It has been more than two months since Sri Lanka’s tourism industry went on hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic, making it one of the worst affected industries from the outbreak. However, the country’s tourism industry is now set to begin their recovery by developing and promoting domestic tourism.
In an interview with Al Jazeera on 11 May, Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) Chairperson Kimarli Fernando stated that the Government is sorting out the Covid-19 protocol to welcome guests from July onwards, and has attracted the interest of European and high-end Indian travellers.
She explained that the industry has seen a lot of inquiries for new bookings for the months of July and August, coming in from travel agents in Germany and India. She attributed this interest to the country’s low number of Covid-19 cases and casualties, making it a preferred destination for high-end holidaymakers.
“Our island is perfect post Covid simply because of the pristine beaches and everything else we have to offer. So, we are profiling ourselves and we have got the Covid protocol sorted; we are seeing a lot of traction and have already received inquiries for bookings,” Fernando noted.
However, the Hotels Association of Sri Lanka (THASL) President Sanath Ukwatte stated in a separate online forum, organised by the Sri Lanka Tourism Alliance (SLTA) on 15 May, that international tourists are only expected to start returning to the country in late December this year.
When speaking to The Sunday Morning Business, Ukwatte explained that the local tourism industry will reopen its hotels to local tourists before it opens to international tourists. He stated that this was to help the hotels, especially with regard to resorts and hotels in Colombo, which usually depend on locals to patronise their restaurants and use the properties for weddings and other functions.
“We have to first start with the locals and then see how the Government is going to allow tourists to come into the country. Even if the Government opens it up for international markets in July, those tourists will still have to be quarantined for two weeks, as suggested by the health authorities,” Ukwatte noted.
Demand for domestic travel
According to data presented at a webinar held on 29 May organised by the SLTDA, the sentiment and encouragement to travel has only increased during the lockdown period, globally. The data also showcased the increase in demand for domestic travel.
Google APAC (Asia Pacific) Travel Sector Lead Hermione Joye stated that according to surveys done in 17 countries in the region, consumers are more comfortable travelling domestically than internationally post Covid, and are more likely to travel via buses and trains, rather than planes. She explained that the surveys showed that in many of the APAC markets, consumers wanted to take shorter trips than before; ones that would take them between zero to three hours to complete.
The survey titled “The state of travel in APAC: Identifying trends to prepare for the road ahead” done by Think with Google, showed that travellers want to travel within the next six to nine months. It also stated that 25% of respondents from countries like India, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Vietnam expressed plans to travel domestically in the next three months, compared to countries like Australia and Japan, where less than 14% of them plan to do so.
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Viator, a TripAdvisor company, launched a project called #RoamFromHome, creating over 100 “virtual experiences”, which range from home cooking courses to digital walks around cities, centres, or landmarks.[/caption]
The study indicated that in the overall APAC region, 25-35% of consumers’ first trips will be to nearby destinations such as staycations or places within driving distance, as these consumers have short-term preferences.
TripAdvisor Destination Marketing APAC Group Head Sarah Mathews agreed with Joye’s research findings, stating that the domestic market for countries in the APAC region is key for their recovery. She explained that due to this, TripAdvisor together with Singapore has already launched a campaign, “#LoveYourLocalSG”, in order to help their local tourism industry stakeholders. The campaign allows restaurant owners to mark out their restaurants that can provide the service and is set to feature walks and parks in Singapore, once the country’s preventive measures ease up.
Viator, a TripAdvisor company, also launched a project called #RoamFromHome, creating over 100 “virtual experiences”, which range from home cooking courses to digital walks around cities, centres, or landmarks.
She suggested that Sri Lanka should launch similar campaigns, in order to get both domestic and foreign audiences interested in travelling the country again and retaining their interest in local tourists’ sites.
Sri Lanka’s domestic market
During the forum, Cinnamon Life Mall CEO, John Keells Group Vice President, and Cinnamon Hotels Brand Marketing Head Dileep Mudadeniya stated that one of the main focuses of the local industry should be the most eminent segment, which is the domestic traveller. He explained that due to the airport not receiving any arrivals, local hotels should take this opportunity to focus on the domestic clientele.
“Cinnamon Hotels is currently focusing on F&B (food and beverage) operations, which opened only recently after being closed for two months. We are looking at out-delivery services and banquets, and are also excited to host the upcoming weddings,” he said.
Having done some research of their own, Mudadeniya stated they have seen that the most interested segments for domestic travel are millennials, between the ages of 25 to 35, and the family segment. He explained that the latter was mainly due to schools being closed, making most weekdays open for travel as well, and the work from home concept, which is enabling locals to travel while they work, provided the hotel has enough bandwidth.
