It seems, however, that they’re still somewhat trepidatious as a result of the pandemic experience, since 38 percent report that the ability to cancel or rebook without penalty is the most important factor for them when arranging their next trip, trailed by 36 percent of respondents who said they’ll be paying closer attention to hygiene standards.

“The data really demonstrates that, while we’re keen to get back to regular travel, consumers are still tentative,” remarked GWI’s Chief Research Officer, Jason Mander added, Brands should take note, offer flexibility and, above all, demonstrate the overall value and experience they’re offering.”

Today’s record-high economic inflation levels leading to a “cost of living crisis” and resulting concerns about an oncoming recession are also impacting consumer sentiment. As the cost of travel goes up, along with everything else, 36 percent of Americans are being price-conscious when it comes to their travel spending, according to July 2022 GWI Zeitgeist data.

“While many people have jumped back into traveling after the disruption of the past couple of years, the ways in which we now live and work post-pandemic are heavily impacting travelers’ expectations,” said GWI’s CEO and Founder, Tom Smith. “That’s exactly why we have created a travel-specific data set—to help our customers stay on top of these ongoing changes, and really understand what people want and need.”

Viewed altogether, U.S. travelers reported that their top priorities when planning a vacation right now are visiting family, relatives and friends (53 percent), or going on a beach or coastal getaway. However, when the data is broken down generationally, it’s evident that people in each age group have different preferences on how they want to travel.

A generational breakdown of U.S. consumer data also reveals some key differences among the things that each age group is presently prioritizing when planning their vacations:

Source: https://www.travelpulse.com/news/impacting-travel/travel-demand-remains-high-despite-recession-fears.html

Given the increase in tourists recorded in July, the Government is growing confident that the tourism industry will see better times in the coming months.

However, the industry itself is not so optimistic; pointing out that recent numbers do not depict the real demography of arrivals and that shortages, especially of fuel and the linked reduction in mobility, remain a major challenge.

From 1-26 July, 39,895 tourists visited the island. The numbers indicate an increase of 7,039 from June and a near 10,000 increase compared to May, which recorded the lowest arrivals, with 30,207 foreign visitors. 

According to the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA), the top five markets for July in order were the UK (6,557), India (4,510), Germany (2,846), Canada (2,801), and France (2,667). 

SLTDA Chairman Priantha Fernando said that their immediate concern was ensuring a steady fuel supply to the industry for the coming perahera season. 

“The fuel issued for transportation of tourists has improved in the last two or three days; fuel has been made available through the Army camps and the Sri Lanka Transport Board depots in limited quantities. What we are concerned about is the upcoming perahera season, which has already had around 40,000 bookings made with travel agents. We need to make sure there are no shortcomings during their stay. This is the immediate focus.”

One million expected by end 2022: SLTDA

Fernando said that they expected to see an increase in the number of arrivals to at least 60,000 in August.

“During August we hope that we can get our figures up to about 60,000-65,000 arrivals. This is nothing much when compared with previous years, but under the current circumstances, it is a major improvement. Last month’s arrivals were around 32,000, while we have recorded about 37,000 so far this month. We expect to end July with about 42,000-45,000, so we are hoping to get more than 60,000 in August.”

He said the Government had postponed plans to hold promotion roadshows next month in India as the travel trade was busy with incoming tourists and noted that promotional activities at the end of August would help distance the country from any negative publicity due to the recent political turmoil. 

“We postponed five road shows which were to be held in August in India. We had to postpone these at least till the end of August because the travel agencies and tour operators who want to take part have some other events with the perahera that they are busy with. The end of August will also be a better climate to carry out promotions, especially with the ongoing issues which are receiving wide publicity even in India. Conducting promotions right now can have a negative impact and even nullify what we are planning to achieve.” 

Nevertheless, Fernando was confident of closing the year with an optimistic one million in total arrivals – an increase from the initially expected 800,000 visitors.

“We are planning to end the year with close to one million. Earlier we had set a target of 800,000-850,000 but as things are, we feel that we should be able to get closer to one million. In spite of the travel warnings, the UK tops the list right now for this month’s arrivals. Considering other developed countries like Canada and the US, the flow has been good. We are confident that we will be able to counter most of the negative publicity and get the tourists back for the season starting in November.”

Don’t count expats on holiday: SLAITO

However, the Sri Lanka Association of Inbound Tour Operators (SLAITO) showed less optimism, pointing out that the increased number of arrivals in July were mostly Sri Lankan diaspora and expats coming for the summer holidays.

