CNN’s Richard Quest tells Sri Lanka never to waste a crisis
The World famous CNN journalist Richard Quest has reportedly called on Sri Lanka not to waste a crisis in reference to the opportunities presented by the tragic events of Easter Sunday in the country in April this year.
“Never waste a crisis,” Quest has said recently, quoting former UK Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill.
The CNN journalist made this observation peaking as the Guest of Honour at the Cinnamon Future of Tourism 2019 summit held last month at the Cinnamon Grand Hotel Colombo.
Quest is CNN Business Editor at Large and anchors ‘Quest Means Business’ and several other popular business and travel shows to a global audience.
Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe who had attended the event as a chief guest had also endorsed these sentiments.
“We all got together and decided we will get the numbers up before the winter season. We achieved some things which could not be achieved earlier, for example reducing the ground handling charges at the airport. Maybe as Winston Churchill said crisis is an opportunity. We reacted much faster in a month than I could have in 6 months’ time.”
The Government of Sri Lanka and the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) reduced ground handling charges, the price of aviation fuel and the embarkation levy for six months in July.
OSL take:
Sri Lanka’s tourism authorities together with industry stakeholders have ensured the quick return to normalcy of the country’s tourism sector that suffered a setback following the Easter Sunday attacks in April. Tourist arrivals to the country are on the increase and investments to the sector are also on the increase. The island continues to maintain the top slot as the destination of the year in several key global travel publications. All these have resulted in the expansion of business/investment opportunities in Sri Lanka’s tourism sector.
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/02102019/Z_1 |