Sri Lanka seeks enhanced military training from India

Sri Lanka has sought enhanced military training from India, according to President Maithripala Sirisena’s office.

Visiting Indian Defence Secretary Sanjay Mitra called on Mr. Sirisena on Monday, and wide-ranging matters, including bilateral defence cooperation between the neighbouring countries and regional security, were discussed, officials said.

“India and Sri Lanka agreed to increase cooperation in security and defence spheres in several areas, including regional security, curbing drug smuggling and human trafficking and training of members of the security forces,” a statement from the presidential media unit said.

Thanking India for its partnership, Mr. Sirisena requested to increase the number of personnel trained by India. The Indian Defence Secretary agreed to look into the possibility of enhancing training facilities, the statement further said.

Currently, over 60% of Sri Lanka’s military personnel pursue their young officers’ course, junior and senior command courses in India, according to defence sources in Colombo.

Meanwhile, ‘Exercise Mitra Shakti’, the sixth edition of the joint military training exercise between the Indian Army and the Sri Lankan Army, concluded in Badulla district, in Sri Lanka’s Central Province, on Monday.

Contingents from the two countries jointly planned and executed a series of “well-coordinated tactical operations based on scenarios that are likely to be encountered in rural and urban environment”, a press release from the Indian Ministry of Defence said. The two-week programme is part of an initiative that began in 2013 as part of military diplomacy between India and Sri Lanka.

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sl Tourism to streamline promotion activities

Sri Lanka Tourism has kick started their promotional campaign for 2019 and around 15% of the budget has already been exhausted so far, said Director, Marketing at Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau, Madubhani Perera. The total budget for 2019 is around Rs. 6 billion.

She said that most of the promotion budget was invested to participate in international fairs in 2019. Perera said that last year the sum allocated for tourism Promotion was around Rs. 5 billion but only around 75% of it was used.

Meanwhile Minister of Tourism Development, Wildlife and Christian Affairs, John Amaratunga said that a proposal has been made to the cabinet to offer Visa on Arrival to tourists from Thailand.

“I am returning from an event in Thailand and their tourists are keen to visit Sri Lanka. Thai nationals are offered free visa on arrival to travel within the ASIAN region. I proposed to the cabinet to offer similar facility for them when visiting Sri Lanka.”

The Minister said that though they were targeting 3 million arrivals for 2019, if there were no political issues in Sri Lanka, this target can reach up to 3.1 million. He said that already there is a 2.2% arrival growth in January as against the previous year. 

Speaking at an event jointly organized by Sri Lanka Association of Inbound Tour Operators and Tourist Hotels Association of Sri Lanka (THASL) the Minister said that this year Sri Lanka will play host to many MICE events and the biggest would be the United Nations event in March where over 3,000 delegates would participate.

He however said that successive governments have not taken serious measures to increase capacity at the Colombo airport and this has put a check on many new budget airlines that want to fly to Sri Lanka.

“There is a huge congestion at the immigration counters and steps should be taken to offer one separate lane for Sri Lankans which would speed up matters at Customs,” he said.

The Minister also said that two former Vice Presidents of Sri Lankan Tourism Promotions Bauru, Nilmin Nanayakkara and Mervyn Fernandopulle were exonerated of all charges and this proves that the judiciary is impartial.

“Both of them did not make any decisions or even take any favors while serving in the SLTBP. They merely placed their signatures on Board decisions.”

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Harnessing the real potential of tourism industry

After much drama, a new head has been installed at the country’s tourism establishment. Corporate leader Kishu Gomes on Monday assumed duties as Chairman of both the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority and Sri Lanka Tourism Promotions Bureau (SLTPB). 

During a press conference last Friday, Gomes promised bringing in at least three million tourists to Sri Lanka this year. The country achieved 2.3 million tourists in 2018, about 200,000 short of the target, which was originally set. 

Although Sri Lanka has achieved considerable growth in the tourism industry, in terms of tourist arrivals and earnings in the post-war period, it has been far from the country’s true potential, which was recently named the best destination to travel in 2019 by the world-renowned travel guidebook brand Lonely Planet.

Gomes is a proven business leader in Sri Lanka’s thriving private sector and has over three decades of experience at top management positions. He is probably one of the youngest Sri Lankans to ever head the local operations of a multinational company. The added advantage is that he has a strong marketing background. 

Last week, he proudly told the media that his DNA is marketing and brand communication. The experience and strategies of Gomes as a marketer could become invaluable for the long-delayed global marketing campaign of Sri Lanka tourism. The Tourism Development, Wildlife and Christian Religious Affairs Ministry last week said they would soon present a detailed plan of the said campaign to the Cabinet, after incorporating the views of Gomes.

The soft launch of the campaign is scheduled to take place at the world’s largest tourism trade fair, ITB Berlin, this March. The three-year campaign, which received the SLTPB board approval recently, will focus on promoting Sri Lanka tourism in eight key source markets, with an estimated budget of Rs.3.0 billion.

Sri Lanka has been feeling the need for a proper destination marketing campaign for a while. But the initiatives taken towards it at various times under several tourism ministers were impeded by the country’s toxic politics and procurement scandals.

This probably is the best juncture in Sri Lanka Tourism’s history to launch a massive promotional campaign as the country’s governance structure remains relatively strong and the civil society’s ability to influence the politics is high. 

