China includes Sri Lanka for pilot group outbound tourism drive.
Daily FT: China included Sri Lanka in a pilot programme to resume its outbound tourism.
The Chinese Embassy said the move by its Ministry of Culture and Tourism was to firmly support the tourism industry and economic recovery of Sri Lanka. It also said the inclusion of Sri Lanka is a milestone after nearly three years of outbound travel suspension by China as part of its zero-tolerance on COVID-19 pandemic.
Daily FT has in an exclusive report quoted Sri Lanka’s Consul General in Shanghai Anura Fernando as saying that 50 travel agents and influencers from China are to visit Sri Lanka in March followed by a 500-member group of religious tourists.
In crisis-free 2018, tourist arrivals from China at 265,965 were the second largest for Sri Lanka. It fell to 167,863 in 2019 owing to the Easter Sunday terror attacks.
In 2018 China emerged as the world’s top spender on outbound travel worth $ 277 billion.
OSL take:
Sri Lanka’s tourism industry is on a path to revival after facing the challenges posed by the global pandemic and the economic crisis faced by the country. There is a steady growth in tourist arrivals to the country and the numbers would see a significant increase with the return of Chinese tourists to Sri Lanka. Local tourism authorities have been carrying out promotional campaigns in key tourist source markets while also exploring new tourism concepts for promotion. Sri Lanka has also been identified as a must visit tourist destination by leading travel publications. All these positive movements have resulted in the expansion of business/investment opportunities in Sri Lanka’s tourism industry, especially in the leisure and hospitality sectors. With Sri Lanka showing a growth and business potential in the tourism industry, foreign businesses/investors could look at the opportunities in the tourism industry. Many international hospitality and leisure brands have already shown interest in entering Sri Lanka’s tourism industry.
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/22022023/X_6 |