Whether one considers Sri Lanka’s exports or imports, what cannot be brought into the fold of its economy in full potential is the beauty of its azure waters, shores and blue sky, which insulated the income from foreign tourism that exceeded 2 million in the closing year of 2024. This represents an increase of 38.07% which is a strong indicator of the recovery of the tourism sector. With a goal of 3 million tourists this year and over 4 million within the next two years, Sri Lanka is prepared for sustained growth in tourism. Once again, the key questions arise, does this represent the end goal one is aiming for? The difficulty is in preserving and adding to these statistics for the subsequent years in a fast tracked manner.
An Overview of The Global Tourism Sector
The UN World Tourism Organization claims that global tourism is indeed on a recovery path as it gets ready to touch the never imagined heights during the year 2024. Due to the impacts brought on by COVID-19, the tourism industry came under an abrupt ice, but now there is great hope as fierce growth is being witnessed. With the need for travel, growth in air travel connectivity and travel curbs being removed, the tourism sector is recovering fast.
There has been remarkable growth in the Middle Eastern region and other regions such as Europe and Africa have also witnessed an increase in their numbers as compared to the pre-pandemic levels. The Americas are almost at a full recovery and Asia is reportedly on a steady path to recovery. Probably, the most stunning point was the fact that there was a higher increase in visitor expenditure as compared to arrivals, which was positive for economies as it created employment opportunities for millions.
Nevertheless, the road to complete recovery is not devoid of difficulties. The lingering risks to the sector are economic volatility, geopolitical tensions, and worsening climate change. Notwithstanding these challenges, the revitalisation in tourism across the globe can guarantee new economic opportunities and advances for countries looking to explore this sector.
Stability in the region
Though the Middle East is struggling with the ongoing turmoil, and Europe is grappling with the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian conflict, South Asia, comprising India, and close bordering China and their respective neighbors remains undisturbed with only minor geopolitics issues. With such political stability in the Asian economies, India, and China included, unveils a massive growth potential in the tourism sector for struggling nations such as Sri Lanka from its economic setbacks. With high hopes pinned on the tourism sector, this creates a conducive environment for Sri Lanka to actively planin order to surpass the financial crisis that we find ourselves in and achieve debt sustainability by the year 2028. In short, all these factors are now intertwined enabling us with make-or-break tools for future prosperity.
Significance of Indian tourists
Notwithstanding the occasional swerve in their diplomatic and political relations in the region, a good deal of rapprochement has grown between Sri Lanka and India, especially during times of economic crisis. India has been of help in every scenario which has further cemented the relationship between the two countries. In the context of tourism, the increasing influx of Indian tourists is an opportunity for Sri Lanka to meet its lofty visitor targets.
In 2024, Indian tourists accounted for quite a fraction of Sri Lanka’s total arrivals, which stood at 21.3%, making India the most lucrative source market for the country’s tourism industry. This figure underlines the strategic importance of the Indian market for the future growth of the tourism sector in Sri Lanka, especially as the world emerges from the effects of the global health epidemic.
With India’s economic ascent, there has been a rise in the number of middle-income people willing to travel overseas. In the year 2019 alone, there were 27 million international visitors who left India and by 2024 it is predicted that spending would hit about $45 billion. Other countries such as Thailand and Malaysia have capitalised on this opportunity and developed quick visa application procedures, coupled with cultural links, and were able to attract millions of tourists from India. In the same way, Sri Lanka too can adjust similar strategies to attract the increasing target population.
Infrastructure and experience
Indian travelers frequently search for a combination of traditional elements and contemporary leisure activities, with a greater emphasis on amusement and theme parks, water parks, and family-orientated sites. In this regard, Malaysia and Thailand has risen to become the preferred locations. Sri Lanka likewise falls into this gap as it could seek the interest of international players like Disney, Warner Brothers, Universal, Merlin, Fantawild, United Parks & Resorts, Six Flags, Happy Valley and Chimelong in China, to come and invest in the country. Disney alone has attracted over 142,000,000 visitors in 2023. Each player has attracted over 20 million visitors to their parks in 2023. Looking back at the previous media reports on discussions held with previous regimes on the possible investments from Disney, freshly resuming those discussions would present the opportunity of developing other world entertainment infrastructure assets that would add value to Sri Lanka and not only Indian tourists. This type of project, in case has been borne would take a few years to mature while making essential improvements to the Island’s tourism portfolio.
