Sri Lanka has recorded 356,000 Indian tourist arrivals during 2016, marking a growth of 12.8 per cent over 2015. India is presently the largest contributor of tourists to Sri Lanka, which makes India a significant focus market for the island country. Sri Lanka is expecting increase in Indian tourist arrivals by 100,000 in 2017. India, China, UK, Germany and France hold subsequent ranks as top source markets for Sri Lanka. Overall international tourist arrivals were recorded over two million.
Madubhani Perera, director – marketing, Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB), said, “India is a very important market for us. We are hoping that the Indian traveller who has not yet visited Sri Lanka will explore this country as a new destination which offers value for money compared to other Asian countries. Also, it is one of the most peaceful countries with diverse tourism products. We have almost everything other than snow and deserts.” Currently, MICE covers around 10 per cent of the total arrivals to Sri Lanka.
The tourism bureau recently conducted a trade road show in Mumbai, which saw an attendance of 27 participants from Sri Lanka including its national carrier, SriLankan Airlines.
As part of this year’s strategy, SLTPB will be focusing on promoting Ramayan Trail, film tourism, wedding tourism and cruise tourism for the Indian traveller. “We will also be conducting roadshows in other Indian cities as the year progresses and will appoint an agency to tap the consumer market.”
SLTPB has plans to conduct road shows in Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Pune later this year.
