Tourism’s promo bureau to get revamped
In the backdrop of the recent setbacks in promoting Sri Lanka as a destination the tourism industry is eyeing a revamp of the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB) with possible changes to the 2005 Tourism Act.
The industry has blamed authorities for the poor planning and management of tourism promotion in foreign markets which is mostly due to the fact that the state has not engaged its staff in adequate training and exposure to new marketing trends and techniques.
The bureau which funds its promotions through the 1 per cent cess levied from the private sector believes that there needs to be a more efficient delivery of promoting the destination in keeping in line with other competitive destinations globally.
Board member at the bureau and Dilmah Tea Director Resplendent Ceylon MD Malik Fernando told the Business Times on Friday said they will look at lobbying the next government “to make tourism promotion more effective with certain structural changes” at the SLTPB.
He pointed out that this would mean a complete revamp of the bureau where there would be an involvement of specialists in the respective fields of marketing to assist in the development of tourism promotion plans and adoption of target marketing techniques.
In the meantime, Mr. Fernando noted that they are “helping, assisting and guiding them (SLTPB officials) to develop plans”.
In the aftermath of the Easter Sunday bombings an entire marketing campaign that was likely to go through was pulled back and this created a complete setback for the revival of the tourism industry that is currently looking at bringing in more numbers for the incoming winter season.
But hoteliers opine that there is likely to be a sharp drop in arrivals during this season that kicks off from November and with most establishments likely to continue to offer discounts to increase on the numbers.
With more private sector involvement in how promotions should be carried out and where marketing campaigns should be conducted there would be focus on new thinking like digitally attracting consumers, Mr. Fernando explained.
The board has also agreed to appoint PR companies in key markets and a proposal has been made to appoint destination management companies in markets as well.
Moreover, authorities have been asked to work out plans for the long term like 2-3 years compared to existing plans that are short term ones.
The need at present is to reach out directly to the consumers; Mr. Fernando explained adding that simply talking to the travel agents and tour operators was not the crucial factor.
In fact, he pointed out going by today’s preferences, it was imperative to reach out to consumers digitally than through a 1970s style road show campaign.
Mr. Fernando noted that for consumers to want to consult a travel agent to holiday in Sri Lanka they should be made aware of the destination beforehand which is how marketing is carried out today.