Indo-Lanka business talk on linking tourism ties
A delegation of Indian tour operators and its Tourism Ministry representatives will this week hold discussions in Sri Lanka in promoting the two destinations between them through joint collaboration. Scheduled to arrive in the country on Thursday the delegation would meet their counterparts from the industry and the government providing an opportunity for the local sector to seek ways to tap into all segments of the Indian travel market. Towards this end, the government is looking at engaging the Indian travel industry and state to tap into the business, leisure, luxury, pilgrim and budget travellers from the subcontinent.
Sri Lanka is currently carrying out roadshows in the Indian market to attract increased numbers for its Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Entertainment (MICE) segment of the industry. On the agenda is a plan to jointly promote the Ramayana Trail, which has got approval from Prime Ministers Ranil Wickremesinghe and Narendra Modi to create more opportunities for mainly Indians to visit these sites. Another aspect that would be discussed is the Buddhist Circuit, which would look at finding new places in India for pilgrims mainly from Sri Lanka during their Buddhist pilgrimage to locations like Buddha Gaya and Varnasi.
A proposal mooted by the Sri Lankan tourism industry to encourage the Travel Agents of India (TAI) to select Sri Lanka as the next venue for their convention is also to be mooted. A similar convention by TAI was held in Sri Lanka in 2005. Sri Lanka is playing host to the convention of the organisation’s Northern India’s regional travel agents which is being supported by SriLankan Airlines and The Kingsbury in Colombo scheduled to be held in July/August. Further discussions would evolve around mutual training programmes for Indian and Sri Lankan cuisine for the hospitality sector with the Sri Lanka Institute of Tourism and Hotel Management (SLITHM).
In addition, the discussions would also delve into opportunities that both countries’ film industries could give preference to the venues or locations in the respective destinations when selecting locations. Sri Lanka Association of Inbound Tour Operators (SLAITO) President Devendra Senaratne told the Business Times on Tuesday the Indian market was attractive enough for Sri Lanka to tap on its varied travel segments and be able to improve on the numbers as well.
He explained, with the significant growth in the numbers of people visiting Colombo for trade and leisure they could attract other segments like the luxury traveller and MICE segments by carrying out an effective research into the market followed by a strategic marketing plan. Current arrivals from India numbering over 270,000 could improve to over 500,000, he said if the right plan of action was in place.