In an interview with the Sunday Island, Director Marketing and Development, Jetwing Hotels, Hashan Cooray calls for a global marketing and branding strategy with teeth, if we are to attract more tourists with spending power. Following are the excerpts:
BY RANDIMA ATTYGALLE
Q: Looking back at the past few turbulent years, how would you recap the Sri Lankan tourism experience? How well do you think we have bounced back?
A:Our pickup really started around the middle of last year where ‘the end of summer travel’ was quite strong. Our key months – December to March, were quite satisfactory. Most of the hotels and destinations around the country thankfully did very well. Some of our hotels did better than even before the Easter Sunday attacks. After so many years, we saw a strong financial year which gave us confidence again. Therefore, we started reinvesting a lot of money back into the properties.
While we have always been cautiously optimistic, we never gave up on the destination or our operations. But having seen positive results again gave us a lot of satisfaction and a lot of confidence. So, considering everything that we went through, 2023 was exceptionally good in many ways and it gives us a good base for the current year assuming we do not have any hiccups along the way. I would say we have bounced back to pre-pandemic levels, maybe not as high as 2018, which was the best year ever, but we are almost there and there’s potential for 2024 to be our best year yet.
Tourism is an industry which benefits multiple stakeholders; be it a freelance tour guide or a small-shop owner. There are also so many people who benefit apart from those engaged in the formal sector. Thus, this growth is essential for every player in the industry.
Q: What is the damage skilled migration has caused the tourism sector and overall what measures have been taken by the industry to mitigate this?
A: We don’t see the same exodus that we saw two years ago, where almost everybody who rot the opportunity was moving away. Today we actually have some people coming back after moving in the last couple of years. This clearly proves that the grass is not necessarily greener on the other side, and they once again see the potential in Sri Lanka and its tourism industry. With a sizable number leaving the country, we had some service challenges. Now, thankfully, we do not have serious issues as a company although we still would like to see more youngsters staying longer in the kitchen department.
It takes about two to three years of training for a young cook to become a good chef, whereas in departments like housekeeping or F&B service, within about three to six months we can groom an 18 or a 19-year-old and they will do a good job. This is not so in the kitchen. It would be great to see more talented Lankans returning home to contribute to the country. We also continue to hold extensive training programs around the country and bring more people into the industry.
Q: What should be our road map in terms of branding the country and enhancing the quality and professionalism in the hospitality sector?
A: In terms of destination branding and marketing, there is still a lot of work to be done. The state has focused a lot on international trade fairs, but this is not sufficient. There are still considerable funds available to be used for advertising and marketing the destination because all those in the formal sector contribute one percent of our revenue as tourism development levy, which is primarily given for international marketing.
Hashan Cooray
We still have a very big issue with the consumer awareness in key markets and though discussions have been going on for a long time, we still have not seen tangible results. This is very unfortunate because no other island of this size in the world has so much to offer. What we offer a tourist is phenomenal – be it nature and wildlife, heritage, beaches, wellness, food, and so much more – but sadly that message has not reached the discerning traveler and those who are willing to pay a premium.
When we compare our branding with our competitor destinations, we are far behind. The sad thing is, in terms of our product and offerings, we have a diverse offering from luxury to budget travelers. But unfortunately, we lack sufficient numbers in the luxury segment, where the country’s earning potential is far greater. If we look at our national assets, they are world class. Immediately we have everything in place and it is just the global marketing that is missing.
There are international luxury brands like Shangri-La, ITC, Anantara, and Aman. Companies like us, with properties such as Saman Villas, Kandy Gallery, Lighthouse, and Vil Uyana, which are globally recognized premium luxury hotels, and others in the industry such as Dilmah with their Resplendent Ceylon hotels and other local luxury hotel brands offer world class products and experiences.
We have a sufficient portfolio now as a country to promote to the luxury sector, but we do not make enough noise. Therefore, we have this gap where we have these luxury properties, where anywhere else in the world we could charge 800 or 1,000 dollars a night without a problem. But because of that lack of awareness, we are compelled to sell at lower rates or stick to high rates and run on low occupancy. And many in the industry do not have the confidence to charge premium rates.
