By Venessa Anthony
Sri Lanka is one of the most popular destinations in Asia, lush with greenery and ideal for backpackers, honeymooners, solo travellers, and luxury travellers alike, offering several experiences, from tea plantations to jungle safaris, whale watching to scuba diving, traditional festivals to relaxing holidays, and beautiful beaches to national parks.
As the economic crisis gripped Sri Lanka, tourism took a hit, but social media manager Thilanka Rathnayake took it upon himself to promote tourism and support the nation with his latest project #SriLankaCan.
In conversation with The Morning Brunch, Thilanka noted that the country desperately needs tourists right now and many people are doing their best to take charge of the situation, saying: “Sri Lanka is as beautiful as it has always been, and right now the country needs tourism.”
With this project, he hopes to bring tourists back to Sri Lanka to overcome the economic crisis, and ensure the viability and competitiveness of tourism destinations and enterprises, so that they are able to continue to prosper and deliver benefits in the long term.
He also wants to ensure local prosperity by maximising the contribution of tourism to the economic prosperity of the host destination, including the proportion of visitor spending that is retained locally and the number and quality of local jobs created and supported by tourism.
Thilanka also pointed out that in order to seek a widespread and fair distribution of economic and social benefits from tourism throughout the recipient community, including improving opportunities, income, and services available to the poor, social equity must be reached, which he aims to secure with his project.
“Once this is all in order, we will be able to provide a safe, satisfying, and fulfilling experience for visitors, available to all without discrimination by gender, race, disability, or in other ways, as well as maintain and strengthen the quality of life in local communities, including social structures, and access to resources, amenities, and life support systems, avoiding any form of social degradation or exploitation,” he stated.
As Thilanka is a social media manager with his own company, as well as several academic achievements in the field of tourism and hospitality, he noted that social media has changed every single aspect of our lives.
These developments have significantly affected businesses mainly through enabling new marketing strategies. Tourism, being one of the most vibrant sectors of the global economy, is undoubtedly a part of all these.
“Merging social media and tourism marketing will lead to excellent results to boost tourism. With #SriLankaCan project we have gathered information about the essentials of social media in tourism marketing,” he stated.
Thilanka pointed out that sharing on social media might be the most significant factor that affects the tourism industry, as it enables young people to share significant memories from their travels with a vast audience.
“Tourism companies should know that this is a more powerful way of attracting new travellers than simple advertisements, and encourages people to share their real experiences online,” he highlighted, adding that since the industry is highly competitive, once they become aware of the possible benefits of social media, businesses can utilise it to increase their brand awareness.
We asked Thilanka how he plans to use social media to further #SriLankaCan project, to which he stated that creating engaging content is the most crucial step if you aim to attract more customers.
“Since the tourism industry is significantly connected with visual experience, visual material is the most engaging way to catch attention. We plan on using catchy photos and impressive videos that are simple and fun,” he added. As in any other industry, the Big Three of social media – Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram – are the leaders in the tourism industry, and Thilanka added that even though these channels have their own audience, travel is among the most shared topics across them.
With all of this in mind, Thilanka hopes that project #SriLankaCan will help stabilise our economy, and bring tourism back to our once flourishing country.
