As at half year 2015, India is foregoing ahead with a 145,453 arrivals at a growth of 27.3% which is a strong performance given the entrenched competition in the market place. We must now raise the bar to attract a higher spending Indian traveller said Chairman of Sri Lanka Tourism Promotions Bureau Rohantha Athukorala. We are using a combination of below the line marketing push such as road shows across key markets like Mumbai, New Delhi, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Chennai and now Calcutta given the connectivity of airline carriers and then teaming with the private sector to profile Sri Lanka tourism in the key travel and tourism fairs so that we link with the tourism trade of India. Thereafter the visiting journalists Programme and trade FAMs drive consumer pull he said.
The Bangalore IITM commenced with a road show branded " Sri Lanka - One Island, thousand treasures" with 26 private sector companies and then followed with a country profiling and presentation to the key personalities in the trade followed by the IITM Fair participation by the Sri Lanka tourism delegation that was headed by the Market Head for India at Sri Lanka Tourism - Indrajith De Silva.