Boutique hotels are somewhat better, but there are four/five-star larger hotels throughout the country that are completely underselling due to the trade pressure. And they give in to that pressure because they are afraid that they will not have anything at all. And one way to overcome that is by having a strong consumer-focused campaign and driving stronger demand for the destination, starting with the luxury segment, which will naturally trickle down to the other market segments. They can even start with one or two source markets, for instance with India or the UK. These are easy markets to tap into because they know Sri Lanka through cricket or tea, but they do not know that Sri Lanka has these kinds of places to stay. Otherwise, what happens is, if it is the high-end luxury segment, they will only think of going to the Maldives or other destinations, and Sri Lanka is not on their radar.
Q: With a decisive presidential election looming, what would be your message to the leadership in the best interest of Sri Lankan tourism?
A: If we acknowledge that tourism is the way to really save our economy, then it is imperative that the professional management of the Promotional Bureau and the Development Authority remain independent with no political affinity. Regardless of who comes into power, if this could be implemented, we can inject a lot of professionalism into the industry.
Many of our competitors such as Thailand, Malaysia, and India, have had successful long-term marketing campaigns and consistent growth, due to their non-political policies. Sadly, here at home each time a new regime comes to power, there is a new campaign introduced. It is urgent that we have a professional tourism body to market the destination, which is not linked to any political hierarchy, so that regardless of a regime-change, this body will function in the best interest of the country and industry.
The other expectation is for the regulations to remain stable and positive for the sake of the industry and the economy at large. In terms of taxation, although it may be inevitable at the moment, in the long-term we would like to see tax regulations revised. Most importantly the leadership should assure that there is stability, peace, and non-discrimination in the country for tourism to thrive.
Q: What measures should be taken by both the private and the state sector to realize sustainable tourism here at home?
A: Being conscious of the carrying-capacity of destinations and having planned-development in place is critical in this regard. We simply cannot afford massive properties to come up in destinations such as Yala, Sigiriya, Kandy, Nuwara Eliya and of late Ella. Many luxury travel agents say that they don’t want to go to Yala any more as they cannot expect a guest who is paying a premium to stay in queue for one hour to get into the park and then be jostled by over 100 jeeps when there is a leopard sighting.
There is simply no exclusivity in the experience because of over-visitation. It is the same with Sigiriya where the stairway leading to the top is packed with crowds which could be catastrophic unless controlled. Our opinion is that Sri Lanka should not be a destination that attracts tens of millions of tourists a year. We should target four to five million tourists at most and strive to increase the spend per tourist over time with infrastructure development and destination marketing.
Another way of looking at sustainable tourism is to restore our less traversed heritage sites. In Colombo itself there are so many places of heritage value to see which are again not marketed properly. Restoring colonial houses which also form part of our heritage is another advisable possibility, as opposed to bulldozing them and putting up contemporary buildings.
If we are not conscious of our own people, we fail as an industry. Many of the locals are left behind without being able to get a seat in a train as they are full of tourists. Although this is a good sign of a booming industry, we need to increase the capacity of our public transport, especially trains. Let us not forget that it is the local tourists who kept the industry alive during post-Easter attacks and during the COVID times. There are certain properties which prohibit locals regardless of their spending power, which is not acceptable.
Q:What potential do you see in ‘wellness tourism’ which is becoming popular?
A: Today wellness is one of the highest globally growing avenues of tourism. Especially after COVID, the boom in wellness is not necessary for physical wellness. Earlier most of the time we had people coming for ayurveda treatment to address a form of physical problem. Now, a lot of people come for wellness to address more mental reasons such as stress, depression, and anxiety.
