The Hotels Association of Sri Lanka Chairman Sanath Ukwatte

Tourism Advisory Committee Chairman Hiran Cooray

The Hotels Association of Sri Lanka (THASL) in a statement yesterday commended the Government for taking steps to commence the much-awaited destination marketing campaign targeting over 16 key

countries. 

It said the proposed campaign will focus on eight key generating markets including UK, Germany, France, Russia, India, China, Middle East and Australia, where specific Destination Representative Companies will be appointed. 

THASL noted the steps taken to appoint PR agents in emerging markets USA, Spain, Scandinavia, Italy, Poland, Netherlands, South Korea and Japan.

 THASL also commented on the transparency and the adaptation of best practices in selecting the Sri Lanka Tourism’s global partners for the proposed campaign.

Cabinet approval has been granted for a five-year campaign which is estimated to be over $ 190 million. 

THASL Chairman Sanath Ukwatte said: “This is a long-standing expectation by the tourism industry, which has invested over a $ 15 billion in the industry. It is the expectation of the industry that the Government will implement the proposed campaign to entice potential travellers to the country. 

“We extend our sincere appreciation to the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB) for going through this comprehensive exercise and achieving key milestones, making the campaign ready to be launched in the second quarter of 2022. We would like to extend our fullest corporation and assistance to make this campaign a success, as this will be a major boost to start the recovery process of the crisis hit industry.”

Tourism Advisory Committee Chairman Hiran Cooray said: “Profiling and positioning the destination is one of the core tasks of the national tourism organisation. It is indeed commendable the progress achieved so far in the proposed Global Campaign which we struggled for over 10 years.

“We sincerely appreciate the efforts taken by the Minister of Tourism and the Sri Lanka Tourism officials, and their efforts to make this dream a reality. We have a long way to go but the journey of a thousand miles starts with a step.”

In 2018, the tourism sector accounted for $ 4.5 billion earnings and provided direct and indirect employment to over three million people.

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