Marketing strategy to promote tourism

Amarnath JAYATILAKA

An artiste is a beacon light that illuminates the refreshing roadway to reach ‘Wonder of Asia’ status – President Mahinda Rajapaksa

President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s target of getting 2.5 million foreign tourists by 2016 is not a difficult task at all provided the following strategic plan is put in to act right way:

(1) Transforming the Colombo City as the foremost metropolis in Asia to be completed within the next five years.

(2) Development of tourism related infrastructure in a fast paced manner to complete them within the next five years.

(3) Turning the entire country to look like a very beautiful Park (like the botanical gardens) with greenery developed on an aesthetically designed plan.

(4) To set in motion an effective global marketing campaign to promote and publicize Sri Lanka tourism destination as the most captivating and as A “land like no other” anywhere in the whole world.

This writer is not a direct stakeholder of tourism related business enterprises but as a movie maker who is dedicated to put the image of Sri Lanka globally through the production of Motion Picture films for worldwide exhibition is interested in tourism.

Therefore this writer has visualized several promotional and marketing campaigns to encompass the entire world than the presently limited campaigns that are targeted to some European countries only.

Proposals on tourism related infrastructure

(1) To establish a tourism oriented theme park under the title of Discover Sri Lanka Center: where 25 centuries co-exist.

(2) To add a film oriented theme park Attached to the Mahinda Rajapaksa Tele Cinema Park in Ranmihitenna in Tissamaharama

(3) To Develop the infrastructure facilities directly pertaining to the Ramayana Trail (original concept of this idea was suggested by this writer four years ago which the then Sri Lanka Tourism Chairman Renton de Alwis wholeheartedly implemented) and to expand the publicity campaign in India to Lure at least one million tourists from India annually out of the 250 million rich middle class buying power of citizens in India.

In the long-term this will have enormous influence to mould opinion within India that will bind Indo-Sri Lanka cultural relations in an unprecedented way that will become a strong assets to our country.

(4) Build a cable car system across the entire Horton Plains in the Knuckles Range to view the world’s end which is now a UNESCO World Heritage site.

(5) Turn Talangama wetland as a bird paradise.

(6) In order to eliminate the beggar population specially the street children out of the sight of tourists a national plan to rehabilitate them should be implemented immediately.

(7) Complete elimination of touts, pickpockets, thieves and petty hawkers harassing tourists and removing stray dogs, all of which are a menace to visiting tourists.

(8) To create and mould within the next five years the most cultured and disciplined nation in the world out of our citizenry. It is fundamentally and compulsorily important to activate the rules by the enforcement of Rule of Law.

Films will propel Sri Lanka tourism globally

Although Network Television is the most potent medium for tourism promotion, the exorbitant cash involved in advertising a commercial adfilm is financially prohibitive to a developing country like Sri Lanka.

Therefore most of the countries that promote Tourism, invest on movies to be made on locations on their countries. This way they not only earn profits by worldwide sale of films and also get publicity to their travel destination.

Therefore this writer, being an experienced filmmaker, plans to produce American movies in Sri Lanka for the worldwide market place.

The founding father of Sri Lanka Tourism late P A Ediriweera of Ceylon Tours Ltd, knew the power and the impact of motion picture films on publicizing our country’s tourism potential.

As far back as the fifties he went to Hollywood and invited leading American film producers to shoot their films on locations in Sri Lanka.

Actually it was cinema that propelled Sri Lanka’s tourism internationally specially because of Ediriweera’s pioneering contribution. In the sixtees he co-produced the German Film Three Yellow Cats in collaboration with the German film producer Theo Maria Werner.

This film was shot extensively in the Mount Lavinia Hotel, which Ediriweera managed at that time.

This film was a super hit in Germany and became the catalyst for promoting German tourists to Sri Lanka – and made the Mount Lavinia Hotel a prime destination for German speaking tourists.

Now that peace is restored, Sri Lanka Tourism has tremendous potential to make it a global phenomenon. It needs to be revived on a more aggressive and effective manner by using the vast popularity and the great impact that movies can help promote tourism. It was the classic movies like Casablanca, Out of Africa that virtually propelled Africa as a tourist destination.

It is my firm belief that my proposed American film project will lay a strong foundation to publicize Sri Lanka Tourism globally to lure international tourists to Sri Lanka.

