Sri Lanka’s tourism is set to get a new impetus with digital marketing –related inputs for the first time to leapfrog the present setback owing to economic crisis and youth protests for system change , says Tourism Development Authority Chief Priyantha Fernando.
The dollar starved country will be able to overcome the ill effects of the present economic downturn and unfavourable situation for the tourism industry as a result of short sighted and inconsistent policies taken in the past , he added.
The Digital Marketing Association of Sri Lanka (DMASL) has partnered with the Ministry of Tourism to provide consultation and insight on digital marketing to promote tourism in Sri Lanka, he disclosed.
The partnership aims to assist the Tourism Ministry to revitalise and enhance the tourism industry by maximizing its reach and results through digital marketing, which in turn is expected to help alleviate the prevailing forex crisis.
The partnership comes as part of the DMASL’s continuous efforts to drive and promote digital marketing in Sri Lanka’s Government organisations and related institutions.
The Executive Committee of DMASL met with Tourism Minister Harin Fernando and newly appointed Sri Lanka Tourism Brand Ambassador Sanath Jayasuriya recently to strategies how best to implement digital marketing strategies that will help augment the tourism sector in Sri Lanka.
Digital Marketing Association of Sri Lanka President Umair Wolid said: “The DMASL, as Sri Lanka’s official association for digital marketers expects to help Sri Lanka tourism with digital marketing-related inputs via this partnership in a bid to revive the economy.
The Association is also looking at helping Sri Lanka recover from the prevailing forex crisis, and the entire industry is geared up to take on the challenge , he added.
” Meanwhile, Tourism Minister Harin Fernando said, “the tourism ministry is confident that digital marketing industry is lucrative and full of amazing talent, who are skilled and capable to help Sri Lanka turn the prevailing economic crisis around and revitalize the tourism industry in Sri Lanka
He said that he looks forward to working with DMASL to help revitalize tourism industry via digital marketing.”
Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) Chairman Priantha Fernando said they will revise the tourist arrival targets in line with the Government’s policy plans.
“We accept the challenging target of 2.5 million arrivals next year, though the target was set at 1.6 million after a thorough analysis of global trends,” he added.
He also said Sri Lanka Tourism has already stepped up its efforts to boost promotions, whilst expediting processes to resolve certain bottlenecks that are critical to wooing visitors.
“We will expand our offerings, especially the up-market products which have not been developed with the support of the industry stakeholders. There is a lot of scope for wellness and marine tourism,” he said.
Fernando said they have identified over 5,500 tourist attractions countrywide and have established Provincial Sustainable Tourism Units targeting all provinces to decentralize tourism development.
