Globalization & the new era of “Tea and Silk” relationship 

(Sri Lankan Tourism for Chinese market)

You cannot live alone and at the same time you cannot develop without anyone’s help. The life support is integrated and we all depends on each other.  Today the world population is about 7 billion and 1/3 of the population is representing by India and China. So the market potential is huge for everything and there are huge number of producers all over the world. Therefore countries coming up with various plans and using different tools to grab the opportunity and to enjoy the benefit.  One who successfully identified this potential and the one who quickly grab that opportunity is China. Therefore in today’s world market, they are the cost leader and we call this is “China Phobia”. Another example is Taiwan. Taiwan is a small by land than Sri Lanka and its population is also not more than 10 million. Still they have using a new technology and now they are exporting High-Tec products to Indian & Chinese markets. They are able to remain the position of market leaders for the above exports. So now it is time for us to think more about this situation. More about how to deal with globalization and how to grab the opportunity.

In the 12^th century explorer Marco Polo wrote that Sri Lanka was the finest island in the whole world. Due to our greeneries, wildlife & golden beaches, beautiful flora and fauna, well-known ancient cities, warm and pleasant culture and hospitality abide with eternal Buddhism and not last but least the finest Ceylon tea always made this small beautiful island unique and elegant from all other countries. With all instabilities, political messes and other international and local pressure activities, tourism is the timeliest and effective weapon we can used to face globalization. For centuries it had been a tourist destination. Potentially for European travelers.

Recently the Lanka civil war that spanned over 30 years ended in 2009 has had a negative impact on tourism & the growth of the industry stagnated. However, following this era, a resurgence in Sri Lanka as a tourist destination has been evident in 2012. Post office worldwide holiday costs, barometer named Sri Lanka as the best valued destination for holidays.

In 2016 Sri Lanka has been named as one of the top 10 travel destinations in the world by travel magazine. What we expect from tourism is for the benefit to treacle down to people in the country & want the private sector to get involved with tourism. In previous years Sri Lanka was famous among European tourist and more specifically among Russians and Germans. Today with the global population trend, the most potential customer segment is Chinese. In 2015 More than 120 million person- time Chinese people traveled abroad. In 2016, 30.2 million border crossing took place in the first quarter of the year. An increment of just 2.4% from the 29.5 million made during the same period in 2015. Chinese out bound tourists are young & willing to spend more & expecting relaxed visa policies said a report by the World Travel and Tourism Council. More than 70% of China’s out bound tourists were born after 1970s & 1980s with a compound annual growth of 20% for tourists in the past 5 years. Among the tourist 60% devoted about one day for shopping in a single trip spending 10344 Yuan ($1550) on average. The main attractions for Chinese tourists were natural landscape & historical sites, the reputation of a destination & social customs. Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Singapore, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, USA & Australia are the top destinations for outbound Chinese tourists. China is the world’s biggest outbound market & many countries including United States eyeing this market. We have to grab this opportunity.

Sri Lanka is still a mysterious place for most Chinese.  The latest researches reveal that short stays give peace of mind and better tolerance toward the harsh realities & difficulties of our fast paced lives which is essentially why the religious tourism has happened globally. According to a survey conducted in 2012 by the Beijing based horizon research consulting group has revealed that 85% of the people in china leads a spiritual life. The survey also revealed that the growth of Buddhism is extra ordinary, with almost 18% of 7021 respondents in the survey claiming to be believers which means that more than 200 million people in the country would believe in Buddhism, which gives us a view of the market opportunity. We have to concentrate on the Chinese tourists and it must be our main target to take measures to boost tourism. With that highlighted finding Sri Lanka will be a major beneficiary of the huge opportunity

A record breaking $215 billion was spent by Chinese travelers abroad last year. According to the world travel & tourism council (WTTC) this is 53 percent more than a year earlier. When Sri Lankan GDP is about 80 billion dollars the Chinese spend 215 billion dollars just for tourism. China’s massive middle class has been using its rising income to explore new destinations each year. Tourists from China prefer traveling around Asia when they leave the country for the first time. Europe & the US are popular options as well as countries with easier visa policies. A study found older travelers prefer organized group tours while the young tend to go abroad on their own, according to the reports. After trying the standard sports in nearby Asian countries, they were becoming more adventurous.

Many Chinese tourists are visiting Sri Lanka more than before. There is a lot of potential in the tourism industry judging by the tourists’ arrivals in the country where more than one million tourists arrived during past six months at a 16% increase from last year. Therefore tour companies have to hire Chinese speakers. Hotels have to learn how to make authentic Chinese food. Restaurants have to translate menus into Chinese. Sri Lanka has to start its own charter flights to bring big groups to Sri Lanka. Tourists are attracted to Sri Lanka’s old Buddhist temples, nice beaches, eco-tourism options and shopping.   Sri Lanka is coming back on the map with a better recognition therefore we can offer anything. It also found that 70% of tourists wish to simplify the visa process wanting fewer materials to be submitted & faster processing.

As Sri Lankan Tourist Board estimations hotel room will be increased to LKR 80000/- with tourist arrivals expected to reach 4.5 million and employers working for the tourism industry will also be increased up to 800000 by year 2020. So there is a bigger scope to increase Chinese tourist to Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka has a lot of potential as good as the Maldives to attract dozens of Chinese traveler but a group of top visiting travel agents says much needs to be done before this could be achieves. Some of those suggestions are included;

• There should be Chinese speaking guides & staff in hotels
• Needs to do a more promotion as the China know little but this country except may be black tea & elephant.
• Chinese language - travel brochures should also be available in Chinese language. Similar to French, German & English & also in hotels & other sites of interest.

Last year Sri Lanka attracted 200000 Chinese tourists. To increase the number year by year country can promote tourism under different categories. By taking the advantage of Chinese people prefer sport tourism Sri Lanka can promote as destination for sports tourism by highlighting the popular sports include golf, surfing, diving & snorkeling hot air balloon trip & rafting & canoeing, scuba diving, fishing, cycling, hiking, tracking & rock climbing. Secondly by taking the advantage of Chinese preference for Ceylon tea, country can promote its glorious tea culture. In the world, Sri Lanka is the 3^rd biggest tea producing country, The country is best known in the world market for “Pure Ceylon Tea” and it is considered as the one of the finest tea produced anywhere in the world. Thirdly the religion. Not last but the hottest point to promote Sri Lankan Tourism among Chinese people. The 2500 ancient history of Buddhism and the eternal Buddhist practices will capture the both body and soul of Chinese customers.

Travel destinations in Sri Lanka provide an arrange of holiday experience from seen kissed beach holidays to a marathon of wildlife watching, adrenaline pumping adventure sports & pilgrimage to some of the oldest cities in the world. Finally the golden beaches, rising waves, misty mountains, mighty elephants, stealthy leopards, giant whales, a majestic past, warm smiles could sum up a country, that would be Sri Lanka. With many sites & scenes bottled up in to a small island, a traveler could be riding the waves in the dawn & admiring the green carpeted mountains by dusk. The smiles & hospitality of Sri Lanka is world famous. Spicy foods, exotic fruits & array sweetmeats found nowhere in the world. With so many cultures living next to each other life in Sri Lanka continues among a series of festivals throughout the year & ideal recipe for fun & leisure. So why not we share this wonder with world?