2.5 mln tourist target unlikely for Sri Lanka in 2016
Sri Lanka Tourism is in a frenzy to grab whoever might land in the country as a tourist as they face the unlikely prospect of reaching 2.5 million arrivals by 2016.
The country is currently targeting 1.5 million arrivals next year but there is a possibility this would change as this year’s target of 1.25 million also appears unreachable.
Projections identified by Sri Lanka Tourism previously of achieving 1.5 million visitors for 2014 were hard to get and could change in terms of other external factors. The previous projection of achieving a target of 1.5 million visitors to the country next year is expected to be readjusted, some officials opine.
Commenting on the 2016 target, an industry stakeholder believed that even at the time the 2.5 million target was introduced it was believed to be an unrealistic figure. “That was a very high target the government set for the country but realistically it was not achievable,” a hotelier observed.
Reasons for this was due to the lack of consumer based marketing asserting that promotional campaigns to create awareness were insufficient. The industry had made efforts to engage the government on a consumer based campaign which never happened. Tourism industry experts point out that while December is a very good month where hotels were expected to perform better the 1.25 million target is a “tall order” as they would only receive about 100,000 to 150,000 visitors this month. (SD)
the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority says that currently there are 38 ongoing projects scheduled for completion next year adding 2558 rooms to the room capacity in the country with approvals granted for 147 more investments.(SD)