By Chandeepa Wettasinghe
Sri Lanka cannot survive as a tourism destination without a professional marketing campaign, according to international experts who were speaking at the recently held Cinnamon Future of Tourism Summit.

“Sri Lanka is a major tourism destination. As such, it faces competition from other tourism destinations. In order to stand out from the competition, professional branding is essential. Unfortunately, there are far too many interchangeable brands in the tourism industry,” ITB Berlin Scientific Director Prof. Roland Conrady said.

Tourism Futurologist Dr. Ian Yeoman agreed, saying that at its core, tourism is about sampling different luxuries and the ease of travel has eliminated tourism as a once-in-a- lifetime opportunity.

“There’s a Lonely Planet guide for every country in the world, every major city, even the North Pole and South Pole. Every place in the world has a tourism proposition; so you’re in the most competitive industry, so never be complacent,” he said.

Dr. Yeoman said that since today’s consumers are demanding and impatient, one mistake could destroy brand loyalty.

“So, if you’ve got a tourism proposition and you’re putting it out in the park to play, make sure you do it well. If you fail to get it right, today the world is so competitive that they will move to someone else and they will tell the world on YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, etc.,” he added.

Sri Lanka has been attempting to ‘get it right’ for so long and now has to compete with itself instead of the real competition abroad, as it has had many different branding strategies over recent years.

“Brand Sri Lanka still has not emerged. There have been some efforts in tourism to create Sri Lanka’s brand. But the country’s branding is more than just one sector and Sri Lanka is fortunate in having many unique selling propositions,” International Finance Company Innovation and Future Technology Specialist Shaun Mann said.

He said that the country’s innovative garments, gems and plantation industries must be included.

“The cross pollination of these sectors hasn’t penetrated and woven into the new brand of Sri Lanka. That is something that will maintain your intrinsic value and has to be integrated into the branding exercise,” he said.

Mann added that unless the government helps differentiate the country, the private sector will not be able to market the different products available within the country.

Sri Lanka Tourism Promotions Bureau Chairman Rohantha Athukorala said that branding “has no magic in it. It’s very basic”. However, he went on to say that a handful of global ad agencies has been shortlisted for the upcoming Rs.200 million tourism marketing campaign.