However, it is vital to come to a consensus on how to position Sri Lanka as a tourism destination before embarking on a major marketing push. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on several occasions had said given Sri Lanka’s limited carrying capacity, the country should look at attracting high-end tourists, who spend a considerable amount of money during their stays. 

However, given the rising number of informal accommodation providers, it is clear that Sri Lanka is becoming more of a backpackers’ paradise than a sojourn for high-spending tourists. It is believed that Sri Lanka’s vibrant informal tourism sector played a major role in the country being selected as the best place to travel in 2019 by Lonely Planet. 

Hence, the tourism authorities and the industry should reach a consensus as soon as possible on where to position Sri Lanka as a tourism destination, to give a clear message out to the prospective tourists. Every country that recognizes tourism as a major contributor to its economy must have a tourism identity and Sri Lanka shouldn’t be an exception, despite its diverse tourism product offering. 

It is essential that Sri Lanka creates itself a fine balance between high-spending tourists and backpackers and all the country’s promotional and marketing campaigns should revolve around this notion.

Meanwhile, a proposal has been pushed forward by a group of hospitality sector stakeholders urging the authorities to consider giving the country’s tourism industry the export industry status. Even at the height of the separatist war, the tourism industry was able to attract tourists to the country and earn the much-needed foreign exchange to the economy. 

When the tsunami wrecked havoc in the southern and eastern coasts of Sri Lanka, the industry was able to rise from wreckage within a very short time, showing its resilience. Hence, the government should seriously look at including tourism into its export strategy and provide the necessary concession, similar to the other export industries.

Also, the suggestion to establish tourism trade zones, similar to that of export processing zones, could also be a very innovative approach to develop some of the underdeveloped tourism hot spots in the eastern and northern parts of the island.

All in all, what is needed as far as the country’s tourism sector is concerned, is a new approach—be it promoting the country through a global marketing campaign or providing the industry with the much-needed impetus by recognizing their efforts throughout the years. 

One thing we should always keep in mind as Sri Lankans is that worker remittances still remain the highest foreign exchange earner, despite the country having such potential for tourism. Isn’t this anything short of a national embarrassment? 

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Strict enforcement needed to protect Sri Lanka tourism hotspots: expert

ECONOMYNEXT – Strict enforcement of rules and effective management is needed to protect Sri Lankan tourism hotspots like national parks and archaeological sites from over-visitation, an Australian expert said. 

"Over tourism is a somewhat awkward term, and describes the situation in which a particular destination exceeds its carrying capacity, either in physical or social terms,” said Andrew Fairley, former deputy chairman of Tourism Australia, the Australian tourism promotion outfit. 

He drew on his experience in maintaining the sustainability of potentially fragile tourism destinations at a public address by organised by the Australian High Commission and Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority and Australia’s private sector development programme Market Development Facility. 

Over tourism is a familiar theme in Sri Lanka, with popular hotspots like Yala National Park and Sigiriya facing challenges related to overcrowding and the consequent deterioration of the natural asset, a statement said. 

“It results in a deterioration of the tourism experience for both visitors and locals, and if it continued unchecked, could cause serious brand damage,” it quoted Fairley as saying. 

Fairley highlighted the need for an assessment, of carrying capacity, access and behaviours, as well strict enforcement of boundaries in this regard through effective tourism management. 

Establishing “One Voice” in tourism would further aid this goal and prevent the potential negative impacts on Sri Lanka’s tourism assets. 

Fairley also said research, consolidation and sustainability is essential for tourism. 

Core-market analysis, effective marketing and communication, and the importance of optimising tourist visitation were some of the key areas Fairley touched on in his talk on “Staying ahead in global tourism marketing: How core-market research and outreach can deliver a sustainable advantage”. 

Fairley recently worked with the government of Sri Lanka and tourism authorities on the Tourism Strategic Plan 2017-2020 (TSP), released last year. 

Fairley explored elements from the TSP, drawing parallels with Tourism Australia’s strategic journey, which began with consolidation. 

“Underpinning the success of any system reform is the implementation of an efficient and effective governance model,” said Fairley, referring to how Australian tourism was segmented into four separate bodies until 2003, when the government consolidated them and establish Tourism Australia – creating “One Voice”. 

The structural and governance renovation was successful in marketing ‘Brand Australia’ through proactive government involvement that concurrently enabled and enlivened the private sector.

Fairley also spoke of the importance of timely and accurate core-market data to travel industry decision-making. 

In the case of Australia, Fairley highlighted three of Australia’s biggest inbound tourism markets – the UK, China and India, highly relevant to Sri Lanka as well. 

For these, Tourism Australia carried out a detailed analysis of demand and supply. The analysis of drivers led to the creation of Australia’s “experience pillars”, which highlight Australia’s strongest consumer assets. 

“There are many niche opportunities [in Sri Lanka] as well which are comprehensively identified in your tourism strategy,” Fairley said. 

“These include health and well-being, ecotourism, and the MICE market. The challenge is to determine which have priority. Success requires you to focus on a few core strategies and do them well.” 

Converting research findings into actual implementation involves marketing and communication outreach. 

This includes addressing the optimal distribution model and acknowledging the importance of agents, wholesalers and aggregators within the process. 

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