brand logo

The importance of developing domestic tourism 

29 Sep 2020

  • Sri Lanka Tourism Alliance hosts sixth webinar in its Resilience series
By Naveed Rozais Covid-19 has forced many industries to look within themselves and their domestic markets for sustainance in this time of closed borders and economic uncertainty. Tourism has been one of the hardest hit industries by the pandemic, in no small part due to its reliance on foreign travellers.  The shutting down of international borders has made Sri Lanka’s tourism industry depend on the local domestic market, a market that was largely overlooked in favour of foreign and luxury travel. The Sri Lanka Tourism Alliance held a webinar looking into how to attract and gain repeat local visitors, speaking to an eminent panel of industry experts.  The panel included Classic Destinations Manager Rajiv Welikala,  Antyra Solutions Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Niranka Perera, Ceylon Haven Co-Founder Dilshan Rabbie, and Jetwing Hotels Director – Operations Jerome Auvity, and the webinar was moderated by Droga and Co. Founder Katherine Droga.  The panel discussed the current domestic tourism market in Sri Lanka, examining data on popular travel locations and accommodation post lockdown, based on surveys and search terms. It was noted that domestic tourism has seen a massive spike post lockdown, which is likely due to the pent-up need and a desire to travel after being under curfew for over two months. Data also indicated that villas have become popular forms of accommodation at present, a trend that is believed to be due to both the reduction of prices of such accommodation as well as the privacy and safety offered by small villas.  Looking at the domestic market, Jetwing Hotels Director – Operations Jerome Auvity shared that there were three main segments within the domestic tourism market – local travellers, foreign residents, and corporate clients. The panel shared that it was very important for the tourism industry to curate experiences and offerings that appeal to the local market and what they are looking for, in order to attract local travellers. Ceylon Haven Co-Founder Dilshan Rabbie, who started operations post-lockdown, shared that local travellers, while previously used to standardised packages, are now becoming more appreciative of customisable experiences and amenities while travelling, a sentiment shared by Classic Destinations Manager Rajiv Welikala as well.  The panel also commented on the need to promote consciously. Antyra Solutions CEO Niranka Perera stressed that it was important to remember that Sri Lankan travellers are not a homogenous group. Perera also shared that the way people consume content also needs to be considered, explaining that most people today use their social media for brief periods of time and that is important for marketers to develop “micro-moments”, where tourism offerings can be specifically targeted. Perera also spoke on the need to productise offerings to specific markets, saying that the time to simply promote a daily room rate has passed, and it is now important to create packages that add value to the traveller and drive the traveller to take the step to travel.  Auvity also spoke on attracting travellers, explaining that a powerful strategy was to provide incentives to travellers, like a reduced rate if they make a booking within a certain time frame or specialised location-specific experiences.  The panel also noted that while promoting experiences and adding value is very important, when it comes to attracting local travellers, these experiences must be curated and promoted while paying attention to local sensibilities. For example, an experience like a guided tuk tuk tour through a village isn’t going to appeal to the local traveller because tuk tuks are a part of everyday life.  The panel also noted that while times are currently very uncertain, the tourism industry will bounce back and the pandemic has given Sri Lankan tourism the chance to concentrate on the domestic market and strengthen their domestic product offering. “Going domestic is something we should embrace,” Sri Lanka Tourism Alliance Co-Chair Malik J. Fernando commented, in closing, going on to explain that domestic travellers are uniquely placed to be of great value to Sri Lankan tourism, because they are built-in repeat travellers who can visit frequently if offered a great experience.  


More News..