17 February 2024 12:45 am Views - 155
By Nishel Fernando
The Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB) has announced plans to participate in all major international tourism events and conduct several road shows this year, with a budget of Rs.5.03 billion allocated for these activities.
SLTPB Managing Director Nalin Perera stated that Sri Lanka aims to attract 2.3 million tourists this year, expecting to generate Rs.7.18 billion in revenue. This revenue target includes Rs.2.08 billion from the Tourism Development Levy and Rs.5.1 billion from the Embarkation Levy collections.
He noted that 70 percent of the projected revenue, amounting to Rs.5.03 billion, is proposed to be allocated for the SLTPB.
The SLTPB was pushed to skip the participation of several major tourism fairs over trimmed budgets, triggered by the economic crisis and pandemic.
Accordingly, the SLTPB is scheduled to take part in Satte 2024, South Asia’s largest travel expo in India, next week.
SLTPB Chairman Chalaka Gajabahu in particular highlighted the participation of the world’s leading travel trade show ITB Berlin 2024, in May, where the SLTPB plans to officially launch the much-anticipated global promotion campaign.
In addition, the SLTPB is also planning to participate in several key tourism events in Russia, the UAE, South Korea and Czech Republic. In Japan, Sri Lanka would be targeting wellness tourism, said Gajabahu.
The SLTPB has also scheduled road shows, for the first time, in the Australian market in March, covering key cities such as Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane.
The SLTPB has already taken part in several major tourism fairs, including the Vakantiebeurs travel fair, held in the Netherlands, followed by Fitur, held in Spain, BIT, held in Italy and the OTM fair held in India.
Sri Lanka is targeting to welcome 2.3 million tourists this year, generating a revenue of US $ 4 billion this year.