Sri Lanka to sign four MoUs to promote tourism in China, Iraq, Pakistan and Estonia
Sri Lanka’s Minister of Industrial Export and Investment Promotion and Minister of Tourism and Civil Aviation, Prasanna Ranatunga has reportedly said that the country’s Tourism Ministry will sign four Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) to promote tourism with China, Iraq, Pakistan and Estonia.
The local media has reported that the Ministry has received approval from the Cabinet of Ministers in this regard. “In addition, we also hope to sign similar tourism promotional agreements with South Africa and Georgia,” Ranatunga has been quoted as saying.
However the signing of the MoUs have been delayed due to the ongoing Coronavirus threat.
Sri Lankan tourism currently has 10 MoUs with India, Thailand, Seychelles, Poland, Tajikistan, Malaysia, Australia, Russia, South Korea, and the Philippines, the state owned Daily News has reported.
According to the reports, the objectives of signing these MoUs are to jointly promote tourism by forming special joint committees and in some instances, developed countries also offer financial assistance when these MoUs are signed.
Last year, Sri Lankan tourism had recorded the largest arrivals from India, China, Germany, United Kingdom, Australia, Maldives, and France. “The aim is to make Sri Lanka the number one destination for tourists. To meet this objective we are also looking at appointing marketing representatives and marketing agencies in China, India, Middle East, Russia, and Ukraine which has high tourism potential.”
OSL take:
Sri Lanka’s tourism industry is one of the fastest growing economic sectors in the country. Sri Lanka continues to be listed as a must visit destination by globally renowned travel publications, resulting in the continuous increase in tourist arrivals to the country. All this has resulted in the expansion of business/investment opportunities in Sri Lanka’s tourism industry. Agreements such as the ones reported above will therefore help further boost the country’s tourism industry.
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/17022020/Z_6 |