Sri Lanka Tourism partners Aussie’s MDF to chart 5-year roadmap

• Roadmap to help SL being positioned as ‘Asia’s foremost tourism destination’
• Thorough analysis an industry first 
• Need  better quality data and research, says SLTDA
• Primary focus will be on improving tourism data collection, analysis and usage

The Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) yesterday announced its partnership with Australia’s Market Development Facility (MDF) to develop a research roadmap, which would pave the way for Sri Lanka to be positioned as Asia’s foremost tourism destination.

As smart information is required by the sector to make evidence-based decisions, the roadmap would allow better understanding tourist behaviours, which in turn would assist the public and private sectors to plan strategically.

“This is the first time a thorough analysis has been undertaken to evaluate the effectiveness of the data collection efforts by the SLTDA and its usage.

The SLTDA identified the need for better quality data and research to improve the strategic direction of Sri Lanka’s tourism sector, in line with the goals set in Sri Lanka’s Tourism Strategic Plan,” Sri Lanka Tourism Chairperson Kimarli Fernando said.

Stating that it is the goal of the SLTDA to identify a diverse range of tourists, tourism services and products that would make Sri Lanka a top tourism destination globally, Fernando said the roadmap would assist in upgrading the SLTDA’s research capacities and practices to identify opportunities for new investments, promotions and policy.

The SLTDA and MDF will work closely to examine the current research frameworks and practices. The partnership would also carry out a gap analysis.

“Based on this, a five-year roadmap, focused on improving tourism data collection, analysis and usage, will be developed,” Fernando shared.

She added that the roadmap identifies a series of steps to be implemented over the next five years, which would bring the capability of Sri Lanka Tourism to the standards adopted by leading tourism destinations globally. “By harnessing data and research, decisions on promotion and investments can be based on evidence and the returns on investments and marketing can be tracked and measured, thus offering greater value to the public and private sectors,” stated MDF Sri Lanka Country Director Momina Saqib commenting on the partnership. With the implementation of the five-year research road map, Sri Lanka Tourism and the tourism industry fraternity would be strategically benefited with data-driven, informed decision-making, which would assist them with target marketing while enabling higher ROI for resources and investments, Saqib added.

The initiative is expected to assist the national tourism organisation (NTO) and the industry stakeholders adapt effectively to the new normal of the global travel and tourism industry as well.  Australia’s engagement in this study is part of its broader support to the Sri Lankan tourism industry, through the MDF, which is funded by the Australian government and implemented by Palladium, in partnership with Swiss contact. In the past, Australia has extended support to the SLTDA in increasing its research capability through facilitating a study tour for the SLTDA staff with Tourism Research Australia (TRA).