Sri Lanka’s Tourism Minister confident of achieving over 2.5 million tourist arrivals to the country this year
Tourism Development Minister of Sri Lanka John Amaratunga has reportedly expressed confidence in achieving the country’s target of attracting over 2.5 million tourists in 2018.
The Minister has told Chinese news agency Xinhua that he has called on the foreign embassies to lift travel restrictions issued against Sri Lanka and assured the island was now safe for tourists.
“My ministry will write to the embassies briefing them that the state of emergency has been lifted and the situation is now normal. Despite cancellations this month due to the violence, we are confident the numbers will pick up as Sri Lanka is a popular tourist destination,” the Minister has said.
Amaratunga has explained that the country will host several international events this year including an international golf tournament and international stage shows with popular artistes.
He has said several events were also planned to attract more Chinese tourists into the island country.
“China is one of our leading markets and we will take all steps to ensure we attract more Chinese tourists. We have several events planned including a mega digital advertising campaign in leading Chinese cities,” the Minister has told Xinhua.
Official government data has shown a continuous increase in the tourist arrivals to the country in the past few months.
OSL take:
The statement by Sri Lanka’s Tourism Development Minister is an encouraging tone on the continuance of the growth recorded in the country’s tourism industry. With the country returning to normalcy within a short span of time following clashes between certain groups in the hill capital of the Sri Lanka indicates that it is a one off incident that has had a minimal effect on tourism. Therefore, the investment opportunities in the tourism sector would continue to expand.
Article Code : | VBS/AT/20180321/Z_1 |