• Over Rs. 270 m invested for short-term strategy, as Global Communication Campaign delayed
• Push includes global television commercials, PR and digital campaign in France, social media campaign in Middle East, tourism and trade promotion in UK, Germany and India
• Cabinet sanctions shorter bidding time process given the urgency 

By Charumini de Silva

Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB) will roll out a strategic campaign with an investment of over Rs. 200 million focused on key source markets targeting a surge in tourist arrivals ahead of the upcoming holiday season.

Accordingly, three key initiatives will be rolled out via the new strategic promotion. They include 1) aggressive television commercials globally, 2) public relations (PR) and digital marketing initiatives in France and a social media campaign in the Middle East, and 3) tourism and trade promotion campaigns in the UK, Germany and India.

The proposal submitted by Tourism Minister Prasanna Ranatunga was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers on Monday.

Given the delay in rolling out the Global Communication Campaign (GCC) as the appointment of the firms via competitive bidding process is time consuming, the strategic program will be initiated as a short-term plan to revive the COVID-hit tourism industry.

In this context, Cabinet has also approved a reduction in the number of days for the usual bidding process, from 42 days to 14 days.

Earlier, Cabinet approved the appointment of Destination Management Companies (DMCs) and PR firms in key tourism source markets for a period of five years, as part of the GCC. 

J. Walter Thompson (JWT), the official PR agency appointed for SLTPB, had conducted the PR and advertising campaigns in the said markets.

The Tourism Minister recently said that they are expecting over 200,000 tourists in the last two months of the year, banking on greater air connectivity, promotional activities, eased travel restrictions and a successful vaccination rollout.

Although Sri Lanka Tourism authorities have been bragging about commencing the long-delayed promotional campaign by mid-July, industry experts are sceptical about their timelines as they have failed to execute plans accordingly. 

 

 

First 2 weeks of November draw over 19,000 tourists