SLTPB Marketing Director Madhubani Perera, Sri Lanka Tourism Promotions Bureau Chairman Dr. Rohantha Athukorala and Sri Lanka Cricket Captain Angelo Mathews

The strongest drivers of tourism around the world are culture and heritage. With cricket being so much a part of the culture of this country, Sri Lanka Cricket will be batting for Sri Lanka Tourism  after lengthy discussions between Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau Chairman Rohantha Athukorala and Sri Lanka Cricket Secretary Prakash Schaffter.

“While there are many household brands in Sri Lanka, based on the latest research done we find that the most deep-rooted passion every Sri Lankan has is their love for the diverse beauty of the country which naturally links to the mandate of Sri Lanka Tourism,” said Athukorala.

“Through updates on Facebook, videos of Sri Lanka on YouTube and the articles and views expressed in the media by the general public, we can clearly see this behaviour. Now we want to capture a slice of life of a typical Sri Lankan by tying up with Sri Lanka Cricket so that we can further integrate our promotions globally on the premise of the uniqueness of Sri Lankan culture and drive niche markets like sports tourism,” Athukorala added.

“In the process we will use powerful Sri Lanka cricketing brands like Malinga, who is popular in typical households in India, the UK and Australia which are key focussed markets for Sri Lanka Tourism but added brand endorsements are not our key focus when it comes to marketing a tourism destination globally with such partnerships,” Athukorala said.

“It’s more about getting the message across about our unique products and linking it to the culture of the country with the help of such personalities.”  Sri Lanka Cricket and Sri Lanka Tourism will announce details of the partnership in due course.