According to Antyra Solutions Chairman and CEO Niranka Perera, a review of about 70 hotels have showcased that the interest from the domestic market is steadily increasing post 11 May, and is expected to continue to rise.
He explained that this was a good opportunity for the Sri Lankan hospitality industry to market to locals and go beyond discount strategies; to really look at marketing and having a specific strategy for the local market every month.
“For example, we can target people who are celebrating their anniversaries each month and give them romance packages. There are a lot of opportunities like this to go beyond the discount aspect and really look at the segmented market,” he said.
For now, Perera suggested that the industry should make sure all their local offers are published and available online, their reservation teams are briefed, and their stories and advertisements are going out on social media sites like Facebook; so that they will be ready when bookings pick up again.
Joye added to this and stated that brands really need to think about how they communicate on digital platforms, as they are now allowed to have low-budgeted content and ads on their online platforms.
“Given that budgets are tight, brands can use this opportunity to make low-budget content, because consumers do not expect cinema-quality content. This could even mean creating content like YouTube videos and stories on Instagram, telling people about your hotels,” she said.
She stated that it was also important to have updated rates, photos, and ads online, since that is the first place people will go to in order to inquire about travel destinations.
“People are currently dreaming about travel and this has created a lot of pent up demand, so it is all about how Sri Lankan brands get the most out of that demand.”
Viator, a TripAdvisor company, launched a project called #RoamFromHome, creating over 100 “virtual experiences”, which range from home cooking courses to digital walks around cities, centres, or landmarks.[/caption]
The study indicated that in the overall APAC region, 25-35% of consumers’ first trips will be to nearby destinations such as staycations or places within driving distance, as these consumers have short-term preferences.
TripAdvisor Destination Marketing APAC Group Head Sarah Mathews agreed with Joye’s research findings, stating that the domestic market for countries in the APAC region is key for their recovery. She explained that due to this, TripAdvisor together with Singapore has already launched a campaign, “#LoveYourLocalSG”, in order to help their local tourism industry stakeholders. The campaign allows restaurant owners to mark out their restaurants that can provide the service and is set to feature walks and parks in Singapore, once the country’s preventive measures ease up.
Viator, a TripAdvisor company, also launched a project called #RoamFromHome, creating over 100 “virtual experiences”, which range from home cooking courses to digital walks around cities, centres, or landmarks.
She suggested that Sri Lanka should launch similar campaigns, in order to get both domestic and foreign audiences interested in travelling the country again and retaining their interest in local tourists’ sites.
Sri Lanka’s domestic market
During the forum, Cinnamon Life Mall CEO, John Keells Group Vice President, and Cinnamon Hotels Brand Marketing Head Dileep Mudadeniya stated that one of the main focuses of the local industry should be the most eminent segment, which is the domestic traveller. He explained that due to the airport not receiving any arrivals, local hotels should take this opportunity to focus on the domestic clientele.
“Cinnamon Hotels is currently focusing on F&B (food and beverage) operations, which opened only recently after being closed for two months. We are looking at out-delivery services and banquets, and are also excited to host the upcoming weddings,” he said.
Having done some research of their own, Mudadeniya stated they have seen that the most interested segments for domestic travel are millennials, between the ages of 25 to 35, and the family segment. He explained that the latter was mainly due to schools being closed, making most weekdays open for travel as well, and the work from home concept, which is enabling locals to travel while they work, provided the hotel has enough bandwidth.
According to Antyra Solutions Chairman and CEO Niranka Perera, a review of about 70 hotels have showcased that the interest from the domestic market is steadily increasing post 11 May, and is expected to continue to rise.
He explained that this was a good opportunity for the Sri Lankan hospitality industry to market to locals and go beyond discount strategies; to really look at marketing and having a specific strategy for the local market every month.
“For example, we can target people who are celebrating their anniversaries each month and give them romance packages. There are a lot of opportunities like this to go beyond the discount aspect and really look at the segmented market,” he said.
For now, Perera suggested that the industry should make sure all their local offers are published and available online, their reservation teams are briefed, and their stories and advertisements are going out on social media sites like Facebook; so that they will be ready when bookings pick up again.
Joye added to this and stated that brands really need to think about how they communicate on digital platforms, as they are now allowed to have low-budgeted content and ads on their online platforms.
“Given that budgets are tight, brands can use this opportunity to make low-budget content, because consumers do not expect cinema-quality content. This could even mean creating content like YouTube videos and stories on Instagram, telling people about your hotels,” she said.
She stated that it was also important to have updated rates, photos, and ads online, since that is the first place people will go to in order to inquire about travel destinations.
“People are currently dreaming about travel and this has created a lot of pent up demand, so it is all about how Sri Lankan brands get the most out of that demand.”