As the situation in Sri Lanka continues to
improve, Mastercard today announced its latest effort to promote the island
nation as a safe, affordable destination for inbound travelers. With tourism
being a key pillar of the country’s economy, restoring holidaymakers’ confidence
and appetite to visit Sri Lanka is the natural next step following the
relaxation of travel advisories for Sri Lanka in a number of countries.
To support these objectives, Mastercard
has directly sourced more than 50 offers from travel industry partners including
hotels, resorts, restaurants, and tour operators. This collaborative effort
with the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotions Bureau (SLTPB) includes Mastercard using
the ‘Visit Sri Lanka’ slogan.
For cardholders interested in visiting Sri
Lanka, Mastercard has brought together comprehensive travel benefits that can
be explored on Mastercard’s Priceless Specials platform (https://specials.priceless.com). This
curated website is a one stop shop serving Mastercard cardholders globally,
giving them access to all relevant offers in any part of the world, based on
their card type. These offers cater to consumers’ passion points and interests such
as travel, arts and culture, sports, culinary, entertainment and more.
“The tourism industry has always been one
of the most important supporting pillars of Sri Lanka’s economy. However, owing
to the recent concerns in the country, global media outlets have refrained from
promoting a positive outlook on Sri Lanka, leading to diminishing traveller
confidence,” said Hon. Harin Fernando, Minister of Tourism. “The
Government of Sri Lanka highly appreciates Mastercard’s efforts to support the
industry by changing the narrative in an effort to bring more travellers to our
tropical shores. We are confident that this partnership will build credibility
in Sri Lanka as a renowned destination once again. From the Government’s end,
we have ensured that our guests will have uninterrupted accessibility to
required services and material for a truly Sri Lankan holiday.”
“With the presence of several global
players in Sri Lanka, we are thankful that Mastercard has taken a lead role in
bringing Sri Lanka as a destination back to the limelight. In addition to being
one of our most trusted partners, Mastercard is one of the few who can execute
a campaign as massive as this, given its ability to work with multiple tourism
related stakeholders including hotels, airlines and retailers,” said Chalaka
Gajabahu, Chairman, Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau. “Sri Lanka has made
a name for itself as one of the world’s iconic tourist destinations, with
international endorsements and accolades recognising the same. Considering how
affordable some priceless experiences are in Sri Lanka, the time is now to
visit Sri Lanka all in one capsule.”
“As a long-time partner of the Sri Lankan
Government, this collaboration with SLTPB is Mastercard’s latest initiative to support
the revival of the country’s tourism industry,” said Sandun Hapugoda,
Country Manager, Sri Lanka & Maldives, Mastercard. “Reinvigorating this
hard-hit sector is nothing short of essential to the nation’s economic
recovery, and that’s what this effort looks to bolster.”
Since 2018, Mastercard has collaborated
with the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau to promote the country as a
preferred tourism destination across several key source markets including
India, Bangladesh and Maldives. In January 2020, Sri Lanka was the first
destination in South Asia to be added to Mastercard’s Priceless Cities program,
a curated list of destinations that offer exclusive experiences under the
Mastercard tagline of – ‘that money can’t buy’. In December 2020, Mastercard partnered
with SLTPB to offer Mastercard’s Tourism Insights platform, as well as
complimentary consulting services to the Government to support the recovery of Sri
Lanka’s tourism sector, post pandemic.
