Thailand to promote Buddhist tourism to Sri Lanka
Daily FT: Ambassador of Sri Lanka to Thailand and Permanent Representative to UNESCAP C.A. Chaminda I. Colonne paid a courtesy call on Minister of Tourism and Sport Sudawan Wangsuphakitkosol at the Ministry of Tourism and Sport of Thailand on 19 December 2023.
Minister Sudawan Wangsuphakitkosol warmly welcomed Ambassador Chaminda Colonne, and the Ambassador congratulated the newly appointed Minister.
Minister Wangsuphakitkosol assured her fullest support and cooperation for strengthening Thai-Sri Lanka relations in the field of tourism, especially to enhance Buddhist Religious Tourism, and two-way tourism exchanges.
The Ambassador also requested the Ministry of Tourism and Sport of Thailand to encourage Thai investors to invest in the hospitality and tourism sectors in Sri Lanka.
The Ambassador further highlighted that the Government of Sri Lanka has recently waived off the visa fee for Thai nationalities in order to promote Sri Lanka as a destination for Thai tourists.
The invitation extended by Ambassador Colonne to Minister Wangsuphakitkosol to visit Sri Lanka at a convenient time in the near future, was warmly accepted.
Head of Chancery A.W.S. Samanmali and First Secretary (Commercial) Vireshika Bandara accompanied the Ambassador for the discussion.
OSL take:
Sri Lanka currently promotes many tourism concepts with religious tourism playing a key role in tourism promotion within the Asian region. So far, Sri Lanka and India enjoy close historical ties with Sri Lanka promoting religious and cultural tourism among Indian tourists. However, the latest endeavor with Thailand would also see tourism ties between Sri Lanka and Thailand grow to new heights. Sri is on the constant look out to promote new tourism concepts to engage with new tourist markets. All these are indicative of expanding business/investment opportunities in Sri Lanka’s tourism industry that range from the development of infrastructure and supplementary infrastructure facilities required by the industry to meet the growing demand including in the leisure and hospitality sectors. With Sri Lanka’s tourism industry showing a steady growth path with a growing business potential, foreign businesses/investors could explore the growing business/investment opportunities in the industry.
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/20240123/Z_8 |