“What needs to be understood is that these are the summer holidays for Sri Lankans living in Canada, England, Germany, France, Italy, and Australia. These are all members of the diaspora that have come into Sri Lanka and we haven’t had that many tourists,” SLAITO Executive Member Devindre Senaratne told The Sunday Morning. 

He said the unavailability of basic necessities such as fuel and electricity were the main factors discouraging tourists from visiting. “We are simply not having tourists, because of the power cuts, gas issues, and fuel shortage; it is with great difficulty that we provide transport to our clients. The number that shows about 39,000 is mostly Sri Lankans in those countries who have foreign passports.”  

He said that even August, which usually recorded large numbers, may not be as successful this year. “August is a very popular month for Sri Lanka, especially for family holidays. However, we will be restricted to handling the minimum because we are not promoting. Tour operators abroad don’t aggressively promote us but they serve clients who really want to come to Sri Lanka. Obviously we will have a decline compared to previous years.”

He asserted that tour operators were reluctant to promote Sri Lanka as they were unable to provide full service due to the shortages in the country. 

“We cannot promote at the moment because Sri Lanka has no power, no gas, and limited stocks of fuel. It is with the greatest difficulty that we provide the full service to the client. We somehow manage the issues internally and provide uninterrupted services. But by any chance if we have a larger number, we won’t be able to serve them. 

“It is not that we don’t want tourists to come but the tour operators don’t want to take the risk of aggressively selling and bringing big numbers if we can’t provide proper service in the country. There is also the issue of travel warnings against Sri Lanka in the major tourism generating markets like England, Germany, and so on.”

However, he opined that the industry would remain persistent in uplifting tourism in the coming months.  

Govt. to blame: THASL

Hoteliers too are not organising promotional activities due to the current economic and political instability.  

“We are not doing promotions right now, but if the country’s situation stabilises both economically and politically, the people who have made bookings for the coming weeks and months will start to arrive. We expect that there won’t be any cancellations, but this depends on how the country behaves in the next couple of days,” The Hotels Association of Sri Lanka (THASL) President M. Shanthikumar said. 

Contradicting the SLTDA Chairman, Shanthikumar alleged that authorities had failed to provide fuel to the hotels, causing significant hardships in their tourism activities. 

“The hotels are facing a major issue of procuring fuel. Whatever the promises given by the Government and the authorities have not worked. The Government said that its depots and the military camps were to provide us with fuel, but it has not happened; we have not been able to get fuel this way. The hotel owners have to find ways to get diesel to run their generators and fuel for transport. We keep on asking the Government to assist us in getting fuel, but up to now help has not come.”

Source: https://www.themorning.lk/tourism-industry-gradual-increase-amid-challenges/

The first and second days of the second stage of the event were reserved for Medical and Equipment checking, where the participants signed themselves up for registration, and check their gear and equipment prior to the event, such as canoeing and archery. They were also mesmerized by the beautiful surroundings of Sigiriya and the interesting geographical backdrop. The second stage  of the Adventure challenge included Trail running, canoeing, Bike & Run, the escape game, where they  searched for clues and answered  questions in specific locations. 214 participants took part in the second edition where they had an exclusive and mesmerizing experience.

Overall, 600 participants took part in this adventure tournament which was held in two stages, where the first stage took place from 13 – 23, March 2022 while the second stage took place from 28 March – 6 April 2022.  An international media crew joined the Raid Amazones team especially for this purpose to give a full coverage of the events taking place. Raid Amazones was the largest sports Tourism event to be held in Sri Lanka after the Covid 19 Pandemic. It is anticipated through events such as these, the positive message that ‘’Sri Lanka is a safe destination to travel ‘’ will be spread across the world. The Raid Amazones originates from France where it is an all-female challenge who compete their way through a range of challenges such as orienteering, mountain biking, canoeing, riding, running and archery typically against the backdrop of an exotic tourist destination. Therefore, the contest not only allows participants to put their skills to test but discover the unique landscape, people and culture of a given host country.

Raid Amazones is also the World’s Largest Female only adventure challenge with events held around the world.

This year’s event paid homage to Sri Lanka and its iconic Sigiriya rock fortress, the surrounding areas of which played backdrop to the event. Raid Amazones 2022 was a collaborative effort of several local partners including Sri Lankan Airlines, Connaissance De Ceylan , Theme Resorts , and Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau. 

