Value destination marketing  

IS Sri Lanka losing its tourism competitiveness? Recently two top industry experts have repeated the call for tourism officials to initiate a comprehensive marketing plan that will maintain high arrivals but they have received the usual deafening silence.

Sri Lanka’s John Keells Group Chairman Susantha Ratnayake said in a statement to shareholders last week that while Maldivian resorts had higher occupancies, Sri Lanka was weakening. He had also insisted that the destination has been adversely impacted by a “disappointing summer” that could only be countered by a “focused, Sri Lanka centric, destination marketing strategy to attract the relevant visitor segments in ensuring year-round occupancies and yields which justify continued investment in this industry”.

Harry Jayewardene, Chairman of Aitken Spence, which also has operations in the Maldives, echoed these sentiments this week insisting that in the present global context of turbulence and uncertainty, “we see a clear opportunity for Sri Lanka to position itself strongly as a preferred destination for high-value travellers”.

He stressed that a robust private sector-led destination promotion strategy that underscores the country’s unique set of diverse attractions would help Sri Lanka’s brand positioning internationally.

Sri Lanka’s tourist businesses are charged a ‘cess’ by the State tourism agency, and the industry has been calling for a well-funded destination program since the end of the war. Industry heavyweights even made the suggestion to Treasury Secretary Dr. P.B. Jayasundera ahead of the 2013 Budget, but received no positive response. This ‘wait-and-see’ policy has raised fears that Sri Lanka could lose ground to more competitive emerging destinations such as Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar.

Authorities have generally said that with a strong influx of tourists, a large marketing program was not needed at that time, especially since Sri Lanka did not yet have enough rooms. Instead, tourism promotion has relied on internet campaigns and promotions targeted as specific markets, which cost less money. Tourism authorities have been focusing on expanding infrastructure as the target of 2.5 million tourists by 2016 required more resources and many felt that the natural publicity generated by the end of the war would be sufficient to keep numbers afloat.

Mentions by Lonely Planet and the New York Times aside, the island has struggled to remain in the media for positive reasons. The lack of a destination marketing campaign could also mean that Sri Lanka will continue to lag behind in the race for high-end clients. This would mean that the returns on tourism, on which the Government has high hopes, would take longer to materialise – or may not materialise at all. 

The Central Bank has kept an optimistic US$ 2 billion target in Foreign Direct Investment for 2012, with half expected to come from tourism. Yet the growth and sustainability of such numbers is largely dependent on the vibrancy and continuity of arrivals. Earnings of local players also leaves limited funding for large-scale marketing programs, resulting in sporadic or limited exposure. A comprehensive destination marketing project would assist all players in the industry – from the small to the great. 

Great expectations can only bear fruit with great commitment. This means that both the private and public sector need to work together so that the industry achieves its full potential.