Sri Lanka Tourism focuses on Indian niche market of IAS officers

The Indian Administrative Service, the premier administrative civil service of the Government of India which has the option of selecting a global awareness program during one tenure, has been targeted by Sri Lanka Tourism as potential tourist and brand ambassador for Sri Lanka, said Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau Chairman Dr. Rohantha Athukorala. 

The first batch of visiting Indian Administration Service officers with SLTPB Chairman Dr. Rohantha Athukorala taking the iconic Colombo city tour

“We first profile the country and thereafter city tour or country tour in partnership with SLIDA,” he said.

“As at end July 2015, India is still the number one source market with 145,453 arrivals, a growth of 27.3%, which is a strong performance given the entrenched competition in the market place. We must now raise the bar to attract a higher spending Indian traveller or who can endorse the brand in a community,” said Athukorala.

IAS officers hold key strategic positions in the Union Government, States and public-sector undertakings. Like in various countries (such as the UK) following the Parliamentary system, IAS as the permanent bureaucracy in India forms an inseparable part of the executive branch of the Government of India, thus providing continuity and neutrality to the administration. 

Unlike candidates selected to other civil services, a person once appointed to Indian Administrative Service or Indian Foreign Service (IFS) becomes ineligible to reappear in Civil Services Examination conducted by Union Public Service Commission because there are no higher civil services other than aforementioned two services under Government of India.

The Market Head for India at Sri Lanka Tourism Indrajith De Silva commenting on the strategy of India said: “We use a combination of below the line marketing push such as road shows across key markets like Mumbai, New Delhi, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Chennai and now Calcutta given the connectivity of airline carriers and then teaming with the private sector to profile Sri Lanka tourism in the key travel and tourism fairs so that we link with the tourism trade of India. Thereafter the visiting journalists program and trade FAMs drive consumer pull.”

“The program with IAS officers we are doing in partnership with SLIDA on the promise ‘Sri Lanka – One Island, Thousand Treasures’ and how we can use the brand ambassador route,” he added.