Irish visitor numbers to Sri Lanka increased by 14.4% to 5,163 last year, compared with 4,512 in 2013 – and the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau aims to run a fam trip this year for Irish tour operators and travel agents who have yet to sell the destination.
Nalin Perera, Tourism Promotion Officer in the SLTPB’s London office, told Irish Travel Trade News at Holiday World Dublin: “We were a first-time exhibitor at Holiday World last year and the increase in Irish visitor numbers in 2014 is very encouraging.
“A new government was elected in January this year, and we will receive their tourism policies in the next few months, but we are already planning three major campaigns for the UK, including a taxi campaign, the London Underground, and buses, as well as Sky TV – and we are currently looking at options for marketing in Dublin.
“At World Travel Market 2014 we focussed on Sri Lanka’s extensive wildlife, which is a very strong story and includes the largest gathering of Asian elephants.”
