7.3.2019 TTG Show Daily ITB Berlin 16
Destination Sri Lanka
An enduring love affair
Market trends for 2019
The rebound of a long-standing market source brought much relief to Sri Lanka, but
to maintain its appeal, direct connections and promotions are key. By Feizal Samath
W
Germany. Without representative offices,
it’s difficult to have continuous promo-
tion,” Perera said.
He added that a mega destination mar-
keting campaign for Sri Lanka is targeted
for roll-out by mid-2019 to cover the main
source markets and establish multiple
promotional touch points.
Meanwhile, SLTPB will conduct road-
shows in the German cities of Stuttgart,
Berlin, Essen and Leipzig this year. Last
year, roadshows were held in Frankfurt,
Dusseldorf, Munich and Hamburg.
Shiromal Cooray, managing director of
Jetwing Travels, observed that Germany is
a prized market for Sri Lanka.
Germans spend seven to 14 days on av-
erage, compared to Asian travellers who
tend to take shorter trips. Travellers from
Germany also opt more for round trips
that include beaches, which Asians are not
too fond of, according to Cooray.
She continued: “Wellness has been pro-
moted widely in Germany over the past
10 years and Ayurveda has become a must
for many visitors. I don’t think SriLankan
Airlines’ pull-out has adversely affected
the market because we see year-round
growth. However, direct flights will cer-
tainly help.”
Champika De Silva, director of sales
and marketing for two Anantara resorts in
Sri Lanka, said German-speaking markets
remain a main feeder source to both prop-
erties. “Our resorts have achieved an 80
per cent growth in 2017-2018 for the Ger-
man, Austrian and Swiss markets, and for
2019 we expect a similar pace of increase
from these markets.”
Tracy Neureuther, director, Mosaic
Tourism Consulting, a Germany-based
travel agent, said demand for Sri Lanka is
picking up as the country becomes better
known to luxury travellers.
She added that itineraries which com-
bine Sri Lanka and the Maldives are also
becoming more popular, with travellers
opting for the latter for their beach exten-
sion. Alternatively clients chose a beach
resort in Sri Lanka itself, she said.
However, she remarked that the chal-
lenge right now is the political situation in
Traditionally, the Germany clientele has
visited Sri Lanka for beach and culture.
However, they (are now) showing a lot
of interest for Ayurveda, and wellness
and nature. If there are direct flights
from Germany, there will be a major
growth – we need to encourage
scheduled carriers and charters to
operate direct flights.
Harith Perera
President, Sri Lanka Association of
Inbound Tour Operators
A train plying across tea plantations in the highlands of Sri Lanka
hile tourist arrivals from
Germany have recovered in
the wake of SriLankan Air-
lines’ pull-out of Frankfurt
three years ago, the authorities are work-
ing to attract more charters and drum
up promotions to keep the destination’s
appeal strong among Germans in the ab-
sence of direct flights.
“At last year’s ITB, we had discussions
with Condor and Lufthansa for direct
flights but they wanted us to make an in-
vestment per flight – which they do with
Malaysia and some other destinations –
which was too costly for us.
“We are however discussing on how we
could provide support per charter,” said
Madhubani Perera, marketing director at
state-run Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion
Bureau (SLTPB).
The only airline to have had direct
flights to Germany, SriLankan Airlines
stopped flights in October 2016 to Frank-
furt.
To arrive in Colombo, travellers from
Germany or Austria typically fly via Dubai
or Doha.
Currently, the national carrier’s only
flight into Europe is to London, while
Swiss Air began twice-weekly direct flights
from Colombo to Zurich in November
last year.
Still, arrivals from Germany rebounded
from the 2.3 per cent dip seen in 2017,
growing 20.5 per cent to 156,888 in 2018.
While still significantly smaller mar-
kets compared to Germany, the other two
German-speaking markets Austria and
Switzerland saw double-digit growth as
well, at 10.7 per cent and 20 per cent re-
spectively.
According to Perera, Germany was Sri
Lanka’s biggest market in 1980s before the
UK took over, only to be surpassed by In-
dia and China in more recent years.
SLTPB had in 2016 closed its repre-
sentative offices in the UK, Germany and
France and appointed destination repre-
sentative offices (DRC) instead, although
these were eventually closed too.
“By mid-2019 we hope to appoint
DRCs in eight major markets including
Nalin Jayasundera
Managing director,
Aitken Spence Travels
Sri Lanka, which has received widespread
media attention in German-speaking
markets.
Last October, Sri Lanka’s president
sacked the prime minister and his cabi-
net in a dispute between the two political
parties. The status quo was restored after
the Supreme Court decreed that the presi-
dent’s order was unconstitutional.
Overall, the Germanic markets
saw a near 20 per cent growth in
2018. While we are seeing a dip
from the traditional tour operator
business, I feel there is a transition
happening with the German market
booking online.
What’s new
Tourist-friendly tuk tuks
Sri Lanka rolled out tourist-friendly tuk
tuks last year, and are now targeting to
have 10,000 such tuk tuks in the country.
The programme kicked off with the
participation of 300 drivers in Co-
lombo, who underwent training in social
etiquette and communication skills, plus
picking up information on tourist attrac-
tions.
The scheme has been implemented
in Negombo (West), Bentota and Matara
(South) and Ella (Central).
Cé La Vi
Singaporean dining and nightlife brand
Cé La Vi has partnered The Kingsbury,
a five-star luxury hotel in Colombo, to
launch its newest restaurant and lounge
concept.
Known for its rooftop locations, Cé La
Vi has built a presence in several nightlife
From left: Tourist-friendly tuk tuks; Cé La Vi
capitals of the world, including Singapore,
Hong Kong and St Tropez.
Perched on the rooftop of The
Kingsbury, Cé La Vi Colombo features a
restaurant serving Japanese cuisine with
modern Asian flair, as well as an indoor/
outdoor lounge.
Airbnb Experiences
Airbnb and the Sri Lanka Tourism Devel-
opment Authority (SLTDA), the national
tourism ministry, have entered into a
partnership to launch Airbnb Experiences
in Sri Lanka.
Airbnb and SLTDA will work together
to on-board local experience hosts to the
Airbnb platform and help local people
from across Sri Lanka share their pas-
sions and interests with travellers. Travel-
lers can now choose from more than 40
Airbnb Experiences in Sri Lanka, designed
and led by local experts.