced by the industry at present and future expectations of the country. This strategic plan has been devised as the Cabinet Committee on Economic Management (CCEM) has recommended a short term tourism development plan instead of the tourism plan for 2017-2025.
The CCEM has decided to appoint a task force of tourism comprising state officials of relevant agencies and private sector representatives to proceed with the strategic plan.
The Ministry of Tourism Development has forwarded the long-term Tourism Vision to the CCEM along with a 3-year plan to achieve the objectives indicated in the 2017-2025 vision, Ministry Secretary Janaka Sugathadasa told the Business Times.
Under this initiative, the ministry will launch a digital marketing campaign of Sri Lanka Tourism in Western Europe which includes Germany, France and the UK, within the next few months, he said adding that online marketing was becoming popular to attract modern-day tourists.
New tourism products will be developed to attract high-end tourists as it's not the numbers but the spending power that matters to the Sri Lankan economy, he pointed out.
Traditional marketing tools have become outdated with the introduction of web-based booking engines, tour planning, e-marketing and other real time services available to frequent travellers online.
He disclosed that another new area they were looking at is route-based tourism product development which is known worldwide, and can be particularly advantageous for less developed areas, which are less familiar in the tourism market.
The main aim of the plan is to double the country’s tourism sector earnings from the present US$3.5billion in 2016 to $7 billion by 2020, he added.
Uplifting Sri Lanka’s brand value through tactical marketing campaigns focusing on main product offerings of the county will serve as the overall goal of the strategy devised for tourism development, he disclosed.
Measures will also be taken to improve international air connectivity to priority through more direct flights, open skies policy, competitive landing and parking fees, incentivising low-cost airlines and smoother immigration and check-in procedures.
Tailored destination marketing campaigns are to be expedited in the key source markets while developing strategic partnerships with all existing key airlines and work with new airlines who will have new operations to Sri Lanka, Mr. Sugathadasa said.
This tourism plan is based on the industry inputs gained from decades of experience, analysing research findings and country’s competitive position in the world tourism landscape, he emphasised.