Sri Lanka seeks Ramayana Trail tourists in Malaysia
The Morning: The High Commission of Sri Lanka in Kuala Lumpur recently hosted a fruitful engagement with the Malaysian Indian Tour and Travel Association (MITTA), in order to explore avenues for promoting the Ramayana Trail tourism in Malaysia.
MITTA, which encompasses over 200 Indian-Malaysian travel and tour agencies, plays a pivotal role in advancing outbound and inbound tourism, with a particular focus on Tamil-speaking travelers, the Sri Lankan High Commission in Kuala Lumpur said in a statement.
Accordingly, the High Commissioner of Sri Lanka Air Chief Marshal (Rtd.) Sumangala Dias met with MITTA representatives and built upon discussions previously initiated with the Kuala Lumpur Selangor Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KLSICCI) in July, the statement mentioned.
High Commissioner Dias highlighted the growing potential for tourism between Sri Lanka and Malaysia, noting that approximately 10,000 Malaysians visited Sri Lanka last year, while around 60,000 Sri Lankans traveled to Malaysia.
This provides a unique opportunity to project Sri Lanka as an appealing tourist destination especially for Malaysian travelers of Indian origin, who have historical connections through the Ramayana epic.
During the meeting, a video documentary on the Ramayana Trail was screened, showcasing Sri Lanka’s historical monuments and Hindu deities linked to the Ramayana. High Commissioner Dias requested MITTA’s support in promoting these tourism opportunities among Malaysian agencies and outbound travelers, it added.
The President of MITTA, Dato’ Aruldas expressed appreciation for the opportunity offered to explore the Ramayana Trail and affirmed MITTA’s commitment to disseminating necessary information within the Indian-Malaysian travel community.
OSL take:
Sri Lanka’s tourism industry is on a steady growth path becoming a key revenue generator of the country. Given the potential to further expand the country’s tourism industry, local tourism authorities are engaged in exploring and promoting new tourism concepts in key tourist source markets. Religion and culture tourism is one such concept currently being promoted by Sri Lanka. It is in such a backdrop that Sri Lanka is engaged in aggressively promoting the Ramayana Trail in India and other countries in the Asian region that have Hindu roots with interest in the Ramayana Trail. All these activities in the tourism industry have resulted in the overall expansion of business/investment opportunities in the industry that range from development and infrastructure development sectors required to meet the demands of the growing tourism concepts as well as the increasing tourist arrivals to the country. There has also been a clear expansion in the leisure and hospitality sectors as well. The growth and business potential in Sri Lanka’s tourism industry is evident by the interest shown by international leisure and hospitality brands to enter the local industry. With all these developments in Sri Lanka’s tourism industry, foreign businesses/investors could confidently explore the expanding business/investment opportunities in the industry and related sectors.