Jordanian tourists to Lanka rise

Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau’s (SLTPB) Middle East office reported a considerable surge in the number of Jordanian travellers to Sri Lanka, as arrivals rose by an unprecedented 50 per cent in the first six months of 2010 compared to the same period last year, according to statistics compiled by the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority. The total number of travellers from the Middle East region reflected a similar upsurge with arrivals increasing by 102 per cent over the same period.
“Regardless of apprehensions of an unsteady global economy, Middle East’s discerning travellers are spending time and money on travel and Sri Lanka has been one of the preferred destinations of choice with a meteoric rise in tourists during H1 2010,” observed Heba Al Mansoori, Middle East Director of SLTPB.
“We have just closed in on the results of the first six months of 2010 and we’re up 102% as compared to H1 2009,” Al Mansoori said. “While 2009 was when the recovery process started, with the end of three decades of war, the rebound has been robust and rapid and the recovery is being driven and led by the Middle East with strong growth from key markets including the UAE which was up by 209%, Saudi Arabia up by 96%, Qatar by 252% and Kuwait up by 95%.”
Sri Lanka’s tourism industry is resilient and the government is sparing no efforts to revitalize the tourism industry as they recognize that tourism has a key role to play in the country’s economic recovery and stability.
“Our outlook remains positive for the rest of the year as we have successfully built a relationship of trust with both regional consumers and the travel trade and will continue to reap benefits with the gradually improving economic situation,” Al Mansoori added.
Apart from the Middle East, regions that proved to be a major source market for Sri Lanka and recorded growth in H1 2010 included North America (up by 70%), Western Europe (up by 45%), Eastern Europe (up by 22%), Africa (up by 18%), East Asia (up by 44%), South Asia (up by 53%) and Australasia (up by 44%).
While commenting on SLTPB’s Middle East marketing drive, Al Mansoori said, “We have had to adapt to the changing needs of the consumers and capitalize on trends such as late booking, increasing use of the internet to look and book by increasing Sri Lanka’s presence in the web domain regionally.”
Al Mansoori noted that in the Middle East in particular, travelling closer and for shorter periods of time and demanding value for money, seem to have been accentuated during the post crisis period. “The regional outbound market is evolving and inescapably requires changes as we need to know and understand consumers better to be able to market to them,” she said.
SLTPB opened its office in Dubai in May 2008 to maximize the opportunities emerging throughout the Middle East while strengthening support for the travel trade in the region. Since then the Dubai office has co-ordinated all of Sri Lanka’s tourism promotional activities in the Arab markets including exhibition participation, marketing visits, presentations and road shows, brochure distribution, public relations, as well as familiarization visits to the island for influential business and travel journalists.
Al-bawaba

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SLCB’s annual training program concludes

Sri Lanka Convention Bureau (SLCB), an institution under the Ministry of Economic Development conducted its annual training program for the meetings industry for the 8th consecutive year in which a comprehensive residential program was carried out by two Singaporean professionals who arrived on the invitation extended by SLCB. The residential session took place at Ramada Resort in Wadduwa. SriLankan Airlines brought the trainers from Singapore.
Eunice Chua and Aldric Tan are not only trainers in Meetings, Conferences and Incentive Travel but also practitioner in their respective Companies that are prominent PCOs and DMCs in Singapore. GM continental hotel Upul Gamage also joined the panel during the sessions. The residential programs consisted of wide ranging practical areas in handling Incentive Travel and conferences and this was a useful exercise for the 40 member industry participation representing hotels, PCOs, DMCs, and Event Managers’ said GM, Convention Bureau Vipula Wanigasekera. ‘ At a time we are looking at up market tourism into the country, it is necessary that the service standards are either on par or above the international standards with innovativeness being given a pride of place in competing with the region hence our efforts to continue with such programs for the benefit of the industry’ asserted, Wanigasekera.