Sri Lanka’s tourism authorities welcome over 100 Chinese travel agents to the country
Tourism authorities in Sri Lanka have reportedly welcomes over 100 Chinese travel agents, which is the largest group to arrive in the country following the Easter Sunday attacks in April, to help revive Sri Lanka’s tourism industry.
The group was brought down by Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB) in collaboration with Walkers Tours, the destination management arm of the leisure sector of premier blue chip company John Keells Group and Beijing Spring Travel International Co. Ltd. The initiative was an outcome of the promotion SLTPB had in Beijing, China in June, the local English daily, Daily FT has reported.
The group consists of 107 Chinese travel agents and 12 media personnel from Beijing as well as from other parts of China and will explore Sri Lanka in a span of one week in four different groups visiting all key tourist attractions.
“This visit by the large group emphasises the fact that the tourist arrivals are gradually increasing in Sri Lanka and is indeed a good sign for the travel and tourism industry. We hope to achieve our set tourist arrival target of 2 to 2.5 million by the end of the year,” Tourism Development Minister John Amaratunga has told journalists.
The Minister has assured the country was absolutely safe for travel and said the diversity Sri Lanka has to offer will enchant more Chinese travellers to come in the near future.
The Minister has reportedly called on the Chinese media to provide maximum publicity on the destination at this hour of need to boost tourism industry in Sri Lanka.
With Sri Lanka ready to launch free visa on arrival for 43 countries including China from 1 August, the Minister has expressed confidence that it will also help more Chinese travellers to visit the country.
OSL take:
China is one of Sri Lanka’s top tourist source markets. Therefore the arrival of over 100 Chinese tour operators to Sri Lanka would definitely result in the increase of Chinese tourists to the island. China is also among the countries that have been offered on arrival visa facility by Sri Lanka. The island’s tourism sector is on a growth path following the setback suffered in the aftermath of the Easter Sunday attacks in April. Since then Sri Lanka’s tourism sector has once again entered the growth path and foreign investments have also started to flow in to the sector. Business/investment opportunities continue to expand in Sri Lanka’s tourism sector and foreign businesses could explore opportunities in the country’s tourism industry.
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/30072019/Z_2 |