Sri Lankan Tourism Has Tremendous Potential in Germany, the United Kingdom, the Middle East and Japan

26th October 2009, www.dailynews.lk, By Charumini de Silva

The Sri Lankan tourism industry has tremendous potential to grow further with the dawn of peace. The opening up of the North and the East has brought positive hopes to the Sri Lankan tourism as two-thirds of the coastline, which was formerly under the control of terrorists, has been liberated making it accessible to tourists.

"It is essential for Sri Lanka to promote tourism with professionally designed awareness programs to penetrate the market. During the past three decades, the travel advisories of several western countries gave a negative picture of the country and since peace has been established, it is important to spread awareness among the travellers to the effect that the country is now free of terror and safe to travel," a Senior Travel Consultant, Rob Murrer told Daily News Business.

He said Sri Lanka is a beautiful country with a very rich culture and a historical background. There are many places of interest for travellers to explore. Another plus factor is that the travellers have the opportunity to enjoy the hot and cold climates with the minimum of travel and waste of time. This country is a paradise where travellers would love to spend their holidays, but the tourist industry needs strong marketing programs to promote tourism. Participating in international exhibitions, distribution of professionally designed brochures, approaching multinational companies, leading travel agencies and chambers, holding road shows and e-commerce is essential to promote Sri Lankan tourism, he said.

He said that there should be a target market to approach. There was a tremendous market from Germany, the United Kingdom, the Middle East and Japan.

As a start, Sri Lanka could focus on these markets and gradually the country would be able to capture the other markets. A lot of tourists visit the country to enjoy nature and the tranquil beaches, as they need to relax because of their busy lifestyles. With the opening of the North and the East to tourism, the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau has to play a vital role to promote tourism industry by introducing activities such as surfing, wildlife safaris, eco-tourism, snorkelling and adventure, Murrer said.

Another Tourism Consultant Ans Peeters said there are various sectors that could be easily promoted through and Ayurvedic medicine is one of them as it has a great demand from the tourists. Sri Lanka could also enter the market by becoming a paradise for shoppers, as there is high demand for Sri Lankan apparel all over the world.

Raid Amazones 2009 in Dambulla, Sri Lanka

15th October 2009, www.lankabusinessonline.com

Sri Lanka is on the mark to push adventure sports tourism, riding the country's geographical diversity following the conclusion of 'Raid Amazones 2009', an adventure sports event for women.

Raid Amazones, one of the world’s biggest multi sport adventure events for women was worked out in Dambulla in central Sri Lanka over the weekend, with foreign and local participants taking part in mountain biking, trekking and aqua sports.

"I m already thinking of organizing a new event, an adventure raid for everybody with more competition and harder than the Raid Amazones,” organizer of the race, Alexandre Debbane said.

"It will be about crossing Sri Lanka in about a week."

"It will be tough … may be next year. That’s what I m planning with my team," he said.

Over 250 women mostly from France took part in the sports adventure where they had to go canoeing in the Kandalama tank, a man-made reservoir, mountain bike a 40-kilometre route on hilly areas and trek 15 km to Kaludiya Pokuna, an ancient pond near Dambulla.

Organizers say Sri Lanka's diverse landscape has the potential for adventure sports tourism.

Raid Amazones’s organizing team had toured Kalpitiya in the north western coast of the island to assess the landscape for a new international adventure sports event.

"I m very enthusiastic about this because Sri Lanka is the perfect land to organize that," Debanne said.

"The views, lakes, hills and the people… every thing is magic here."

Sri Lanka's tourism promotion officials say adventure sports tourism is a niche market that can be exploited with the diverse landscape and peaceful environment in the country.

"This is a niche area that hasn’t been exploited yet," Dilip Mudadeniya, managing director of the tourism promotion office.

"Sri Lanka has a different landscape with mountains, rivers, lakes, flat land.

"Some of the areas in Kalpitiya (Northwest Sri Lanka) are ideal for adventure races and we need to get some events organized there," he said.

Tourism officials are upbeat about the media publicity generated by the Raid Amazones race in Europe and mostly France with radio stations in Paris giving live updates from Dambulla on the progress of the race.