Source: https://srilanka.travel/travel-news&news=869&section=travel

600 participants are taking part in this adventure challenge which is held in two stages, where the first stage took place from 16 – 22 March 2022 while the second stage is scheduled to be held from 27 March – 6 April 2022.  The participants were able to get a unique experience getting a breath-taking view of the surroundings and engaging with the local community while they were on their adventure mission. The athletes were equally stunned by the unique hospitality and warm smile of the Sri Lankans and the simplicity of the simple rural life, and were more than happy to take part in the local activities which were organised specially for them, such as spending time with students of a local school, participating in a cooking demonstration and enjoying a game of cricket.  An international media crew has joined the Raid Amazones team specially to give a full coverage of the events taking place till the 6^th of April 2022. The first stage featured 253 contestants and 63 staff, while the second round will feature 216 contestants, also including 63 staff members, and will include six doctors, a rescue crew, rescue swimmers, photographers and videographers.

canoeing

bike and run

An ideal backdrop

The inauguration and the opening of the Raid Amazones 2022 started off under the patronage of Hon. Minister of Tourism, Prasanna Ranatunga, in Sigiriya . The first day of the event included trail running where they were able to explore the nature and the greenery around enjoying every moment of it as they participated in the event. On their arrival in Sigiriya , they were given a warm welcome at the Aliya resort, Sigiriya where they had the chance of enjoying a few cultural performances as well as the local hospitality. The 2^nd day included canoeing in the lake, whereas the 3^rd day consisted of the bike run, enjoying and admiring the picturesque scenery as they rode along, encouraged by the locals. On the 4^th day the participants climbed up the ancient Sigiriya rock and were able to view the breath-taking surroundings far beyond and going on a safari, and exploring the exotic wildlife. This also included the activities looking for clues and answering questions in specific locations.  The 5^th and final day included mountain biking and engaging with the local community at the same time. On the final day the participants were involved in a variety of adventure activities, and were given a medal each at the end of the tournament as a token of appreciation for their courageous participation. As it was the final day of the 1^st stage, the female athletes posed for a group photo and as it was their final day and had to take the departure to the BIA the participants were rather emotional which showed how much they had enjoyed their stay in Sri Lanka. This once again confirms the definition of Sri Lanka as a paradise island, with its myriad of travel opportunities, easy accessibility of locations and the heart-warming smile of its people. The positive note which the first batch of participants in the Raid Amazones 2022 is of course bound to encourage interested travellers to select their ideal holiday destination. 

waiting to start

The final point

Having an enjoyable time

Raid Amazones is a popular annual adventure trail originating from France, where the event features French female athletes who compete their way through a range of challenges such as orienteering, mountain biking, canoeing, riding, running and archery typically against the backdrop of an exotic tourist destination. Therefore, the contest not only allows participants to put their skills to test but discover the unique landscape, people and culture of a given host country. This year’s event pays homage to Sri Lanka and its iconic Sigiriya rock fortress, the surrounding areas of which will play backdrop to the event. Sri Lankan Airlines emerges as the official Airline partner for Raid Amazones 2022, and have also decorated a special aircraft with artwork highlighting Sigirya, the thematic icon of this year’s edition. Raid Amazones 2022 comes up as a collaborative effort of several local partners, including Sri Lankan Airlines and the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau.

Expressions of unity and friendship

Source: https://srilanka.travel/travel-news&news=863&section=travel

The Chairperson of Sri Lanka Tourism, Ms. Kimarli Fernando, expertly leveraged on the platform provided by World Routes 2021 to highlight Sri Lanka’s 5-year global campaign and growth potential. Her keynote presentation was followed by a panel discussion and a Q&A session with attendees in collaboration with Major General (Rtd.), G.A Chandrasiri , Chairman, Airport and Aviation Services. Through the duration of the Forum, Sri Lanka Tourism was present on all social media platforms for driving brand awareness, pushing Destination Sri Lanka to the front and centre of global travel and tourism operators present.

With the Sri Lankan Government declaring this a growth decade, Sri Lanka Tourism has been aligned to the government’s vision as enshrined in the 10 pillar strategy document. Over the last two years, Sri Lanka Tourism has advanced the industry across various factors to bring prosperity to all stakeholders and to ensure Sri Lanka tourism fulfills its potential. Concurrently, with a high vaccination rate, Sri Lanka has opened up to fully vaccinated tourists, offering them a safe and exciting stay.

One of the key pillars has been connectivity and the efforts made have been fruitful – with several European and regional airlines resuming direct flights, new routes being established and increased frequency of flights to Sri Lanka which will boost tourism for the upcoming peak season.

