Lanka chooses Al Jazeera for tourism campaign

(February 15, Doha, Sri Lanka Guardian) Sri Lanka Tourism has joined hands with Qatar-based Al Jazeera channel on a major publicity campaign targetting Arabic speaking travelers in the Middle East market.

"There is a need to be more pro-active in promoting the country's image among Middle East travellers. Under the advice of the President, I have made special programmes and a strategy to promote Middle East travelers to Sri Lanka," Deputy Minister of Tourism Faiszer Musthapha said, addressing a stakeholders meeting comprising tourism experts and airline operators in Doha.

He added, "The flight connectivity for Middle East is the best out of all countries and a wealthy Arab population coupled with large number of expats will provide an ideal opportunity for Sri Lanka to be one of the most preferred destinations for them which is only four and a half hours away. We want to tap into the opportunities, which abound in the Middle East because there is a lot of disposable income and they are looking for new destinations in the changing geopolitical situation."

The main objective of the visit was to negotiate to give exposure to Sri Lanka through Al Jazeera network.

The Middle East has increased in number of residents which includes west, Middle East and Asia with sound financial status and ability to travel. Middle East market shows a growth of 31% in 2007 while other markets (except Russia) showed a decline.

Commenting on this partnership, Vice Chairman and Managing Director Ahmed A Al Khulaifi said: "We are looking at this partnership beyond pure commercial transactions. There is a lot to offer from our side and we are a different media agency. We are delighted to assist Sri Lanka Tourism."

Al Jazeera who will soon be opening their media training school has also come forward to offer special media training for Sri Lanka Tourism staff.

They also responded favourably to the proposal by the Deputy Minister to establish their South Asian hub in Colombo. Asian-base of Al Jazeera is located in Malaysia and another centre in Colombo will provide added advantage to showcase the destination.

The initiative with Al Jazeera will feature adverts, documentaries and talk shows on the rich diversity, investment opportunities and festivals and other interesting events of Sri Lanka.

The proposed campaign in Al Jazeera is a joint destination promotional effort between Sri Lanka Tourism and Srilankan Airlines.