Very strong demand  at B2B session

China’s yearly outbound tourists crossing the 107 million mark for the first time in history at a growth of 19.5%, in the backdrop of Asia attracting 85 million of the visitors, explains the opportunity that Sri Lanka has, said Sri Lanka Tourism Promotions Bureau Chairman Dr. Rohantha Athukorala.  “Sri Lanka targeting 225,000 visitors this year as at now is registering a growth of 73.3% crossing the 144,439 visitors but we are now upping the game to attract the $ 250 tourist focusing on new markets like Xian, Chengdu and Qingdao,” said the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotions Bureau in a communiqué.

“The first city in the road show Xian attracted 127 destination marketing companies from the city of Xian and it was paired by 31 top Sri Lanka tourism specialists who operate the Chinese market. We must target the $250 dollar visitor,” Athukorala said.
“The countries that are attracting Chinese visitors have made changes across the value chain including eco-friendly hotels, authentic Chinese cuisine restaurants, attractions to the family, special airline packages and Sri Lanka has become one such case study that the model has worked. Some countries in East Asia have simplified their process issues with strong policy changes that include decreasing visa fees, simplifying visa applications, operating more international flights to China and employing Chinese tour guides and salespersons which in fact Sri Lanka can pick up,” said Athukorala.

“In the recent past the outbound tourism of a China turned into a stable growing period from the previous explosively growing period. The origin of travellers is not limited to the first tier cities in developed eastern areas any more, but also second and third tier cities in middle and western China which is essentially the strategy of Sri Lanka,” said the communiqué from SLTPB.
“Travelling abroad is enjoyed not only by officials and the elite class any more, but also by common people, which is a new trend seen in urban markets of china. Fewer Chinese travelled abroad for shopping, while more travelled to experience different cultures and appreciate different scenery which is why we are launching the Monkey Kingdom movie filmed in Sri Lanka by Disney Movies in the key cities of China starting from Beijing and then to Shanghai, Kunming, Guangzhou and Qingdao. Thereafter together with SriLankan Airlines a strong digital marketing campaign will breakout using celebrities in each of the key cities,” said Chairman Athukorala.