Moreover it is my conviction that these films specifically targeted America, the mightiest market in the world where the world’s richest travellers live and work, will permanently build a vast conglomerate of tourist arrivals from USA alone.

Following are some of the movies that are planned to be produced under a film company named Amerilanka Entertainment

(1) “Awakening of a lotus” is an extraordinary motion picture film project to be made entirely in Sri Lanka as an American movie with Sri Lankan investment for sale in the worldwide market place.

The story of the film is woven around a suspenseful drama of a young American woman who visits Sri Lanka to meet her boyfriend who had come to Sri Lanka earlier. When she arrives at the address where her boyfriend was staying, it was revealed that he had gone to practise meditation without giving his whereabouts.

This leads the young woman to travel around the country passing all the attractive tourist spots specially the major Buddhist shrines that make this movie a unique kind of a travelogue, which will promote Sri Lanka’s Buddhist Trails.

The hospitality trade is the real beneficiary of this movie. As this movie will use several important tourist hotels in the country as background setting due to its direct connection to the story where the character of the Leading Opposite actor is portrayed as a hotelier.

These hotels where this film is to be shot will have a great exposure internationally when the film becomes a shattering box office bonanza all over the world.

Moreover the outdated thinking of seasonal tourism will disappear and a year round tourism will emerge as in other countries of Asia.

This film will be sold at a top notch film market in the world and it will have its first simultaneous theatrical exhibition all over the world. Thereafter it will go into the ancillary sales in Network Television, DVD Cable, Satellite TV, Airline exhibition.

Internet markets and their exposure all around the world will last for more than five years.

(2) Revolt against terror – a major block buster spectacular movie depicting the humanitarian operation.

(3) Hunters of the blue sapphire – an action adventure film that promotes Sri Lanka Gem Trade

(4) Paradise of healing – a film that promotes the herbal and Ayurvedic Therapy and Treatment.

(5) The yellow robe – Story of an American GI in Vietnam becoming a Buddhist monk in Sri Lanka (screenplays of all these film projects are registered and copyrighted in USA)

Restoration of the original brand

It is unfortunate that the government has not investigated and pronounced a public statement so far that led to the disastrous blunder of replacing a uniquely wonderful logo (which is the Brand) that was removed without giving any valid reasons as to why it should be replaced.

Multi million rupees were squandered on this subject and this writer vehemently objected and alerted to this replacement and a document was circulated among all the executives in Sri Lanka Tourism including the then Minister and they did not heed.

So finally this writer appealed to the President to intervene and he not only stopped it the Tourism Minister was also removed averting a tragic event that would have doomed Sri Lanka Tourism.

In the creatively original logo that was taken from the Sigiriya Fresco, that depicts the fingers holding a flower is a symbol of welcome in the Sinhala cultural tradition which in modern times evolved into garlands.

With regard to the theme word used an analytical explanation on the rightful use of the brand name was delineated in an article published in the Sunday Observer dated April 26, 2009 by an erudite scholar who writes mostly on Sri Lanka’s cultural traditions. For the glory of Sri Lanka Tourism the government must restore this great Logo and the Brand that truly represent our motherland and its cultural glory.

Essential marketing materials

Among the many documentary short films that should be made, this writer suggested to the Sri Lanka, Tourism authorities to bring out a special brochure by reproducing the article written by Sir Arthur C Clarke under the name of Sri Lanka: The Resplendent Island: which is so far the most comprehensive and the greatest essay ever written on Sri Lanka to promote Sri Lanka Tourism.

This writer also suggested to use the following slogan in the cover page and also gave some ideas about its understructure for designing many months ago but nothing has so far come out of the SLTDA or its Promotion Bureau.

This writer gave the following slogan as the best suited to Lure the Tourists to Sri Lanka Tourism Destination.

“Sri Lanka is the best tonic for anyone to get rejuvenated. (body, mind and spirit). A visit to Sri Lanka, the enchanting island provides a travelogue type experience on beautiful destinations and the most hospitable and smiling people in the world” visit enticingly green Sri Lanka”

Implementation of these proposals will not only fulfil the main objective but also bring with it economic benefits to make Sri Lanka a prosperous country, within the next five years and transform it as the wonder of Asia.