SRI LANKA is planning to launch a new tourism campaign to provide more visibility in key source markets.
Sri Lanka Tourism (SLT) chairman, Nalaka Godahewa, will chair a committee which has been appointed to work on the finer details of the campaign. Committee members include representatives from the Tourist Hotels Association of Sri Lanka, the Sri Lanka Association of Inbound Tour Operators and SriLankan Airlines.
Godahewa told TTG Asia e-Daily: “This campaign, once drafted by the committee, will be launched within the next few months.” The campaign will run alongside existing marketing efforts by SLT.
According to Godahewa, SLT’s annual marketing budget is 500 million Sri Lankan rupees (about US$4.4 million). About 40 million rupees is spent on sponsoring foreign travel writers, while another 200 million is spent on participation at overseas trade fairs. “That would leave about 200 to 300 million rupees for media advertising or any other activity to be decided by the (new) committee,” he said.
The Sri Lanka-based travel trade has been complaining for the past year that SLT had not been spending enough to promote the country overseas.
Anura Lokuhetty, president of the Tourist Hotels Association of Sri Lanka, said: “There is (some kind) of marketing at the moment, but that is not enough. We need to be more visible in our key markets to tell the world that we are ready for business.”
Meanwhile, a draft for a new tourism policy, including the country’s proposed tourism tagline, Refreshingly Sri Lanka – Wonder of Asia, will be discussed by the Sri Lankan cabinet this week.
