SriLankan Airlines has invested more than Rs. 350 million in advertising campaigns overseas in the last two years to promote Sri Lanka as a tourist destination, among its many strategies to encourage travel into the country.

The National Carrier recently launched its latest campaign in London, ‘You can see the world in Sri Lanka,’ a Rs. 10.2 million month-long series of media and Internet advertisements that will run through January.

“As the National Carrier of Sri Lanka, SriLankan Airlines continuously emphasizes the need to project a positive image of the country throughout the world. The airline has invested and will continue to invest heavily in promoting Sri Lanka as a travel and tourism destination,” said Peter Hill, CEO of SriLankan.

These dedicated campaigns focus completely on promoting Sri Lanka as a destination.

“We significantly increased  our promotions of the country following the Tsunami, and our efforts are continuing into 2007 and beyond. We are fully committed to promoting this country, even at a time when the airline is undergoing severe financial constraints,” said Chandana De Silva, Head of Corporate Communications.

The advertising campaigns have included ‘Rediscover Sri Lanka’ in 2005 with Sri Lanka Tourism, the Tourism Cluster and USAID in which SriLankan contributed Rs. 230 million (USD 2.3 million); Rs. 16.4 million in collaborative campaigns with foreign tour operators such as Kuoni, Saga and Mercury Direct; the Rs. 18 million ‘See the World in Sri Lanka’ campaign; Rs. 25 million on dual-destination promotions of Sri Lanka and the Maldives in Far Eastern markets such as Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand; the Rs. 22 million ‘Magic of Sri Lanka’ campaign in early 2006 which also offered 30% discounts on airfares; and more than Rs. 40 million to publicize the ‘Valentine’s Day Buy One Get One Free’ campaign immediately after the Tsunami.

“Our marketing campaigns are carefully targeted at selected markets in order to obtain the maximum returns for the country. We work with professional advertising agencies and public relations agencies in each overseas market,” said Priya Epitawala, Manager Advertising. “These campaigns focus on the country’s attractions, including the warmth and friendliness of the people, and other cultural and human qualities of Sri Lanka.”

The advertising campaigns are only one part of the airline’s multi-dimensional efforts to bring Sri Lanka into the limelight.

 SriLankan organizes a number of international events in Sri Lanka, such as golf, surfing,   and rugby tournaments, which bring much exposure to the country.

The airline also invests a significant sum on participating in every major travel fair throughout Europe and Asia, and also supports the efforts of Sri Lanka Tourism and the country’s hotel and travel trades in attending such fairs.

“The airline always sends a strong team to trade fairs, led by the CEO or other members of the senior management, to provide travellers and travel partners with full details of the country’s attractions,” said Saminda Perera, Manager Corporate Events & Promotions.

In addition the airline organized and sponsored the visits to Sri Lanka of more than 130 journalists in 2006 alone from some of the world’s major media organizations.

“These are specialist travel writers and sports journalists who give the country massive amounts of exposure since they focus on the attractions of Sri Lanka,” said Ruvini Jayasinghe, Manager Media Relations. “Our PR agencies in foreign markets also continuously hold media briefings, and distribute media releases and other publicity materials which keep Sri Lanka and the airline in the minds of travellers.”

The airline also entices large numbers of travellers with its frequent discounted rates on airfares. The recent online offers between Colombo and the airline’s three European destinations were snapped up by travellers in London.

The airline’s rapid expansion has also opened up new markets. SriLankan now serves 50 destinations in 28 countries, and has made the entire island conveniently accessible through its domestic service SriLankan Air Taxi which serves 17 destinations. The company’s the leisure arm SriLankan Holidays also provides excellent value for money options for travellers.

January 24th, 2007