Increased capitalisation on Indian market
The geographical closeness of Sri Lanka to India makes it an appealing and low-cost option for Indian tourists. Once again, the island benefits from ease of travel and growing numbers of direct flights. Also, the cultural and historical ties between the India and Sri Lanka provide reassurance to the Indian passport holders traveling, thus making Sri Lanka an ideal destination for Indians during their vacations.
Sri Lanka clearly differentiates itself from the competition by offering a broad spectrum of attractions, including beautiful beaches and UNESCO World Heritage Sites, making it ideal for Indian travelers of all kinds. Plus, Sri Lanka is relatively cheaper than all other international locations and this is definitely the case for the ever-growing,price- conscious middle class of India.
Sri Lankans would do well to ensure that we do not ignore the enormous potential of the Indian market and put specific strategies in place to capture it. One very effective option would be visa simplification or free visa entry for Indian tourists which would ensure that more travelers coming in, likewise Thailand does. Simultaneously, improving the visibility and appeal of Sri Lanka for the Indian population and market would be better done through marketing campaigns of travel partners, travel agents, airlines and influencers.
More direct flights from all major Indian cities to Sri Lanka will simplify travel, making it convenient to visit the country any time.This is where having our national flag carrier, SriLankan Airlines, as a State enterprise matters the most and they can take the vanguard in this aspect. Private airlines would get on the bandwagon later.
Additionally, Indian tourists can be best reached by developing tailored travel packages designed for different groups of this rapidly growing market, for example, family tours or cultural heritage walks.
Exceptional benefits
The anticipation for Indian tourists to arrive in Sri Lanka will encourage multifold increase in Tourism revenue while also providing a boost to the jobs in the hospitality sector. It will improve people-to-people contact between both countries and enhance bilateral relations. Moreover, such a large influx of Indian tourist will most likely result in higher inflow of Indian investment to Sri Lanka’s tourism related infrastructure, which in turn provides further impetus to the growth of the industry.
Overemphasising Indian market provides Sri Lanka with an opportunity to significantly increase its tourist arrivals while putting in place certain measures which will promote sustainable growth of the industry over the long run. The large footfalls from India can enable Sri Lanka to achieve the desired tourist numbers in the short run while also providing the opportunity to create a more practical and sustainable tourism industry that contributes to the economy and further strengthens ties with India.
Promotions from Airlines and Effective Tourism Marketing Strategies
Private sector-supported budget airlines, alongside SriLankan Airlines—our national flagship carrier—are expected to be instrumental in wooing Indian tourists to Sri Lanka. The new campaign focusing on Ramayana trails launched by SriLankan Airlines (available on Youtube) signals the carrier’s grasp of the importance of penetrating the Indian market. Kudos to them !!!
These kinds of campaigns presented here would appeal to Indian tourists and signals the resolve of the airline to promote the tourism of the country, Sri Lanka.
Policy of the Government
The government’s policy for tourism development is highly promising and focuses on enhancing human and infrastructure capacity while ensuring the sustainability of the national airline as an enterprise under the patronize of the state, without selling it. Holding onto the new terminal construction at Bandaranaike International Airport, supported by JICA, is back on track after facing delays due to irregularities of past regimes. These developments are crucial to facilitate increasing numbers of tourists visiting the country.
What else?
All in all, the importance of Indian tourists cannot be overstated. Their influx will help establish a solid foundation for industries interconnected with travel, airlines, and local entrepreneurship.
Indian tourists will further provide the financial soundness needed for greater sustainability in sectors such as real estate and construction. With only 26,000 listings on Airbnb currently, the growing demand will significantly boost the real estate market as well, leading to more small, medium to large scale construction projects to accommodate the rising tourist numbers.
Considering the booming Indian economy and outflux of tourists, Sri Lanka is now in a position to exploit this opportunity. By concentrating on the Indian market, the country will be able to lay a strong foundation which will enable a speedy recovery of the economy in both the near and distant future, establishing tourism as a key aspect of our nation’s development trajectory.
(The writer is a professional with extensive corporate experience in marketing, corporate communications, branding, sustainability and change management. The expertise spans various industries, including media, advertising and public relations, automobile, construction and real estate, telecom, ICT, and manufacturing. The writer can be reached through [email protected])
Uvindu Illeperuma
This post was originally published on here
