Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau’s new chairman has come into office intent on speeding up a long-delayed destination marketing campaign, with a roll-out targeted in the next few weeks.

“The prime minister (is) emphatic in saying the bureaucracy has been very slow in getting the campaign off the ground. We need to kick-start it fast (and have) the first phase (ready) in the next 30 days,” said newly-appointed tourism chief Udaya Nanayakkara, former president of the Universal Federation of Travel Agents Associations.

Fishermen at the sunset near Galle, Sri Lanka 

The campaign, although ready for two to three years, has been delayed by bureaucratic red tape and procedural matters, forcing prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe to appoint a new Tourism Task Force (TTF) last month to speed things up.

The 13-member committee, including Nanayakkara, comprises industry experts representing hotels, travel, marketing, adventure sport and human resources.

TTF member Dileep Mudadeniya, head of brand marketing at Cinnamon Hotels & Resorts, added that the task force’s mid- to long-term objectives include removing roadblocks in implementation processes, improve domestic aviation and create new routes, improve visitor experience at heritage sites and develop family-friendly facilities in Colombo.

As well, TTF member Dinesh Weerakkody, advisor to the tourism minister and ‎chairman at the National Human Resource Development Council of Sri Lanka, said he has been tasked with preparing a strategy to fill 300,000 jobs in the industry by 2020.

Beyond the ministry’s target of four million arrivals by 2020, double of last year’s, Nanayakkara also wants to increase the daily spend to US$210 from the current US$154.

Nanayakkara was formerly chairman of Sri Lanka Tourism but stepped down in 2005 after two key trade associations rallied for his removal.

The integration of Scoot and Tigerair under a common brand and operating licence is expected to be complete by July 25.

Thereon, the Scoot website, www.flyscoot.com, will be the sole booking platform for all flights currently operated by Scoot and Tigerair, while the Scoot call centre will service bookings from both airlines at (65) 3157 6434.

Both airlines’ check-in counters will also reflect a single Scoot brand while the flight designator code for Scoot flights will be changed from the current TZ to TR, the code currently used for Tigerair flights.

The integrated Scoot fleet will consist of Boeing 787 Dreamliner and Airbus A320-family aircraft. For now, destinations such as Bangkok, Guangzhou, Hong Kong and Taipei will continue to be operated on both B787 and A320 aircraft.

These latest developments will wrap up the integration efforts of Scoot and Tigerair since May 2016, when they were brought under a common holding company, Budget Aviation Holdings.

Sarawak has withdrawn its sole representative from the Malaysia Tourism Board (MTB).

In a statement, Sarawak Chief Minister’s Office explained: “The state government deems that the participation of its representative in Tourism Malaysia is not necessary, as (it duplicates) the role and functions of the Sarawak Tourism Board.”

Bako National Park, Sarawak

A source told TTG Asia that the board was not involved in policy making and having a representation was not “critically important”.

The decision was made by the chief minister of Sarawak Abang Johari Open and was not due to the recent spat with Malaysian tourism and culture minister Nazri Abdul Aziz over the tourism tax issue, according to Sarawak State tourism, arts, culture, youth and sports minister Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah in a report by the Borneo Post.

He was also quoted in the same report as saying that MTB has “not been doing much for Sarawak. We might as well help ourselves through the Sarawak Tourism Board.”

Abdul Karim felt that the federal government should have consulted with the state first before pushing the tourism tax on Sarawak.

The Department of Tourism’s (DoT) new TV commercial sporting the Experience the Philippines tagline has received flak from the travel trade for falling short on both creativity and strategy.

The commercial – centred on a blind Japanese retiree who felt at home during his trip to the Philippines – was pilloried by netizens, including travel agents and advertising experts, who found the tagline and concept lacklustre.

Fingers are also pointed at ad agency McCann Worldgroup Philippines, as the commercial bears similarities to an earlier one by South Africa Tourism.

Clarifying that the ad is the second in a series of four TV commercials produced this year under the It’s More Fun in the Philippines tagline, Tourism secretary Ricky Alegre said the ad was meant to attract foreign retirees and people with disabilities (PWDs), citing figures from the Philippine Retirement Authority (PRA) that there are 27,000 retirees from 120 countries living in the country.

Travel consultants however said the ad may be more appropriate for the PRA as the country isn’t PWD-friendly when it comes to infrastructure and facilities.

“Our problem with this campaign is the substance of it and whether it would be effective,” said Rajah Tours president Jojo Clemente, adding that “It’s more Fun in the Philippines is one of the best campaigns ever mounted” and effective in bringing in tourists.

A travel consultant who requested anonymity opined that the word ‘experience’ neither “zeroes in on (the) message we are trying to convey” nor sets the Philippines apart from other destinations.

In its latest statement issued yesterday afternoon, the DoT said it is pulling out this international ad campaign and terminating its contract with ad agency McCann Worldgroup Philippines following the plagiarism backlash.

It will instead “reopen the procurement process for the production of a new advertising material which will be consistent with the current slogan, It’s more fun in the Philippines”.