Category: Public Sector and Service Innovation
Client: UNDP, Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority
Citra Lab supported the UNDP Country Office in working with the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) to develop a comprehensive way forward post-COVID-19 in the tourism sector of the country. Given the situation at that time, many changes and systems needed to be put in place to ensure the safety of incoming tourists and local populations was maintained.
To provide a more accessible and streamlined system for tourists to plan their stay in Sri Lanka, SLTDA, along with UNDP and Citra Lab, had discussions to develop a ‘one-stop’ app that would provide all the necessary information required and/or useful for any tourists coming into the country. This app was also intended to be connected to the Department of Immigration and Emigration so that the two systems were interlinked, enabling a tourist to apply for a visa through the app as their information would be shared with the Department for the usual due process.
The Citra team worked collaboratively with SLTDA and the Department to provide technical input and expertise into the features of the app and its design. The Lab also provided an angle of social innovation by facilitating user insights that formed the basis for app development, thereby ensuring it was user-friendly and provided necessary information for tourists while fulfilling data requirements for SLTDA and the Department of Immigration and Emigration.
