Beyond visa waivers: Building Sri Lanka's global tourism brand

THE visa waiver initiative should not serve as a smokescreen for the continued absence of a coherent international marketing campaign. Despite repeated proclamations, no meaningful effort has materialised—even though the necessary funds have long been available.

- By Malik Fernando

This failure to properly position Sri Lanka is doing real harm. It contributes to suppressed room rates across all categories of accommodation and deters foreign direct investment, which remains significantly lower than in competing regional markets due to weak margins. Ask any hotelier.

Recent comparisons positioning Sri Lanka as the “next Bali”—with all the baggage of over-tourism—have been rightly rejected by local tourism stakeholders. But distancing ourselves from that path requires deliberate, proactive steps to shape Sri Lanka’s growth in a strategic and sustainable way. A focus on revenue and higher value travellers, rather than volume-driven overtourism, demands thoughtful destination marketing—not price cuts, whether on visas or hotel rooms.