Now or never –

By W A Dineesha C Wijayasuriya

According to UNWTO (UN World Tourism Organization), destination management consists of the coordinated management of all the elements that make up a tourism destination. Destination management takes a strategic approach to linking up these sometimes very separate elements for better management of the destination. Joined management can help to avoid overlapping functions and duplication of efforts; regarding promotion, visitor services, training, and business support to identify any management gaps that are not being addressed. Destination management calls for a coalition of many organizations and interests working towards a common goal, ultimately being the assurance of the competitiveness and sustainability of the tourism destination.

“SO Sri Lanka”, Strategic Plan for Sri Lanka Tourism 2022-2025, the purpose is to set an agenda for the recovery and future resilience of the tourism sector. A detailed gap analysis performed revealed systemic issues that underpin and constrain future sustainable and resilient tourism sector growth. These include the need for holistic positioning, branding, and marketing: there is a need for more consistent and integrated marketing communication for destination branding, and a need for institutional improvement with better coordination and regulation. At present, the lack of coordination between multiple public agencies is diluting their ability to provide a conducive enabling environment for the industry. This is damaging the tourism planning and destination management of Sri Lanka.

Today Sri Lanka necessitates taking vital measures to discover the global best practices in destination management to achieve the defined three strategic priorities of ‘Protect’, ‘Recover’, and ‘Build Back Better’. Since the world keeps moving fast and new destinations take different approaches to promote tourism to escalate the traffic flow of tourists, Sri Lanka also needs to put strategic plans into action plans.

Qatar Tourism reveals the country’s largest-ever international tourism marketing campaign in the push to become the fastest-

growing tourism destination in the Middle East. Tourism has been identified by the country’s leadership as one of five priority sectors integral to diversifying Qatar’s economy and increasing private sector participation. Notably, 80% of the world’s population is within a 6-hour flight from Qatar, and more than two-thirds can enter Qatar visa-free.

Destination management calls for a coalition of many organizations and interests working towards a common goal, ensuring the same on World Tourism Day 2017. Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani, the former Prime Minister, launched the next chapter of the Qatar National Tourism Sector Strategy, a five-year plan that places an enhanced end-to-end visitor experience at the heart of tourism development.

A new, dedicated website https://visitqatar.com and a mobile app were launched to showcase the world-leading destination. Today, this free App “Visit Qatar” -Apps on Google Play has a 5 Star rating and it welcomes the guest to come and explore an exceptional destination, the radiant pearl of Qatar. “Be our guest as you enjoy 360° views, and collect favorites, where you find activities and attractions tailored to suit your travel style.” By understanding the pulse of the new tourists, Sri Lanka must introduce a similar mobile app with state of art technology integrating visitor services.

New visa policies have resulted in Qatar becoming the most open country in the region, and the 8th most open in the world according to visa openness rankings released by the UNWTO in August 2018. This high ranking reflects a string of visa facilitation measures introduced by Qatar.  Visitors to Qatar can easily apply for Qatar Tourist Visa online by uploading the documents and paying the fee online, nationals of 88 countries are allowed to enter Qatar visa-free.

On 1/11/2021, in a Qatar tourism news and media/press releases chairman of Qatar Tourism and Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, Akbar Al Baker, said: “The country’s extensive developments are well underway as we welcome visitors from around the world, with exceptional hospitality at every touchpoint. The launch of the Experience a World Beyond marks a significant point in our journey to establishing ourselves as a world-leading destination and welcoming six million visitors per year by 2030.” Destination management consists of the coordinated management of all the elements that make up a tourism destination, this is evident through centralized decision-making with integrated marketing strategies implemented and communicated through Qatar Airways Media Newsroom.

Qatar tourism enjoyed the fruitful efforts of the integrated marketing strategies, having been confirmed by Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy of FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, announcing the arrival of more than 1.4 million fans from across the globe to Qatar for the FIFA World Cup 2022.

Qatar tourism created the perfect stage for all stakeholders by taking a strategic approach to linking up these sometimes very separate elements for better management of the destination, and this resulted in achieving higher guest satisfaction, which is the key to destination marketing. Further Joined-up management throughout the supply chain helped to avoid overlapping functions and duplication of efforts.

FIFA organizers accomplished equality among disparity. On Dec. 15, 2022, FIFA president Gianni Infantino thanked the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 volunteers, around 20,000 diverse, skilled, multi-lingual passionate individuals, who were working mainly behind the scenes. They helped to deliver the FIFA World Cup and showcase the true spirit of Qatar. “Congratulations,” he said, “You are the heart and soul of the World Cup and, most importantly, you are the face and the smile of the World Cup. You are the first person that people see when they come to this fantastic World Cup, and the last person they see when they leave. Your smile is making this World Cup what it is, which is the best ever.”

Qatar tourism ultimately assures the competitiveness and sustainability of the tourism destination by strategically allowing everyone to become part of the story. Evident was the true spirit of fans and how it was capitalized in destination marketing by hosting an exclusive event that will never have a History Repeat.

The writer is attached to Qatar Airways Group, Qatar Duty Free as a Duty Manager and holds a Master in Tourism Economics & Hotel Management (MTEHM),B.Sc. Business Administration (Special), CGMA, ACMA (UK), CPA (Aust) and Certified Professional Coach (CPC. Aust).