How Sri Lanka Has Been Promoted as a Tourist Destination? An Exploration of The Promotional Efforts of Sri Lanka Tourist Promotional Authority of Sri Lanka

Abstract

In a highly competitive tourism environment, a destination must be favourably differentiated from its rival destinations and positively positioned in the minds of the potential travelers; and a key component of this process is the creation and management of a distinctive and appealing image of the destination. The recent strategic tourism plan of the country (2017-2020) aims at positioning Sri Lanka as an attractive tourist destination through the capitalization of natural advantages of having the highest bio-diversity in Asia along with a strong culture, historical artifacts, exotic beaches, green environment and friendly people. Hence, it is vital to undertake a periodic diagnosis of the current images of the country both from suppliers’ point of view i.e. projected images and the visitors’ perspectives i.e. perceived image. This study examined the images of Sri Lanka as a tourist destination as projected by Sri Lanka Tourism Promotional Bureau (SLTPB) through its official website, promotional brochures and advertisements. A content analysis was employed along with two theoretical frameworks i.e. cognitive-affective framework and three-dimensional framework put forward by Echtner and Ritchie (1991) to gauge the image. The findings revealed that Sri Lanka is promoted on eleven experiential themes in the website and other promotional materials, which mostly portray cognitive, functional and attribute-based images of the country. The emphasis placed on projecting holistic, affective and unique images is relatively weak, and this needs more thoughtful intervention by SLTPB and other authorities related to Sri Lanka tourism.