Apart from elaborating on the strategy, Kimarli Fernando engaged in an absorbing Q&A session with global airline industry stakeholders. During her keynote speech she elaborated on Sri Lanka’s biodiversity, UNESCO sites and other cultural and nature offerings. One of the highlights of her speech was tourist investment. Tourism has been attracting substantial investment despite the challenges emanating from the pandemic. Between March 2020 – June 2021, the Government of Sri Lanka has attracted over US$950 million in investments, received 64 project proposals and approved 38 projects to the value of $102.38 Million. These ventures will be executed under the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA). In order to attract strategic investors, the Investor Relations Unit was launched as a single point of contact for all tourism investments. In addition, the Government of Sri Lanka is extending a host of financial incentives and fast-track processes to get projects off the ground within the shortest possible time.

Given the recent tie-ups with France tourism operators and a similar push in more key western markets, the brand awareness of Sri Lanka is growing in strategic markets.

Source: http://www.travelvoice.lk/sri-lanka-tourism-commands-attention-at-world-routes-2021/

The event featured insightful presentations on the culture, history, traditions and distinctive customs of Sri Lanka, Ceylon tea, amazing sights and attractions of the island delivered by the staff of the Embassy. A representative of SriLankan Airlines highlighted the ease of travel from Russia to Sri Lanka with the resumption of direct flights and relaxation of Visa process. The audience also treated with a colourful collection of traditional Sri Lankan dances, Sinhala songs performed by the Russian youth and students of the Sinhala course conducted by the Embassy and a fashion show including batik dresses and Sri Lankan wedding costumes.

The event was attended by around 50 guests representing culture, trade, tourism, tea – related spheres as well as Russian media, Ambassador of Sri Lanka to Russia Prof. Janitha A. Liyanage, Deputy Director of the RSL Natalya Samoilenko and Deputy Director of the Center for Oriental Literature of the RSL Mikhail Milanyin. Since due to the pandemic restrictions the admission to the site was restricted, those who could not visit the event were able watch it online through the Embassy social media.

In the course of event, the Embassy donated a number of cultural items, which were received from the National Crafts Council, to the State Museum of Oriental Arts and to the Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography (Kunstkamera). Russian books translated to Sinhala to Russian were also donated to the State Library and the Center for Oriental Literature of the RSL.

The exhibition included books of the Russian State Library collection of Sinhala, Tamil, Russian and English, published in Sri Lanka, in the USSR, Russia and other countries of the world. The exhibition is open for the readers of the library from 23 to 30 November 2021, It includes more than fifty publications, including novels and stories by the outstanding Sri Lankan writer Martin Wickramasinghe.

The Embassy provided for the exhibition numerous objects of culture and everyday life of Sri Lanka: traditional dresses, wooden masks used in rituals and theatrical performances, musical instruments, jewelry and boxes, brass items, batik paintings, etc.

The Embassy highly appreciates the input of everyone who helped to bring the initiative of the “Sri Lankan Day – 2021” to a reality.

− Administration of the Russian State Library and the Center for Oriental Literature;

− Students of the Folk vocal studio «Azure sapphire» from the Marfino Center for Leisure and Culture;

− Sri Lankan students, who performed traditional and national dances and model show of batik dresses;

− Interns of the Embassy who supported for the model show of batik dresses;

− Russian students of the online Sinhala course, who performed a song in Sinhala;

− All Sri Lankan and Russian volunteers;

− All sponsors of the event, etc.

Embassy of Sri Lanka

Moscow

Source: http://www.travelvoice.lk/sri-lankan-day-2021-and-book-and-cultural-exhibition/

The World Travel Market (WTM) was held in grand style in London, supposedly considered to be one of the leading global events in the travel and tourism trade. It saw a massive crowd of interested visitors, industry stakeholders and new inventors who were able to gain an extensive knowledge of the different cultures, authenticity and tourist attractions of the various countries which participated at the fair. 

This gala event was scheduled from 1 to 3 November at the Excel Exhibition Hall, London, UK, promoting international travel and leisure industry throughout the world. WTM was the biggest travel exhibition ever since the pandemic broke out and became a global threat across the globe. Nevertheless, the power of the pandemic did not seem to stop the enthusiasm and interest the participants had for this world class trade event. 

The event was conducted in a new hybrid format, followed by a virtual event on 8-9 November. Across the two days, the virtual event featured conference sessions, networking sessions and one-to-one meetings. This was a novel experience for those who participated at the event, to exchange their views and perceptions regarding the travel and tourism trade and make suggestions for its progress. 

