Sri Lanka Tourism resets its goal to now attract 2 million tourists in 2023
Emboldened by the steady pace of recovery which saw the island welcome over 100,000 travelers, every month between January and April 2023, Sri Lanka decided last month to hike its 2023 target of 1.5 million visitors to 2 million.
The raising of the goal is perhaps fueled by seeing over 100,000 visitors during three (now four) consecutive months this year todate, the anticipated return of the Chinese tourists and hopes of Indian travelers coming in large numbers. A silver lining is that the country’s financial instability is momentarily contained, (though far from out of the woods) and monetary policies remain focused on bringing inflation down.
Let’s get real
Since tourism is a preplanned and displaced consumption in an unusual environment, people are averse to uncertainty when traveling. A peaceful street demonstration is a democratic right. Right? Not really, it all depends where it is held. When it happens anywhere in Sri Lanka it would result in travel advisories been issued by the West, whereas one held in Paris would not have anyone press the panic button. But that’s the reality of the world we live in.
In 2019, Sri Lanka welcomed 1.9 million tourists despite the terrorist bombings that occurred on Easter Sunday in April derailing its progress. The accumulated total arrivals between January and April that year totaled 907,757 – which by far, exceeds the 441,177 actual arrivals recorded in the same period for 2023 - by 466, 580 visitors. So, there is a huge challenge ahead if the country is to nail its ambitious two million visitors target by the end of this year.
Having lofty goals is a good thing. Achieving them requires proper planning including the execution of well developed strategic plans and hard work from all stakeholders in the industry. More than ever, policymakers need a clear mind, steady hand and laser sharp communication.
By the way, the Minister for Tourism very recently declared that the country aims to attract two million Indian tourists in 2023.
India is the new China: Sri Lanka continues to discover promising value in the Indian travel market.
According to IPK’s Destination Performance Index (DPI) most trips (over 90%) are booked in advance with 85% of trips booked online. However, one particular aspect of the Indian market is that travel agency bookings make up a large percentage – over 40%, which is significantly above the global average. In 2022 the average duration of a foreign trip was 08 days. The majority of trips included more than 04 overnights, with short trips between 01 and 03 nights making up 40% of Indian outbound travel. The desire for Indian travelers to revisit a destination is not so marked, as they are more likely to want to tour and discover other places.
On average, Indians spent 235 Euros per person and night on foreign trips in 2022. How does that compare with how long and how much the average Indian tourist spends in Sri Lanka?
Wooing the Chinese traveler: Before the pandemic, China was one of Sri Lanka’s fastest growing source markets
We need to be aware as to what the new Chinese traveler will look like, and we need to understand the market segments Sri Lanka appeals to the most, and the ones that we most want to attract. Forget about the conventional Chinese tourists marching behind a flag-waving tour representative at some visiting site. It’s no longer in vogue. Many Chinese tourists are looking at relaxation as a goal of travel, particularly in Southeast Asian destinations with beaches and resorts. Family travel is also picking up, including traveling with young children and older parents. The majority of Chinese have a travel budget. If the prices are higher, they may cut short a meal or even a day or two - to remain within budget.
Resilience is about how you recharge, not how you endure…
Sri Lanka’s tourism industry having been dealt one disaster to another since 1983 has a record of being ‘resilient’. Resilience however is a two sided coin. On the one side, it’s about enduring and overcoming the calamity. The other side is on how quickly one recharges to move along and go ahead. The industry’s track record on endurance is commendable…not so its efforts at recharging!
Sri Lanka Tourism needs to re-think its approach and re-set its model of what tourism can be including taking a much longer-term view. It knows what went wrong in the past, the reasons for the current predicament the country is in and its upto those at the helm of the island’s tourism efforts to not repeat those mistakes. Ensuring ease of travel for passengers and their convenience so that they spend less time at airport gates and immigration zones is one of several concerns that need to be addressed on the ground.
Shafeek Wahab – Editor, Hospitality Sri Lanka, Consultant, Trainer, Ex-Hotelier
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