Is Sri Lanka geared for sports tourism?

Q: What is the situation of Sri Lanka tourism at present?

A: With the cessation of hostilities in 2009, Sri Lankan Tourism has been growing rapidly which has resulted in strong rebound in demand for tourism both in terms of volume of arrivals and value of income generation. In 2008, total number of arrivals was 438,475 and it has grown up to 2,050,832 in 2016 representing a growth rate of 368% over a period of eight years. 

Sri Lanka has enormous amount of tourism resources for diversification and to become one of the popular tourism destinations in the world. Over the last few years, active tourism has been growing at a faster pace adding novel activities and features such as adventure tourism.

Q: How was the winter 2016/17 season for the industry?

A: It is encouraging to note that 219,360 arrivals are recorded in January 2017 compared to 194,280 in January 2016 representing a growth of 12.9% as per the provisional tourism statistics published by Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority. It is a remarkable achievement irrespective of the closure of Colombo International Airport during day time from early January 2017. It is expected that this trend will continue during 2016/17 winter season benefitting the tourism industry. The ongoing upgrading of runway and airport refurbishment will have a positive impact on the tourist arrivals in the future as it will facilitate landing of larger aircrafts such as A380s. 

Q: What were the key challenges faced by the hoteliers and DMCs this winter season? 

A: Although the operational cost of hotels (food cost, electricity and water cost and labour cost) are escalating, the hoteliers are not in a position to increase room rates as it will have a negative impact on competitiveness of Sri Lankan tourism.

Shortage of skilled human resources at various staff categories of hotels has affected the efficiency, productivity and standards of services.

The quality of services provided by DMCs have to be enhanced in line with the growth of tourist arrivals. However, the shortage of skilled tour guides fluent in different languages and increasing cost of vehicles to provide comfortable transport have adversely affected DMC operations. 

Q: What is sports tourism?

A: In a broad sense, sports tourism refers to travel which involves either observing or participating in a sporting event staying apart from the usual environment. Breaking it down further, sports tourism can be separated into two distinct fields: ‘sports participation travel’ (travel for the purpose of participating in sports, recreation, leisure or fitness activity) and ‘sports spectatorial travel’ (travel for the purpose of spectating sports, recreation, leisure or fitness activities or events). 

Sport tourism can be classified into hard and soft sports tourism. The definition of hard sports tourism relates to the strength of people, taking active part at a particular competitive sport event. Generally, these types of sport events inspire visitors to visit the events. Olympic Games, FIFA World Cup, F1 Grand Prix, Cricket World Cup and International Marathon fall in the category of hard sports tourism. 

Soft sports tourism is the type, when tourists make tour to take part in recreational sporting activity or sign up for leisure interests. Soft sports activities fall within three major categories i.e. water based, land based and sky based. To name a few, scuba diving, deep sea fishing, whale watching, wind surfing, water skiing, canoeing, parasailing, jet skiing, etc. fall under water based category. Mountaineering, camping, hiking, biking, rock climbing, etc. fall within the land based category. Gliding, hang gliding, para gliding, bungee jumping, sky diving, hot air ballooning and parachuting are some of the sky based sports.

Q: What are the trends in the world for sports tourism?

A: General tourism is one of the most rapidly growing sectors in the world and sports tourism is one of the fastest growing sub sectors. Increasingly, countries in all stages of economic development are prioritising adventure tourism and sports tourism for market growth realising its ecological, cultural, health and economic values.

According to United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), sports tourism has been one of the fastest growing niche segments of the tourism sector in the recent past. Sports tourism has emerged as a key component of world tourism supply with tourism destinations increasingly developing tourism products involving leisure sports. The 21st century is witnessing a gradual replacement of sun, sea and sand vacations by sport-related vacation and a new generation of tourists is also emerging, nurturing increasing interest in sport events. This multi-billion dollar business equates to $600 billion a year. Time to come, more and more countries are becoming increasingly dependent on sport tourism. Sports tourism is already accounted for an amazing 14% of overall travel and tourism receipts and this is predicted to grow remarkably over the next decade.

Sports tourism has emerged as a key component of world tourism supply, with tourism destinations increasingly developing sport tourism products involving leisure sports. These targeted offerings enable destinations to differentiate themselves from their competitors, thus sharpening their competitive edge through attracting travellers who seek out novel activities which can provide healthy and active holidays. Tourism market is witnessing an enormous popularity for water sports as a stress remedy. Some health professionals across the globe are recommending sports tourism as a coping mechanism for stress and anxiety (wellness tourism). In fact, the economies of some cities, regions and even some countries around the world are increasingly dependent on visiting golfers and skiers or travelling football, marathon, cycling rugby or cricket supporters. According to UNWTO, sports can account for as much as 25% of all tourism receipts in some countries. The global sports tourism market is likely to grow at a fast pace in the near future and researchers anticipate a compound annual growth rate of 46% by 2020.

Following are some trends taking place in global sports tourism:

a.Event and venue development: Destination Management Companies (DMCs) around the world are playing a more active role in event and venue development and management.

b.Evolving management structures: Over the past few years, several sports commissions have merged into sports convention bureaus. Similarly, small and medium sized markets have formed sports commissions from lower levels.

c.Evolving social media: Social media is no longer only a tool for marketing the events but it is also evolving as an asset for continuing real time updates during the events. 

d.Growing sponsorships and partnerships: Participation of public sector and giant companies as sponsors and partners with DMCs in organising and conducting sports events is a growing trend in many countries.

e.Enhanced participants and spectators: Enthusiasm of participants to take part in international sports events is remarkably increasing. Similarly, participation of spectators for international sports events is also considerably growing.

f.Innovation: Innovation and creativity in novel event production is growing in sports tourism. 

g.Government and local authority participation: Direct involvements of governments and local authorities of respective countries in sports tourism are increasing.

h.Increasing competitiveness: New and emerging destinations are investing in events and facilitate such events.

i.Dedicated print and electronic media: Number of sports television channels and print media dedicated for sports is on the increase globally.

