• First message SL in top 25 in New York Times places to visit
• Tourist arrivals from US at +19.1%
• Hollywood-launched Monkey Kingdom reaches $ 16.7 m ticket sales

In the backdrop of a whopping 31.2% tourist arrivals growing in July registering 175,080 visitors into the country, Sri Lanka Tourism has launched an innovative marketing technique which is online with the new digital trend where 23.2 million have Googled Sri Lanka as a destination whilst 54 million have checked on Trip-Advisor the country’s tourism related products, said Sri Lanka Tourism Promotions Bureau Chairman Dr. Rohantha Athukorala.

The theme of the campaign is ‘Message in a Bottle,’ where key tourism related insights about the country will be shared with Destination Marketing Companies (DMCs) in Sri Lanka and globally, he said. The first of the insights shared will be ‘New York Times ranked Sri Lanka as 22 out of 52 top places to go for the year 2015’. Sri Lanka has been ranked at 22 out of top 52 destinations to go in 2015. This was revealed by the New York Times in its comprehensive list of top 52 places to go in 2015. The list comprises of top and most popular cities and countries around the globe.

New York Times has identified Sri Lanka as a country which is genuinely stable and also a nation which has an improving infrastructure.  However New York Times points out on the luxurious accommodation facilities of Sri Lanka as well as the creativity of these facilities needs stronger communication. In addition New York Times speaks on the various options that these facilities provides by emphasising on suite hotel with boutique option on the banks of Lake Koggala, which includes cantilevered pool, treetop yoga studio and the Wild Lodges in Yala National Park with 28 luxury tents and an Ayurvedic spa.

It is evident that the future is bright for the tourism industry in Sri Lanka with tourist arrivals crossing one million up to the month of July which is at 16.8% growth against last year, said Athukorala. He further elaborated that it can be seen that 26,555 tourists have arrived from the United States up to July this year, registering a growth of 19.1% over the last year up to July, which needs to be further built with the $16.7 million dollar box office ticket sale documentary launched from Hollywood, ‘Monkey Kingdom’. This globally accepted ranking will also provide a positive contribution towards the success of the export and investment sectors of the country, he said.

At the top of the list of New York Times is Milan (Italy). Cuba and Philadelphia have ranked second and third respectively. Conversely ranking also displays several Asian countries that have also acquired their spaces in the list such as Singapore (sixth), Seoul in the Republic of Korea (33rd), Shikoku Island in Japan (35th) and Chengdu and Shanghai in China (44th and 46th places respectively).