SL Tourism readies for post-COVID-19 revival- NOT POST, I SAY NOW!

To whom it may concern,

Sorry, this statement is very generic: http://www.ft.lk/top-story/SL-Tourism-readies-for-post-COVID-19-revival/26-698998?

These are global ideas we can use and attribute to the WHOLE country

Accor launches COVID-19 cleaning certification, which can be done with GMOA and training for the entire HOTEL trade. https://travelweekly.co.uk/articles/368154/accor-launches-covid-19-cleaning-certification

Here is a course that can be taken by anyone to ensure the cleaning industry professionals are correctly trained: https://www.issa.com/education/cleaning-for-infection-prevention/coronavirus-prevention-and-control-for-the-cleaning-industry

We always talk about Ayurveda like we are actually concentrating on it, but are we really? are we marketing this properly? are we encouraging the next generation for it?

We should take initiative, for those who graduate as Ayurveda Doctors. These doctors should be recruited to the hospitality trade to shape and develop this new trend in the world. We have a massive university along with over 1000s of years of culture, history, and medicine. This can be easily monetized.

Teach the Doctors, storytelling skills so that they may better explain the history behind the medicine.

Meditation and Yoga, start certification for locals, and teach them the hospitality industry how to utilize the hospitality industry. We can intertwine these products two services and turn it into a powerful product.

Now that we have a break, all our historical sites transformed with the power of IT and Digital Entrepreneurship to help more engaging storytelling experience. Make it more than here is a rock and temple to see, train all our local guides to use these technologies, this is not to make them REDUNDANT but to better equip them.

Use VR to recreate the Kingdoms we have had. So when a client walks to a site he has the old age and the current stage while our national guide explains. Make the world FALL IN LOVE with US all over again.

Kindly do not go back to the OLD ways of here's a rock, this is Kandy, we have golden beaches. We can all work together not only in the tourism trade but ask for the help and guidance of other industries.

Do not promote your agency or hotel, promote the destination. We are not about being a cheap destination, we are not a better travel agency because we sell USD 5 less than the other, we are not ONE hotel destination.

Reminder to you of what we are, who we should be, we are a destination filled with culture, history, and diverse weather conditions. We are a better travel agency because we innovate, we bring experiences in a new way to our B2B partners as well as clients. We are a destination that has a ROUND trip and we shall now promote the unsold, untouched places in the PEARL OF THE INDIAN OCEAN.

Sri Lankan chefs win so many culinary awards, start promoting them. Push them to get Michelin star accreditation more and more. Base massive events around them, rename your hotel restaurants under their names in their honor.

The whole world is promoting us, its foreign bloggers that get to do our content and market it back to our industry. Inspire our bloggers, photographers, and travel journalists to promote more about Sri Lanka, the trade, and ministry back them up.

Inclosing teach the hospitality industry to sell Sri Lanka, not just their property or company.
Lastly, entire trade stop waiting for POST-COVID to start your marketing it is now, RIGHT NOW. Implementations of NEW ways of promoting our country is NOT POST - COVID it is now.

IT, Digital agencies, Doctors, Yogis, Cleaning Industry, Hoteliers, Travel Agents, and National Guides let talk, no one is going to come for a rescue mission for us. Let's make this happen now, not POST.

Cheers!

LIS

Hoteliers entering new markets - How to?

During management meetings, a question that may arise is this?
How can we enter this New Market?

Usually the reason maybe we saw an increase in certain market bookings directly to the resort. The next logical step is we try to enter it.
The old school manner of approaching this is attending a travel fair in that specific country or write blindly to agents you can find online.

I shall break down simpler steps if you are looking forward to as a salesperson to enter that market.

• Check the number of arrivals from this specific market.
• Check if all travelers are originating from the specific country they hold the passport. Eg: if you see more Jordan passport holders are they traveling from Jordan or are they Jordanians living in Australia.
• Check the most commonly used flight by all these passengers, are they mainly from this specific airline's Eg: Turkish airlines.
• Lastly research on who the Agent is in Jordan who holds the GSA for Turkish airlines.
• Now we can approach this agent first.

Now you know which airline they take, you know this specific agent is the GSA. The easiest way to promote is using the agent that promotes that airline so now we have common denominators.
Hence it shall we a win-win for both parties, this could be the first step in entering such a market by gaining knowledge via a specific agent.

It is not only about the tour operator selling outbound, but its also the passengers book flight and hotels hence putting you at a position of advantage.

I hope this made sense, and most importantly it was helpful.

Cheers!
Stay safe during these enduring times.

LISWITH