Promotion Bureau to attract visitors in lean months
View(s):Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB) is working out a model to entice travellers to increasingly visit the country during the off peak season through special offers in tie-ups with stakeholders.
The Destination Management Companies (DMC), hotels and airlines – whoever is willing to come onboard and the SLTPB is trying to work out a model to ensure that it could increase tourist traffic by about 15-20 per cent, SLTPB Managing Director Sutheash Balasubramaniam told the Business Times on Tuesday.
He noted that if it should work out then the industry and the state agency would plan it out on an annual basis as a strategy for the low season.
The plan is set to kick off by late July/August that would be in time for the September – November months when visitor arrivals are a bit slow and just ahead of the winter.
Officials were set to finalise this campaign this week with airlines and hoteliers with the aim of attracting more people during the lean period, Tourism Development Minister John Amaratunga told the Business Times.
He noted that offers similar to “Buy One Get One Free” would be extensively aired on airlines inviting people to come to Sri Lanka.
The minister referred to Qatar Airways, Emirates and SriLankan Airlines as some of the more popular airlines that would be engaged in this campaign and it was likely that other carriers would follow suit.
At present, Minister Amaratunga said it would be a short term initiative to get over the lean period as “we want to work out and see this season.”
Meanwhile, the minister noted that with the CNN advertising campaign already on air, authorities were working on drafting the Cabinet paper for the commencement of a promotion via Al Jazeera, CCTV and an Indian channel.
He noted that there had been a Chinese group that had already visited the country extensively with the aim of programming some of the unique sights in Sri Lanka with the aim of projecting it in China.