Sri Lanka receives India’s support to develop tourism and aviation sectors
India has reportedly expressed its fullest support for the development of Sri Lanka’s tourism and aviation sectors.
Indian High Commissioner Gopal Baglay had expressed these sentiments during a discussion with Sri Lanka’s Tourism Prasanna Ranatunga and Youth and Sports Minister Namal Rajapaksa at the VIP lounge at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) in Katunayake minutes before the maiden SriLankan Airlines flight to Kushinagar last Wednesday (20).
Minister Ranatunga had pointed out that India was the largest source market for Sri Lanka’s tourism industry.
According to local media reports, India became the largest source of tourist traffic to Sri Lanka with 27%, beating Kazakhstan’s rank by just 1%, during the period between January and September.
India was also the largest source of tourist visits to Sri Lanka with 63% of the total traffic received in September.
Following the lifting of the ban, Sri Lanka’s national carrier SriLankan Airlines had also resumed passenger flights to India and extended its innovative ‘buy-one-get-one-free’ air ticket offer.
Ranatunga has further noted that he expected an increase in the number of Indian tourists visiting Sri Lanka in the coming months.
He has also proposed that a joint programme be implemented between the two countries to promote religious, cultural and archaeological tourism.
High Commissioner Baglay has agreed and said that attention had already been paid in this regard.
They have also discussed the expansion of air services between the two countries and the resumption of flights from Jaffna to Chennai.
OSL take:
Sri Lanka and India enjoy strong bilateral and trade ties that have been further strengthened by a free trade agreement (FTA). Both countries are looking at further boosting these trade ties through a comprehensive trade ties. India is one of Sri Lanka’s key development partners. The close proximity between the two countries have helped boost Sri Lanka’s tourism and several other industries. Indian businesses/investors could confidently explore the growing business/investment opportunities in Sri Lanka given its expanding economy while also looking at forming partnerships or joint ventures with local businesses.
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/20211026/Z_4 |