Wednesday Sep 02, 2026
Wednesday Sep 02, 2026
Tuesday, 1 September 2026 03:09 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
Sri Lanka’s long-awaited global destination marketing campaign is set to face a further delay of nearly one year, Tourism Deputy Minister Prof. Ruwan Ranasinghe said yesterday, just days after Sri Lanka Tourism unveiled a roadmap envisaging the launch of its Rs. 5 billion global branding campaign in March 2027.
Speaking at the launch of the National Tourism Strategic Planning Consultancy (2026-2031) and Global Promotional Campaign Roadmap Consultancy, Prof. Ranasinghe said the Government would first appoint a consultancy to develop a Global Destination Communication Campaign Roadmap before proceeding with the final award of the global promotional campaign.
When asked whether the additional process meant that the launch of the global tourism promotion campaign would be pushed back by nearly another year, the Deputy Minister answered: “Yes.”
The admission marks a significant shift from the timeline presented by the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB) only on 19 August, when officials unveiled a detailed promotional blueprint envisaging an immediate Rs. 1.5 billion interim digital and public relations campaign from August 2026 to April 2027 across six key source markets. That plan was to be followed by the much larger Rs. 5 billion global branding campaign, scheduled to commence in March 2027 and continue through February 2029 (https://www.ft.lk/top-story/Rs--1-5-b-interim-tourism-campaign-kicks-off-ahead-of-global-brand-push/26-796239).
The latest clarification effectively puts that March 2027 timetable in question, with the Government now prioritising another consultancy exercise before the final campaign can be awarded.
The reversal is likely to intensify concerns within the tourism industry over the pace of Sri Lanka’s destination marketing efforts, particularly as the country has gone for over 15 years without a sustained global tourism promotion campaign, despite having funds available for destination marketing.
The new development also highlights the repeated resets that have characterised Sri Lanka’s destination marketing efforts. The country has previously launched and abandoned, or delayed, several attempts to establish a sustained global tourism brand, with procurement processes and changes in strategy contributing to prolonged gaps in international promotion.
Prof. Ranasinghe defended the additional process, stressing that the Government was not rushing the campaign and that the process was being conducted with greater transparency.
The Government has also articulated more ambitious longer-term tourism goals, making effective international destination marketing increasingly important to converting capacity and visitor growth into higher-value tourism receipts.
Accordingly, Sri Lanka Tourism targets 2.7 million tourist arrivals and around $ 4.2 billion in tourism earnings in 2026, while seeking to raise arrivals beyond 3 million and a revenue of $ 5 billion by next year.
Sri Lanka’s tourism recovery has gathered momentum in recent years, but the absence of consistent international branding has repeatedly been identified as a structural weakness in the country’s efforts to compete for high-end travellers against destinations with significantly larger and more sustained promotional budgets.
