COLOMBO: Sri Lanka will offer livestreams from the island nation’s wildlife parks, in a move to help revive a tourism industry that has been battered by the coronavirus pandemic. Adapting to the new normal of the global travel and tourism industry, this strategic initiative will be taken by Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB) as part of efforts to deploy technology to connect with the travellers both local and international in bringing out the experiences the island nation can offer.
SLTPB will collaborate with the private sector in driving this initiative and to live-stream the national parks of Sri Lanka, showcasing the exotic wild life and the natural habitat. This will enable Sri Lanka Tourism to maintain its top of the mind awareness among the travellers and to place itself as a diversity driven unique experience with an aspirational positioning. This is also expected to enhance Sri Lanka’s digital footprint and to build on its social media reach. As Sri Lanka Tourism takes a shift in focus from value to experience driven, ‘Wildlife’ streaming will be an important measure to reposition and to reinforce the message.
Livestreaming will cover National Parks to include ‘Yala’, ‘Minneriya’ ‘Kaudulla’ and ‘Udawalawa’ and will focus on a wide spectrum to cover leopards, bears, elephants , crocodiles, birds , wildlife scenery and the spectacular behavior and movements of the astounding variety of birds and mammals. The project is expected to expand to eight wildlife streaming video sessions of one hour each while enabling global viewer base to engage, to entertain and to be informed of a world of colour, adventure and beauty. These livestreaming sessions will be telecasted through social media platforms to include YouTube, Instagram, Twitter and Facebook and pre promoted through social and digital platforms.
Though the initiative directly targets the wildlife enthusiasts, it is not limited to one segment but will expand to a wider spectrum of global travellers. It is also expected to contribute positively to the local industry, especially the wildlife service providers to capitalise in a post covid traveller scenario. The livestreaming will create digital footage of ‘wildlife’ that can be deployed by the local tourism fraternity to keep in touch, to connect and to promote Sri Lanka as a destination and wildlife as an experience among its loyal base and new traveller segments.
Lonely Planet’s top travel destination for 2019, Sri Lanka has suffered heavily severely due to the pandemic with authorities indefinitely postponing the reopening of the country to foreign tourists.The government had planned to reopen to tourists on Aug. 1, but shelved the plan when a new cluster of COVID-19 patients emerged in July. In an effort to contain the virus, Sri Lanka suspended all passenger flights and ship arrivals in mid-March, crippling the tourism industry.
Tourism is vital for Sri Lanka, accounting for about 5% of its GDP and employing 250,000 people directly and up to 2 million indirectly. According to the Tourism Development Authority, no foreign tourists arrived in Sri Lanka in April through August. There was a 60% decline in total tourist arrivals from January to August compared to the same period in 2019.To meet the income loss, most hotels are offering discounted prices for local tourists.
