Sri Lanka takes the limelight in Bollywood and Sandalwood Cinemas with Yohani

Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB), together with Sri Lankan Airlines and the International Film Producers’ Association of Sri Lanka organized a Film Tourism Promotional campaign in Bangalore and Mumbai targeting both South Indian and North Indian big five cinema industries covering Bollywood(Hindi), Kollywood (Tamil), Tollywood(Telugu), Sandalwood (Kannada), Mollywood(Malayalam) as well as emerging industries such as Bihar based Bhojpuri Film Industry, Mumbai based Marathi Film Industry, Bengali Cinema, and Punjab Entertainment Industry.

Films & TV shows work as virtual brochures and offer a subtler way of marketing compared to traditional touristic campaigns. It has access to much wider markets, offers differentiation from competitors, and can increase interest in more unconventional touristic destinations. Films create a greater level of impact on travelers’ destination selection process and influence significantly visitor flows.

Many destinations around the world promote their locations and cultures to attract more international films into their countries. Regional tourism competitors such as Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, and Vietnam are some of the best examples of destinations that benefited from International Films to boost their tourism footfall.

Realizing the immediate economic benefits can be created by having international film productions in Sri Lanka and direct impact on Indian tourists’ arrivals by popularizing Sri Lanka Tourism via Indian Films, TV Shows, and other OTT platforms. Sri Lankan Airlines, Sri Lanka Deputy High Commission- Chennai and Sri Lanka Consul General Office- in Mumbai also supported this destination promotion which was undertaken in the first half of October at Innovative International Film Festival (IIFF)- Bangalore and India International Film Conclave (IIFTC)- Mumbai.