Indian tourists arrivals have gone up by 15% since the beginning of this year, with 237,369 arrivals recorded up to July. Sri Lanka Tourism now aims to scale up the number to nearly 400,000 visitors this year and substantially raise the percentage of Indian travellers by that time.
As part of the strategic plan to boost the number of visitors in the coming months, the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB) has engaged in several roadshows and travel fairs. The SLTBP recently conducted two roadshows in Vishakhapatnam and Coimbatore.
“Sri Lanka continues to be the destination of choice for most Indian travellers due to the short distance and our aim is to ensure that they get more out of their visit to Sri Lanka than they would if they were to visit a country further way,” said Sutheash Balasubramaniam, Managing Director, Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau.
“Our roadshows in Vishakhapatnam and Coimbatore has been a success judging on the feedback we’ve received so far from both tourists and operators alike,” he said. Present at the roadshow were nearly 19 trade participants which included a cross section of tour operators and hotels. The roadshow in Vishakhapatnam and Coimbatore was a part of Sri Lanka Tourism’s seven-city roadshow in India. The event started with B2B meetings, followed by presentations by SLTPB and Sri Lankan Airlines. The President of Tours and Travels Association of Andrah K. Vijay Mohan said that this was the first ever B2B roadshow conducted in Vizag by the promotion Bureau to showcase the tourism potential to travel agents of Andra Pradesh.
“As many as 22 DMCs and hotels from Sri Lanka participated in the event which was also attended by 120 agents from Andra. They showcased their luxury hotels, beach resorts, casino, Ramayana trail and many leisure itineraries as well as Buddhist tourism circuits,” he said. He added that with direct flights between Colombo and Vizag nearly 3 times a week, which B2B roadshow would go a long way in promoting Sri Lanka as the most preferred tourist destination. “India is a very important market for us. We have seen an annual rise in arrival numbers from India over the years. The roadshow was conducted to increase visibility of the destination and highlight the new and lesser known attractions. We hope this event will add a positive impact and further increase Indian tourist footfall in Sri Lanka,” said Viranga Bandara, Assistant Director, Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau.
The participants from Sri Lanka included Apple Holidays, Jetwing Travels (Pvt) Ltd, Asian Adventure Travel Management company, HTCEY Leisure Pvt ltd, Walkers Tours Limited, Hamoos Travels, Karusan travels, Green Holiday Center, Riu Hotel & Resorts, Esna Holidays Pvt Ltd, B.O.C. Travels (Pvt) Ltd, Club Palm Bay Hotel, Holiday Park Pvt Ltd, Jagath Tours & Travels, Mount Lavinia Hotel, Nkar Travels and Tours, Spiceland Holidays, Sri Lankan Footprints, The Travel Concierge Sri Lanka (TTC) and Travel Wind Holiday Pvt ltd, along with Sri Lanka Tourism officials and Sri Lankan Airlines’ officials, who showcased unique tourism offerings, latest developments and exclusive products for India market.