Sri Lanka is planning tourism promotional campaigns in nine key target markets to boost arrivals officials said as the country targets 1.55 million visitors in 2023.
“There is a big plan for this year, but we are not going for a global campaign,” Chalaka Gajabahu, the Chairperson of Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB), told Economy Next. “Instead, we will focus on nine key markets, including India, Russia, UK, Germany, France, and China, so we don’t spend all our money all over the world,”
Russia, India, and the UK are already at the top of the list of source markets for incoming tourists. The campaigns are expected to start from April to May. The tourism bureau is now in the process of selecting agencies for the nine countries.
“We are in the documentation process of selecting agencies to launch the campaign in nine markets, including the UK, Germany, France, India, China, Australia, Russia, the Middle East, and Scandinavia,” Jeevana Fernando, the Assistant Director of Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority said. “This will be a digital advertising and PR campaign, which will be executed by the PR agencies of those countries.”
The main focus of the promotional campaign in these countries is to maintain constant tourist numbers, Gajabahu said. In 2023 Sri Lanka is targeting 1.55 million tourists. In February, Sri Lanka welcomed 107,639 visitors, with the large majority from Russia, followed by India and the UK. (Economy Next)
