Colombo awaits the return of tourists

According to industry operators, the images of the protests produce a bad impression on the country. Marketing campaign to attract European visitors. At the moment, 2,000 travelers arrive in Sri Lanka per day.

Colombo () – The images of street protests repressed by force are bad publicity for Sri Lanka and reduce the chances of recovery of the tourism sector, seriously affected by the economic crisis. Sri Lankan tour operators also claim that profits in the sector are still not back to where they were in 2019, despite all attempts to “shelter” visitors from the downside of the economic crisis.

The Sri Lanka Tourism Alliance (SLTA) has launched a marketing campaign to encourage winter reservations and increase the country’s visibility through various advertising mechanisms, some sources explained. Although most of the recommendations have been withdrawn and political stability has been restored, tourists from key markets such as Europe and the United States believe that the country “is not yet in a position to receive visitors”.

“The campaign is mainly digital and covers the entire spectrum of the purchase decision,” explained the SLTA, noting that the target countries are mainly the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Spain, followed by the United Arab Emirates and all the Gulf countries.

The SLTA has tried to reposition the country as a safe tourist destination, focusing on different elements that go beyond the cliché of “spa tourism”: tea, excursions, surfing, jungle fauna, gastronomy, culture and history of the country.

The national body has recorded that arrivals in July increased almost 2,000% over the previous year, with 47,293 admissions. In June there were 32,856 tourists. Visitors from Europe accounted for 47% of the total, while those from Asia-Pacific accounted for 37.7%. Travelers from India were 20.7% of total traffic, followed by those from the UK (10.3%), Australia (7.6%), Germany (7.5%) and Canada (7.0%). ).

The Minister of Tourism, Harin Fernando, who was recently in Ahmedabad, India, to promote the sector, declared that “this year tourism has earned 900 million dollars so far and we hope that by the end of 2022 we can reach about 2 billion dollars. We expect to close this season with 10 thousand tourists and 2023 with 15-20 thousand”.

According to a senior official from the Ministry of Tourism, “the situation has begun to improve” and “currently the country receives around 2,000 tourists per day” (the peak was 7,000 daily). “Tourism is Sri Lanka’s main source of income and it can now be safely developed.”