Dollar crunch pause tourism promos
Sri Lanka Tourism has opted to scale down its presence at the Arabian Travel Mart (ATM) and has not planned out any other promotions except on social media and under the circumstances, small businesses are the first impacted.
The tourism industry is currently struggling to attend travel fairs and has not even confirmed any future events except for the Indian, West Asia and Russian trade fairs.
The repercussions of the economic crisis will “very likely damage Sri Lanka’s international tourism brand” as a result of the international, mainstream media reports, resulting in negative tourist perceptions and could lead prospective travellers to postpone or cancel their trips”, the report on the ‘Economic Crisis’ issued by the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) on April 26 stated.
The current challenges in Sri Lanka could result in substitution tourism, as seen in similar crisis around the world, it was stated adding that the future well-being of the tourism industry will depend on the economic and political stability of the country.
Tourist arrivals from January – March had reached 285, 334 but in April alone the figure stood at 62, 980, Sri Lanka Tourism stated. Highest arrivals were seen from India in the first three months followed on by the UK, Russia, Germany, France and Ukraine.
Amidst this crisis, SLTDA Chairperson Kimarli Fernando has proposed that service providers and tour guides be provided rates per kilometer at higher prices as per the recommendation from the SLTDA.
In this respect, approval has been sought from Tourism Minister Prasanna Ranatunga to implement the recommended rate of Rs.107 for cars from the previous Rs.35-40; Rs.122 for vans from the earlier Rs.40-45; Rs.150 for SUVs from the earlier Rs.80-100; buses ranging between Rs.130 – 290 from the earlier Rs.60 – 165; a tourist bus driver to be paid Rs.3400 from previous Rs.1500; and tourist bus assistants to receive Rs.2750 from earlier Rs.1000.
Sri Lanka Association of Inbound Tour Operators (SLAITO) spokesman Mahen Kariyawasam said that this is something that they discuss with the relevant stakeholders and that it is not necessary to provide a recommended figure.
Meanwhile, the SLTDA announced this week that the global promotion campaign is now reaching its final stages of procurement for which there had been global tenders placed.
The framework includes a Creative Agency, Digital Agency, Campaign Management Agency, and Research Agency. These four agencies will work in collaboration with the GCC Secretariat established under Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau. The promotion will be carried out in markets like UK, Germany, France, India, China, Australia, Russia, Middle East and PRCs in US, Japan Korea, Italy, Spain, Benelux, Scandinavia, and Poland.
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