Sri Lanka, a destination which is renowned for its warm hospitality with breathtaking landscapes, rich biodiversity and culture offers immense experiences for foreign travellers. Though the island is small in size with an area of 65,610 square kilometres, it proudly presents eight UNESCO-declared World Heritage Sites, 1,340 kilometres of coastline – with much of its pristine beach, 22 national parks showcasing an abundance of wildlife, nearly 200,000 acres of lush tea estates, over 400 waterfalls, and a vibrant inclusive culture extending to over 2,500 years.

The country was mapped as a valued destination by ancient Greeks, West Asian Ibn Battuta and Italian merchant, explorer and writer Marco Polo, who described this land as “undoubtedly the finest island of its size in the world”.Despite challenges faced during the past four decades, internal conflicts, tsunami destruction, Easter Sunday carnage and the Covid-19 pandemic, volatile conditions resulted in domestic economic uncertainty. Yet, this island had and has the resilience to re-emerge which is best reflected in the revival of its tourist industry. The hospitality industry bounced back with greater vigour following recently earned international endorsements.

Sri Lanka is now ranked as one of the top 10 most Instagram-able places in the world by Big 7 Travel website. According to the Independent UK’s list of the best destinations to travel to in 2023, Sri Lanka is rated as one of the tourist hotspots this year and noted so in the Lonely Planet. Additionally, Sri Lanka is identified as one of the safest destinations for foreign travellers and included in the list of top 13 of the world’s safest countries to travel in 2023 by the worldpackers.com.

Better transport links, world-class hotels, and sustainable hospitality management including reassured economic stability may be listed as reasons for the recognition of this South Asian Island for the year 2023.

The resurgence of the recent tourist Industry

Tourist visits to Sri Lanka increased dramatically since the end of the 30 years of internal conflict, from 447,890 in 2009 to an all-time high of 2.3 million in 2018.

2019 to 2022 was a challenging period for the industry due to external factors which were beyond its control. However, the industry is re-charged since the beginning of 2023. During the first three months of 2023, Sri Lanka had an influx of 315,898 visitors. The Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB) has set an ambitious arrival target of 1.5 million tourists for this year and three million arrivals targeted for 2024. The Sri Lankan tourism authorities are confident that the country can leapfrog to greater growth from 2024 onwards. This confidence is enhanced by Sri Lanka’s tourism brand identity “So Sri Lanka” launched on 05th November 2018, which replaced “Wonder of Asia”. “So Sri Lanka” is an amplifier brand that supports and engages typical millennial travel exploration and engagement.Anatomy of tourists

An analysis of the purpose of visit in 2022 revealed a majority of tourists (54.71%) visited Sri Lanka for pleasure/vacations while 26.35% visited for the purpose of visiting friends and relatives. Approximately, 5% visited for business, while 2.25% arrived for MICE purposes.

Sigiriya Ancients rock fortress, the Temple of sacred Tooth Relic of Kandy, Udawalawe National Park, Nine Arch Bridge, Galle Dutch Fort, and Mirissa Beach are among the prime destinations of tourists who visit the country for pleasure and vacation.

The infrastructure of Sri Lanka’s tourism industry is consistently developed and modernised to offer better services for the pan-global traveller. The scenic rail routes in Sri Lanka are identified as one of the best in the world. Southern expressway, Kandy-Colombo highway has saved the time of travellers. The number of domestic flight routes increased in recent years enabling tourists to travel from Colombo i.e. the Commercial Capital on the west coast to Batticaloa on the east coast of the Island within 45 minutes.

There is also greater investment in new and upgraded visitor accommodation: from homestays to high-end eco retreats as well as major upscale international hotel chains, including Shangri-La, Mövenpick, Sheraton, and Grand Hyatt, which were established in recent years.

Strategies to attract more Bangladeshi tourists

Sri Lanka being a multi-ethnic, multi-religious country has a special historical connection with Bangladesh. This provides opportunities for Bangladesh typical and millennial travellers. Bangladesh has been identified as an ideal market to promote Sri Lanka’s tourism industry, especially for MICE tourism, adventure tourism, sports tourism, health tourism and religious tourism.

In an analysis of the tourist arrival statistics in the last few decades, 2016 welcomed the highest number of travellers from Bangladesh i.e. 17,098. However, at the end of 2022, the total number of tourists was recorded only at 3,817. During the first two months of 2023, the total number of tourists from Bangladesh to Sri Lanka recorded 1,246 with a YoY growth of 122%.

The High Commission of Sri Lanka in Dhaka is continuing its efforts to promote tourism in Bangladesh with many innovative initiatives since 2022. During the Covid-19 pandemic, the mission kept the image of Sri Lanka alive with high-end outreach initiatives introduced as Tea Diplomacy. The mission’s post-pandemic sustainable initiative included the following activities: organising FAM tours for a group of Bangladesh Travel Writers Association and a group of Tour operators (February 2022), Sri Lanka MICE promotion event (September 2022), promoting Sri Lanka at the Asian Tourism Fair (September 2022), organising a MICE Fam tour for a group of tour operators and Journalist (November 2022) and a tourism and cultural promotional event in line with the celebration of 75th Anniversary of Independence of Sri Lanka (March 2023). The most impressive event organised by the Sri Lanka High Commission was in 2023 the Independence celebration on 7th March. It targeted foreign diplomats and Bangladesh’s corporate sector showcasing investment potential and Sri Lanka as an exciting travel destination. These events, no doubt, contributed much to Bangladesh people familiarising them with Sri Lankan culture, landscape and day-to-day life of people. The High Commission has scheduled more promotional programs for 2023 enhancing closer contacts with Bangladesh tour operators to attract more tourists from Bangladesh.

In terms of logistics, Bangladesh tourists are facilitated by the direct air connectivity between Colombo and Dhaka. Sri Lankan Airlines, the National carrier of the country, offers daily flights from Colombo-Dhaka-Colombo. Another Sri Lanka budget airline “FITS” is in the process of commencing operations connecting the two destinations soon. This will offer more seats and options to Bangladesh travellers to visit Sri Lanka. The tourism plan of the High Commission has also listed Sri Lanka as a luxury cruise travel destination for high-end visitors from Bangladesh.

The spice-addicted, cricket crazy and tea-drinking people of Sri Lanka with big smiles and large hearts wait to welcome more Bangladeshi travellers to the island of Serendipity.

The writers are the High Commissioner for Sri Lanka in Bangladesh and the First Secretary Commerce, Sri Lanka High Commission, Dhaka respectively

Source: https://www.daily-sun.com/printversion/details/699349/Sri-Lanka:-Next-Destination-for-Bangladeshi-Travellers