Gateway of India, Mumbai 

Safety concerns that marred India’s tourism image in 2015 may now be a thing of the past for the country’s tour operators.

Indian inbound tourism recorded sluggish growth in 2015 after a number of crimes against international travellers, especially women, were widely reported in the global media.

“Our image took a beating at that time but now everything has settled as nothing untoward relating to the safety of an international tourist has happened in recent times. I don’t see it as any challenge for the growth of inbound tourism today,” said Arun Anand, managing director, Midtown Travel.

Further bolstering confidence, India’s Ministry of Tourism in February 2016 launched a 24/7 toll-free tourist infoline in 12 international languages to assist tourists visiting India, said Riyaz U C, managing director, Spiceland Holidays.

As well, SATTE 2017 witnessed the launch of India Assist, the country’s first mobile app that assists foreign travellers in times of distress. The app can connect international tourists to a call centre for assistance and provide the exact location of the caller.

The app founders are currently in talks with airlines and insurance companies to promote the service.

Harish Khatri, founder, India Assist, said: “Most foreign travellers take travel insurance before travelling, but that only covers a set of things like cancellation of trips, medical emergencies abroad and baggage loss. But what about situations related to safety or getting lost in the city? We are going to bridge this gap.”

However, a tour operator commented on the condition of anonymity: “Steps like a tourist helpline are superficial ways that serve little for the safety and security of a foreign tourist. What we need is dedicated tourist police in every state. We can’t afford any more negative reportage concerning tourist safety.”

View from Sigiriya (Lion Rock), Dambulla, Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka Tourism has drawn up a series of initiatives to boost international tourist arrivals, including intensifying marketing efforts through digital platforms and travel programmes on global TV channels like CNN.

“We will introduce our short-term, digital-focused campaign in June that will last till end this year. Going forward, we will launch a global marketing campaign in 2018 focusing on the authenticity and diversity of Sri Lanka as a tourist destination. We are still deciding whether to introduce a new branding or not,” Sutheash Balasubramaniam, managing director of Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB), told TTG Asia during an interview at SATTE 2017.

In the pipeline are plans to open offices in key source markets such as India, China, the UK, France and Germany, he revealed.

In 2017, Sri Lanka anticipates a respective growth of 20 per cent and 30 per cent from the 356,729 Indian arrivals and 271,577 Chinese arrivals recorded last year.

To reach out to these two Asian giants, SLTPB is also looking to host the annual conventions of travel agent associations from both markets. “Holding such events will help us to create awareness about the tourism offerings in Sri Lanka,” said Balasubramaniam.

The NTO is also eyeing the luxury segment from Japan, one of its top 10 source markets. Sri Lanka welcomed 43,110 Japanese tourists last year and projects a 15 per cent growth from this market in 2017.

“We are also looking at new markets in Europe like Denmark, the Netherlands and Belgium for increasing tourist arrivals,” said Balasubramaniam.

Sri Lanka recorded two million international tourist arrivals in 2016 and expects a growth of 10-15 per cent in 2017.