Sri Lanka Tourism Chairperson Kimarli Fernando held several discussions with UK travel industry participants to add more value to Sri Lanka’s participation. Attractive gift tokens and packages were also handed over to the visitors by Chairperson, who wanted a different experience with their holiday making. The Sri Lanka stand itself was a sight to see with its vibrant mix of colours and skilfully designed artwork.

This year, Sri Lanka tourism participated at the WTM travel show with leading 20 companies from the travel and hospitality trade. Sri Lanka Tourism had a beautiful stand constructed showcasing its cultural and natural identity including a diverse range of products range which the country has to offer. A cultural dance troupe flown in from Sri Lanka entertained the visitors who were quite impressed by its cultural glamour and traditional style. The opening ceremony of the Sri Lanka stand at WTM travel fair UK was held on 1 November under the guidance of Sri Lanka Tourism Chairperson Kimarli Fernando, together with the leading industry members of Sri Lanka’s travel trade, leading stakeholders from the British travel industry and the members of the Sri Lanka High Commission in the UK. 

The colourful Sri Lanka pavilion offered a variety of choices for the visitors to consider about selecting Sri Lanka as their next holiday destination. 

The visitors who came to the pavilion were amazed by the numerous handicraft items, handlooms, artwork and information about the destination, which was indeed a new experience. 

The turquoise blue beaches to the lush greenery of the rolling tea estates in the upcountry generated a soothing and a beautiful picture within their minds. Sri Lanka not only has its cultural and natural aspects, but also an adventure, film and wedding tourism destinations which offers a wide selection of locations to suit your choice. Of course, one cannot miss the spicy taste of its authentic and delectable cuisine. With all these luxuries in offer, Sri Lanka is one destination which the British visitors will definitely love.

Representation of Sri Lanka Tourism was widely spread among the global travel events at the fair throughout the three days of the event. The Sri Lanka Tourism Chairperson addressed the conference program organised by PATA on the topic ‘East Meets West: Restarting Travel and the Lessons Learned along the Way’. Parallel to that, she also participated as a speaker at the panel discussion on ‘Revive and Thrive: Tourism PR in a Post-Pandemic World’. Thus she was able to share her views and knowledge on how to build up tourism according to the needs and choices of the modern traveller. 

This will be one of the main promotional events focused on the UK market which is one of the key markets for Sri Lanka after the pandemic. By participating at the WTM Sri Lanka hopes to bring back the global recognition which it earned as one of the world’s No. 01 tourism hotspots, enabling international travellers to come and visit the destination, to have the perfect holiday of their choice, with the myriad of travel and holiday opportunities which it has to offer.

Source:https://www.ft.lk/travel-tourism/Sri-Lanka-spreads-its-holiday-vibes-at-WTM-as-vibrant-and-a-unique-travel-destination/27-725672

Things are looking up for Sri Lanka’s tourism industry at the World Travel Market (WTM) which is currently being held in London.

With a focused promotional plan being worked out at the world’s largest tourism expo, industry stakeholders are saying that the interest in tour operators at very high levels and tourism operators can look forward to better times ahead.

Sri Lanka Tourism Board Chairman Kimarli Fernando who is attending the expo in London said that Sri Lanka has successfully announced to the world that Sri Lanka is safe open for the world’s tourists.

“We have been successful in informing the world of the vaccination drive and the success it has brought in for the tourism industry. Sri Lanka is currently leading the way in tourist access in Asia,” said Fernando.

With over 200 countries are currently participating at the exhibition, competition is stiff amongst the countries wanting to ensure that they get the best exposure and make all important connections this year, in preparation for the 2022 season.

The Sri Lanka High Commission in London was instrumental in organising and promoting Sri Lanka at the exhibition.

Meanwhile, Fernando emphasised that the Sri Lanka Tourism Board would be closely working with the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Sky, CNN and other media outlets in promoting the message that Sri Lanka is open for tourism.

Source: http://www.travelvoice.lk/sl-receives-a-warm-welcome-at-world-travel-market-in-london/

The three day WTM London event, the largest travel sector gathering after the C-19 pandemic ended yesterday with bright prospects for Sri Lanka. “We used WTM to say that Sri Lanka is open and ready to accommodate travelers,” said Chairperson Sri Lanka Tourism, Kimarli Fernando. The Lanka stand too had many visitors and here a travel agent is seen making an inquiry.

Source: http://www.dailynews.lk/2021/11/04/business/263648/wtm-ends-bright-prospects-sri-lanka