Wellness tourism in Sri Lanka will be boosted by a strategic action plan by the Export Development Board (EDB), helped by Australia’s Market Development Facility (MDF).
The proposed wellness tourism strategy has four phases over 12 months. It includes a rapid assessment of the potential wellness tourism industry in Sri Lanka, product development, brand evaluation and development, as well as a marketing strategy.
The MDF is supporting the EDB with an investment of Rs9 million (US$50,000), to pay for Austrian wellness consulting firm Linser Hospitality to conduct the first phase of the initiative, a rapid assessment of the potential wellness tourism Industry in Sri Lanka.
Linser Hospitality has met industry stakeholders and carried out a supply survey. Sri Lanka’s Ayurveda is included. The aim is to provide an overview and analysis of Sri Lanka’s wellness tourism capacity and define its unique selling propositions by the end of November. Based on the analysis, the assessment will provide key recommendations for a short-, medium- and long-term strategy to maintain and secure new markets to position the country as an attractive destination for wellness tourists.
Wellness tourism is one of the key focused sectors in the National Export Strategy. At the end of 2018, the EDB announced it had appointed wellness tourism expert Stella Photi as a consultant to help develop the industry in Sri Lanka with a focus on Ayurveda resorts. It is unclear if she is still working with EDB.
Sri Lanka earned US$193 million from wellness tourism in 2018. The UK, Austria, Germany, Switzerland and Australia are the key target markets for wellness tourism.
Linser Hospitalitysays that Sri Lanka has to customise services for new market groups and make it a destination for wellness tourism.
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