• Roadshows planned in India, China, Europe to boost arrivals
• SLTPB kicks off ’25 with media endorsements, travel fair participation
• Tourism sector sets sights on surpassing 2024’s 2 m arrivals
• National branding campaign to be finalised soon: SLTDA Chair

The Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) has revealed ambitious plans to promote Sri Lankan tourism, involving road shows in India, China, and several European countries.

Speaking to The Sunday Morning Business, Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB) Marketing Director Dushan Wickramasuriya revealed that plans were underway for the SLTDA to carry out roadshows in several countries during the first half of 2025. 

He revealed that the SLTPB had commenced its promotional activities from the beginning of January. Accordingly, he stated that the bureau had obtained various endorsements in relation to Sri Lankan tourism; hosted media, influencers, and bloggers from all over the world; and become involved in a number of travel fairs.

Commenting on the effectiveness of the tourism promotional campaign, Wickramasuriya said: “Our numbers are looking good. We reached the two million tourist arrivals mark in 2024. I believe we finished at 2,053,000. The momentum continues and we have a target of three million arrivals for 2025, which we are working towards.”

He further revealed that Sri Lanka would be participating in international tourism travel fairs such as ITB Berlin, South Asia’s Travel and Tourism Exchange (SATTE) and Outbound Travel Mart (OTM) in India, and Fitur in Spain. 

Wickramasuriya also pointed out that the intention behind participating in these trade fairs was to create a platform for the local tourism industry to have Business-to-Business (B2B) meetings with their foreign counterparts.

Furthermore, speaking to The Sunday Morning Business, SLTDA and SLTPB Chairman Buddhika Hewawasam also revealed that they were currently formulating the national branding campaign, which would be finalised within a week’s time.