Sri Lanka has a lot to offer in terms of wellness as we have the ayurveda tradition and also our native hela wedakama plus other wellness offerings too. As a company, we see a lot of potential in this area. Jetwing Lagoon in Negombo is now being completely transformed into a fully-fledged luxury holistic wellness property, and we also have Jetwing Ayurveda Pavilion dedicated to ayurveda treatment and wellness.
In terms of wellness travel, there is ‘primary wellness travel’ and ‘secondary wellness travel.’ Most tourists coming here are secondary wellness travelers, where their primary purpose of the visit is not to go to an ayurveda hotel or a hotel with a spa, but to enjoy nature, beaches, etc. But while they are here, they might want to do a morning yoga session or a spa treatment. Primary wellness travel is of course when a tourist comes here purely because they want to indulge in wellness. However, today we see a considerable percentage of primary wellness travelers and now there are several fully focused wellness hotels in the island. Our unique culture and food are added bonuses to promote wellness tourism in the country.
Q: Going beyond the traditional high spending Europeans being the focus, how best do you think we could leverage our neighbouring Indians with spending power, especially since they are now a global power and also Middle- Eastern tourists?
A : Out of its 1.5 billion population, if at least a million Indian travelers could come to Sri Lanka, that’s 20% of our expected arrivals. However, I don’t think we have still looked at India seriously enough in the luxury segment, despite the fact that there is a lot of potential. As I said before we have premium luxury hotels which could cater to them, but we still have not carried out a branding campaign with teeth.
Historically we have been getting quite a number of Middle Eastern travelers and it’s again picking up after the last few years. This however has been purely organic growth as there has been no strategy apart from what the private sector is doing to attract this segment.
We have ample flights to Middle Eastern countries with Emirates Airlines flying four times a day and Qatar increasing to six flights per day, along with Sri Lankan airlines and many others. There is a lot of connectivity and we are fully geared to handle both Indian and GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) markets. But we need to create a better brand presence. We should also encourage more diversity in our destination marketing content that makes those of all ethnic backgrounds feel welcome to our paradise island.
Q: In terms of infrastructure and other support-systems what areas do you think need more teeth to enable a tourist a better experience of the country?
A: In terms of logistics, there is a lot to improve. In the last few years, we were not able to import any new vehicles but now an exemption is made for tourism. So now hopefully we will have better quality vehicles for tourists. There is a lot to improve in terms of our public transport as many depend on trains and buses. Especially our trains need to be revamped. Our road network is quite good but there are certain areas which cannot be accessed via public transport. Toilet facilities at railways stations need great improvement for the convenience of both local and foreign tourists.
Q: Although tourism is the lifeblood of the Sri Lankan economy, ironically very little value is given to it in the national school curriculum. What are your thoughts on this?
A: Tourism is a much sought-after career today but our students are not fortunate enough to have a sneak peek at it before they actually enter a hotel school and gain hands-on experience. My view is that we need to expose our school children to all Sri Lankan industries, perhaps as a life skills program where they get to discuss agriculture, tourism, IT, apparels etc. so that they are more prepared for the job market.
Q: Sri Lankan tourism has braved many storms. As a young professional who has always been very vocal about raising the bar for Sri Lanka, what is the message you’d like to give to fellow Lankans to help take the country to the next level?
A: Sri Lankans should first be grateful for what we have. Instead of eternally complaining about politics, we need to focus on the good we still have in this country. This is the only place we could call home. Certainly, it’s not the perfect picture- there are many political and economic mistakes the country has made, but running away from home is not the answer. We need to remain here and fight for a country which the next generation can be proud of.
We need to be thankful to live in a country with eternal sunshine and religious and cultural diversity. Our diversity has been sadly polarized by politics. But despite that we are still very comfortable with our fellow Lankans regardless of their ethnic and religious backgrounds. We are a country which is still safe to travel in, and far safer than most parts of the developed world too.
I think we need to capitalize on the positive vibe in the country if we are to raise the bar. This is a land that many are envious of. We are virtually sitting on a gold mine and taking it for granted. I encourage all Lankan youth to voice their opinions, develop our systems, and bring this country to its true potential in all aspects.
