On Location Sri Lanka

The emerald tea valleys of Sri Lanka – the land that is lovingly referred to in Sanskrit as ‘resplendent island’, after years of devastating civil war, seem to be brimming with new hope, developing its god-given tourism wealth.

“The year 2012 has been the most eventful year yet for Sri Lanka. At the end of the 30-year civil war – an awakening of that initial potential has come alive in the island. With the upbeat mood in Sri Lanka over the past two years, many international hotel chains have confirmed their entry to the island to capitalise on the demand growth Sri Lanka is presently experiencing,” revealed to TTG director of operations, TAL Hotels & Resorts and Taj Safaris, and area director and general manager, Taj Samudra, Rohit Khosla.

While figures for 2012 are still pending, the 2011 estimates, published by the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA), indicate speedy advancement of the tourism industry with international tourist arrivals growing by 30 per cent in 2011, as compared to 2010, resulting in a total of 855,975 annual visitors, which is an all-time record for the country.

After the war ended in 2009, Asia naturally emerged as the main source of tourism to Sri Lanka, accounting to 39 per cent of the share; while Western Europe was the second source of tourism recording 36.8 per cent of the share, with the Middle East bringing 6.7 per cent, Australasia 5.4 per cent and North America and Eastern Europe 5.7 per cent each.

In line with its newest tourism development strategy, SLTDA is aiming to achieve 2.5 million tourists by 2016. After a thorough analysis of the country’s tourism potential, SLTDA decided to focus its activities on the development of tourism infrastructure and standardisation of services, and, at the same time, improve the country’s branding image and enhance domestic tourism.

Explaining the key pillars of the five-year tourism development plan, managing director, Sri Lanka Tourism Promotions Bureau, Rumy Jauffer told TTG: “Tourism in Sri Lanka focuses on eight product categories – beaches, sports and adventure, heritage sites, mind and body wellness, scenic beauty, wild life and nature, people and culture, and year-round festivals.”

Jauffer has also informed TTG that SLTDA has received over 200 applications for new hotel developments throughout Sri Lanka, with 125 projects already approved. The hotel brands that are currently aspiring to set up their business in Sri Lanka are Shangri-La, Marriott, Mövenpick, Hyatt, Six Senses, and Anantara, to mention but a few.

“Total projects have a room capacity of 13,900 and an investment value of over $15 million, while 80 projects have been given the go-ahead for construction and 45 projects are close to finalising environmental assessments. The approved projects have a room capacity of 9,000,” said Jauffer.

With such ambitious projects under way, and with already well developed leisure and honeymoon products, nurtured by the country’s vast cultural heritage and pristine natural beauty, Sri Lanka is currently investing into the emerging eco, MICE and luxury tourism sectors.

In an attempt to strengthen its ecotourism and meeting and incentives industries, Sri Lanka Ecotourism Foundation and Sri Lanka Convention Bureau this year have partnered with the International Council of Tourism Partners, which intends to help Sri Lanka with global marketing, promotion and image branding.

The bourgeoning MICE tourism industry in Sri Lanka is also propelled by a number of specialised travel agents creating dedicated tours and programmes for this niche market, and, in particular, targeting business travellers from the Middle East. Attesting to the latter was assistant vice president, Aitken Spence Travels, Darell de Crusz, who told TTG: “We have handled quite a large number of corporate conferences from the Middle East this year, including incentive groups.”

Moreover, the country has also invested in a dedicated Sri Lanka Exhibition & Convention Centre, located in the commercial and financial district of Colombo. The 4,000m² centre is said to be able to cater to the most demanding organisational and technological requirements of any MICE related activities.

Yet another lucrative development is Sri Lanka’s luxury hospitality market. Representing the luxury segment was general manager, SriLanka Tailormade, Jetwing Travels, Ishanth Gunewardene, who said exclusively to TTG: “This year we have launched several authentic travel programmes targeted at the experienced traveller looking for luxury escapes as well as authentic experiences. These programmes include some fantastic new properties and boutique hotels that offer the finest in luxury services to satisfy demanding expectations, offering new experiences such as visits to Sri Lanka’s national parks, whale watching, leopard safaris, temples and other not well known cultural sights off the beaten tourist track. Luxury camping experiences have also been developed and further enhanced.”

While the budding tourism versatility of Sri Lanka has been warmly received globally, these days it is the country’s augmenting connection with the MENA region that is considered to be one of the most promising, as the share of Middle Eastern tourists has shown positive growth from 5.7 per cent in 2010 to 6.7 per cent in 2011, generating 57,501 visitors, 3,612 of which came to the island for business.

“The Middle Eastern market is one of the most important markets for Sri Lanka’s tourism and it has been identified as an emerging market. According to an exit survey, the high-end Middle Eastern traveller averages as the second highest spending traveller in Sri Lanka in 2011,” Jauffer stressed to TTG.

“Estimated Middle Eastern arrivals comprise between 6.8-7.8 per cent of the total estimated number of arrivals from 2012 to 2016. Middle Eastern travellers often come with their families and are seen as a ‘long-stay’ and ‘high spenders’ making a significant contribution to the economy. They also tend to repeat travel to the same destination,” he continued.

Further reinforcing the travel trade connections between the two countries, Emirates Airlines has recently opened a premium lounge at Bandaranaike International Airport. The $1.5 million project is considered to be a value addition to the airline’s offering in Colombo.

President, Emirates Airline, Tim Clark commented on the investment: “I understand that more international hotel chains are building in Sri Lanka and that the tourism infrastructure is being upgraded. Sri Lanka will, therefore, progressively attract tourists from the more affluent segments. MICE traffic is also increasing, and the country is attracting the attention of investors from many parts of the world.”

Also realising the business potential of MENA travellers, Aitken Spence Travels has been actively expanding their promotional activities in the region. “We have moved into the Levant region, and have marketed in Turkey and Iran,” said Crusz.

In an attempt to address the luxury travellers from the Middle East, SriLanka Tailormade has also been dealing with an increasing number of MENA clients. Gunewardene noted: “The Middle East market is fast becoming a growth market for us and increasingly more resources are being allocated to this segment. Our guides are fluent in Arabic, and this allows us to ensure our service delivery levels are at the highest standards, which is confirmed by the many referrals we keep receiving. We have handled many high-end clients from the Middle East and are adept at providing an airport-to-airport service to an exceptional standard.”

Jauffer has also informed TTG that SLTDA has planned a number of promotional activities to promote Sri Lanka’s tourism product in the MENA region: from participation at the Arabian Travel Market and staging road-shows in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Iran, Palestine and Jordan, to organising familiarisation trips, participating in Dubai’s Shopping Festival, and launching the SLTDA website in the Arabic and Persian languages.