Q: Does Sri Lanka has potential for sports tourism?

A: During the past few years, Sri Lanka as a step forward towards the diversification of the tourism sector has been promoting the country beyond the ‘sun, sea and sand’ concept and as a result the sports tourism has emerged from a lull period with novel features. The country has not yet fully exploited the potential attractions for sports tourism. Most of the provinces are rich with natural heritages, many ecotourism and adventure tourism potentialities, salubrious, different climatic conditions as well as many attractive locations. Many studies have revealed that most tourists are delighted on adventure, soft sports and ecotourism as it is directly related with the nature. 

While the sports tourism sector itself has been in existence for the past few years, it has not grown noticeably due to the challenges stated in this article. Soft sports tourism came to the limelight recently as a way of generating the sense of discovery by using largely un-spoilt areas with very little or no man-made infrastructure or facilities. Mountain and rock climbing, cycling in hilly areas and difficult terrains, wild camping and wild safari are some of the activities related to the sports tourism. 

Sri Lanka’s varied geographical and climatic conditions offer excellent opportunity for sports and adventure tourism. Adventure sports like river rafting, rock climbing, mountaineering, trekking, scuba diving, mountain biking, etc. can be undertaken in the country as multiple activities and many locations are available to choose from. On land and water, under water and in the air, travellers can enjoy whatsoever form of adventure in many parts of the country. The mountainous regions offer enormous scope for mountaineering, rock climbing, trekking, mount biking and safaris while the rushing rivers from these mountains are just perfect for river rafting and canoeing. The vast and deep expanse of water provides tremendous opportunity for water sports in form of diving and snorkelling. The unique feature in respect of water based sports in Sri Lanka is year round warm water, natural beauty of underwater and relatively calm surface water during the season. The forest regions have their own distinct places in providing scope for soft sports tourism in Sri Lanka. However, this is not the end of adventure and sports activities that can be promoted in Sri Lanka and there is still much left.

Sports and adventure tourism in Sri Lanka has created a growth momentum especially due to the efforts taken by the private sector tour operators. In this regard, private-public sector joint participation is a must to give a noteworthy boost to sports tourism in Sri Lanka. With the blessings of the Government, Sri Lanka can be made one of the preferred sports tourism destinations in the world.

Q: What are the key challenges faced by the industry in promoting and handling sports tourism?

A: The key challenges are as follows:

a.Lack of awareness: The awareness of DMCs in Sri Lanka on the importance and potential for sports tourism is inadequate. 

b.Little or no marketing of destination: Sri Lanka continue to promote mass tourism with little or no attention to market it as a destination for sports tourism.

c.Limited number of sports tourism operators: At present, DMCs engaged in sports tourism activities are limited and the industry needs more players to develop high quality sports products. 

d.Lack of national policy on sports tourism: As at present, national policy in promoting sports tourism is inadequate. Currently, there is no national level strategic action plan for the promotion of sports tourism.

e.Funding requirements: Organising a sports event is a costly affair and it needs a considerable amount of funding. 

f.Coordination between the Ministry of Sports and Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority: Proper coordination between the two organisations with correct people who can take the responsibility is needed.

g.Lack of marketing skills to sell Sri Lankan sports tourism products abroad: Since this is a highly specialised sector, human resources with skilled marketing expertise is needed to market Sri Lanka as a sports tourism destination.

h.Non-availability of skilled human resources: At present, Sri Lanka is experiencing a severe shortage of professionally skilled personnel for the sports tourism sector.

i.Need for an Adventure/Sports Tourism Academy: Setting up of an Adventure/Sports Tourism Academy to develop skills and knowledge of stakeholders is essential to develop the sports tourism sector. 

Q: What can the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) and Sri Lanka Tourism Promotional Bureau (SLTPB) do to help the industry?

A: As tourism is a fast growing and viable industry in Sri Lanka which brings much needed foreign exchange to the country, SLTDA and SLTPB should focus on facilitating the needs of the players in the industry.

They can facilitate the local DMCs to take part in worldwide marketing campaigns including roadshows.

They can also identify the local events and take them to event calendar to promote them annually.

Q: What do you think SLAITO can do to boost sports tourism in Sri Lanka?

A: SLAITO can do the following:

a.Create awareness among its members on the importance, potentials and opportunities available for the promotion of sports tourism.

b.Submission of a proposal to SLTDA and SLTPB with recommendations to implement a strategic action plan to promote sports tourism.

c.Act as the coordinator on behalf of SLTDA and the Ministry of Sports in promoting tourism related sports activities and annual events.

d.Encourage SLTDA to prepare a National Strategic Plan to promote sports tourism in Sri Lanka.

e.Participation in specialised international tourism fairs and exhibitions to create awareness in those countries about the sports tourism events taking place in Sri Lanka. 

f.Encourage DMCs to promote more and more sports tourism activities and develop skills among them to ensure developing of high quality tourism related sports products.

g.Requesting SLTDA and the Ministry of Sports to be actively involved in sports tourism events and to arrange worldwide media coverage for such events.

Q: Any other opportunities for Sri Lanka Tourism other than sports tourism?

A: Sri Lanka should explore the possibility of developing under mentioned new types of tourism products other than sports tourism, such as:

a.Health/wellness tourism

b.Rural tourism

c.Ethnic tourism

d.Senior citizen tourism

e.Incentive tourism

f.Spiritual tourism

g.Marine tourism