COLOMBO: Sri Lanka will further enhance its already strong relations with China by stepping up efforts to attract more Chinese visitors to the island nation through some innovative marketing strategies that are being deployed to boost tourism growth.
The Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB) will shortly sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Fliggy, the highly successful online travel service platform of Alibaba, the internationally renowned Chinese technology company, to bring 1,000 Chinese travellers every week to Sri Lanka.
Through a vast network of online travel agencies and direct travel service providers operating from its virtual marketplace, Fliggy offers a range of travel products including flights, hotels, tour packages and car rentals.
Supreme Global Holdings Limited, the local company that has tied up with Alibaba, will work closely with SLTPB on implementing the project, which is expected to result in a positive large-scale impact on Sri Lanka’s tourism industry, according to Tourism Minister John Amaratunga.
Supreme Global also intends to promote Alipay actively in Sri Lanka upon receiving the necessary clearances, taking Sri Lanka’s tourism industry to a new level and boosting Chinese arrivals. Alipay is a third-party mobile and online payment platform established by the Alibaba Group.
Fliggy and similar online travel platforms are extremely popular among Chinese travellers, especially the millennials who are moving away from traditional group packages and looking to create their own tailor-made travel itineraries using the convenience and speed offered via the internet. Chinese travelers are also becoming increasingly focused on their well-being and the purpose for making outbound trips has changed from sightseeing and shopping to enjoying high-quality services.
Driven by the sheer size of its population, China is the world’s number one source market for tourism with 130 million outbound trips made in 2017, resulting in an estimated US $ 115.29 billion spent during last year, according to research by Ctrip, another leading Chinese online travel service provider that is considered the second largest online travel agent in the world.
Minister Amaratunga expressed confidence that Sri Lanka would comfortably achieve the 2.5 million arrivals target set for this year, while noting that the country could achieve 3.5 million arrivals in 2019 provided the global tourism outlook remains favourable.
Over 1.3 million tourists arrived in Sri Lanka in the first seven months of 2018, recording a 13.7 per cent growth compared with the same period last year.
The Sri Lankan government has also appointed a task force to study the possibility of granting visa-free entry to visitors from certain tourist-friendly nations such as China and India to increase arrivals. Following recommendations from the task force, this proposal may be implemented in the off season months of October to November and March to April. The government is also discussing with airlines, tour operators and hotels to provide low cost packages, as part of efforts to position Sri Lanka as a year-round tourism destination.
Meanwhile, to further strengthen hospitality and safety standards, Sri Lanka’s Inspector General of Police, Pujith Jayasundara said 25 new police posts will be set up covering all the main tourist spots across the country for visitors’ security while police personnel attached to the Tourist Police Division have also been asked to learn languages such as Chinese and Hindi in addition to English.
The decision was taken after discussions with the Chairman and senior officials of the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA), the Chinese news agency Xinhua quoted Jayasundara as saying.
The police chief said a new uniform would be introduced to the Tourist Police Division and pointed out that since the tourism sector was expected to become the largest foreign exchange earner for the country in a few years, ensuring the safety of the foreigners visiting Sri Lanka will be a top priority for the police force.
