Thursday Jul 16, 2026
Thursday Jul 16, 2026
Thursday, 16 July 2026 03:24 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
By Charumini de Silva
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| THASL CEO Priantha Fernando |
The Hotels Association of Sri Lanka (THASL) has called for a strategic shift away from mass tourism towards high-value experiential travel, as global travel faces renewed uncertainty from geopolitical tensions, aviation disruptions, and rising costs.
“Sri Lanka’s next phase of tourism growth should focus on increasing visitor spending, diversifying source markets, and strengthening destination marketing, particularly by targeting resilient short-haul markets such as India and China,” THASL CEO Priantha Fernando told the Daily FT.
He insisted that the country’s long-term competitiveness will depend on increasing visitor spending rather than simply attracting higher arrival numbers.
His comments come as global tourism growth projections have been revised downwards following the escalation of the Middle East crisis, which has disrupted aviation networks, increased fuel costs, and encouraged travellers to favour regional and shorter-haul destinations.
According to Fernando, global international tourist arrivals, initially forecast to grow by 3%-4%, are now expected to expand by around 1.5% due to geopolitical disruptions. While international travel grew by 2.5% during January and February 2026, growth slowed sharply to 0.4% in March after aviation disruptions intensified.
“High travel costs and uncertainty have prompted global travellers to favour short-haul, domestic, or regional trips over long-haul flights,” he said.
The crisis has created challenges for destinations dependent on long-haul markets, with higher airfares and reduced connectivity affecting travel patterns. However, Fernando believes Sri Lanka can turn this shift into an opportunity by leveraging its proximity to major Asian markets.
“India has emerged as an outbound tourism powerhouse, heavily cushioning its neighbours from the decline in European long-haul travellers,” he said, adding that Sri Lanka should prioritise India and China through dedicated roadshows, customised packages, and stronger engagement with regional travel partners.
South Asia, despite accounting for only around 2.5% of the wider Asia-Pacific tourism market, remains one of the fastest recovering regions globally, with arrivals projected to exceed pre-pandemic levels by 20%-25% by 2028.
Fernando said 2026 would be a critical year for Sri Lanka to position itself within this recovery.
Sri Lanka has already revised its 2026 tourism expectations to a more realistic target of 2.5 million arrivals and around $ 3.5 billion in tourism earnings, reflecting the impact of global disruptions.
Fernando also stressed that achieving even the revised targets would require urgent action on destination promotion, warning that delays in marketing campaigns were resulting in significant lost opportunities.
“The private sector’s frustration over delays in destination marketing and promotional activities is understandable. The loss to both parties is considerable,” he said.
He pointed out that tourism delivers substantial fiscal benefits to the Government, estimating that even at $ 3.5 billion in tourism income, Government revenue could be around $ 900 million. With stronger marketing investment, this could potentially exceed $ 1.2 billion, supported by contributions from the Tourism Development Levy and embarkation tax collections.
“The promotional investment made now will pay dividends in the medium run,” Fernando said, calling for joint destination marketing efforts involving tourism authorities, airlines, tour operators, destination management companies (DMCs), and hoteliers.
THASL CEO also said Sri Lanka needs to focus on attracting higher-spending travellers through Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions (MICE) tourism, wellness, sports, spiritual, and nature-based tourism.
He identified Colombo’s potential as a regional MICE hub, particularly with new high-end facilities such as the City of Dreams resort, while calling for greater promotion of luxury wellness retreats, Ayurveda, eco-tourism, wildlife safaris, hiking, heritage stays, and Buddhist pilgrimage circuits.
“Sri Lanka needs to transition from a ‘beach and budget’ destination to an experiential travel hub to increase daily tourist spend,” he added.
He also highlighted opportunities in sports tourism, including surf destinations such as Arugam Bay and Weligama, while urging authorities to maximise cricket-led tourism following international tournaments hosted in Sri Lanka.
Fernando noted that tourism growth should also spread economic benefits beyond traditional hotspots by developing emerging destinations such as Ella and Hiriketiya, while ensuring environmental sustainability and greater community participation.
In addition, he said digital transformation would be critical to improving visitor experiences. A unified digital platform integrating visa processes, national park bookings, and digital payments should become a priority.
He also called for stronger digital storytelling and influencer campaigns to enhance Sri Lanka’s global visibility, while using the current slowdown to upgrade hospitality sector skills and ensure 60%-65% of the workforce reaches skilled and semi-skilled levels.
On connectivity, Fernando said restoring airline capacity remained vital, with new carriers such as Vietnam Airlines and Jetstar helping offset lost capacity. However, he stressed that route expansion depended on profitability and required tourism authorities to create sufficient market demand through effective promotion.
“Destination promotion needs to be further fortified. The need of the hour is joint efforts in promoting and positioning Sri Lanka,” he said.
