PM says Sri Lanka’s strategic location to attract Asian traveller
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said on Tuesday that Sri Lanka should focus on taking advantage of its strategic location as Asia becomes the next centre of tourism.
Addressing the tourism industry at the Cinnamon Future of Tourism Conference held at the Cinnamon Grand on Tuesday he noted, “If Asia is going to be the centre of tourism then Sri Lanka’s strategic location makes sense.”
Development of the airports, ports and road infrastructure was required in attracting about five million tourists by 2025, Mr. Wickremesinghe said.
He noted that the industry needs to plan for the tourists in 2025 as the sector has moved into a new age adding that the future of tourism is in Asia and the best of some of those wealth is going to be in Sri Lanka.
The Prime Minister explained that the country needs to think of converting the destination to be attractive all year through with the right re-branding and re-marketing of Sri Lanka.
With luxury resorts in the pipeline for Galle, Mattala and Iranawila and the opening of the Kandy city other areas to be explored for key tourism projects are the Pooneryn coast, Jaffna island for cruising and the use of the Indian ocean from Colombo to Trincomalee and Hambantota, Mr. Wickremesinghe said.
Asia is set to drive the tourism growth for which two factors have contributed to this namely – the Asian economic development after the 1970s and the new information technology, he said adding that by 2030 the Asia Pacific region will have 500 million travellers with 75 per cent from the region.
The Prime Minister also noted that though the tourist of today is closer at your doorstep the European traveller would continue to add to the per capita spend at a higher level with millennials changing the way people do business today.
“Millennials are changing tourism,” Mr. Wickremesinghe said adding that in 1965-77 the industry used to look at the prestigious properties that will house tourists but today most travellers are opting to stay in informal accommodation units. But their spending outside the hotel room on cuisine and entertainment was relatively quite high.
Taking into account how the industry should be planned out the government has mooted plans to develop the south of the country in this respect.
Head of Leisure at John Keells Krishan Balendra said at the conference that the Sri Lanka today is on a “rapid growth trajectory.”
With over a billion people travelling the world today this figure is expected to double in 10 years’ time, he noted
The Cinnamon Future of Tourism Conference, he explained has provided the platform for industry specialists. He pointed out that magnitude and reach of the event was such that it had been endorsed by the Pacific Asia Travel Association .
He also noted that with the country having built 10,000 rooms there were 10,000 more in the pipeline to be added in Sri Lanka.
The conference is aimed at building relationships and uniting leading and acclaimed professionals in the tourism industry worldwide, Mr. Balendra said.
CNN Travel Executive Editor Brekke Fletcher spoke at the commencement of the conference on the importance of knowing what the audience wants. This could be achieved by using social media to provide authoritative answers.
She noted that there was a need to have a passion in what you do and to ensure that in providing solutions and plans for travelllers they should be personal, fun and joyful.