Updated 10 February 2020 at 18:11 IST
Sri Lanka government to sign bilateral agreements to promote tourism
The Sri Lankan government is planning to sign bilateral agreements with a number of countries to increase tourist arrivals and boost the crisis-hit sector
The Sri Lankan government is reportedly planning to sign bilateral agreements with a number of countries including China, Pakistan and Iraq, to increase tourist arrivals in a bid to boost the crisis-hit sector. According to international media reports, the Cabinet has approved to sign the bilateral agreements to promote tourism. The government has also said that they expect to enter into agreements with several other countries such as South Africa and Georgia.
The Sri Lankan Tourism Minister Prasanna Ranatunga further pointed out that such agreements would benefit Sri Lanka as well as other countries. According to reports, Sri Lanka has already signed agreements for tourism promotion with 10 countries including India, Thailand, Seychelles, Poland, Tajikistan, Malaysia, Australia, Russia, South Korea and the Philippines. Its top tourist market also includes India, UK, China, Australia, Germany, the US, Maldives, France and Canada.
Ranatunga, while speaking to a media outlet, said that the government intends to appoint destination marketing agencies based in India, Europe, China, the Middle East, Russia and Ukraine. Back in 2019, Sri Lanka reportedly also received a little over 1.9 million tourists and this year the government aims to attract three million tourists. The Sri Lankan government also further aims to scale it up to 10 million within five years.
Coronavirus affects global tourism
However, as per media reports, Ranatunga said that the signing of the recent agreement could be delayed for some time due to the unprecedented outbreak of the novel coronavirus in China. He reportedly said that the escalation of the coronavirus crisis could pose a negative impact on the tourism industry but he further added that the Sri Lankan government is optimistic of signing these agreements as soon as the tourism industry in the world recovers.
Coronavirus has also thrown the travel industry into chaos, threatening billions of dollars in losses while keeping millions of travellers at home. Reportedly, hotel rooms in China are largely empty and with many tourists cancelling travel to Asia while many are taking a wait-and-see approach. Asia, which attracts 75% of Lunar New Year travellers, has also seen a decline even though the Chinese New Year is one of China's major travel periods. Destinations further from the outbreak are also feeling the loss of Chinese tourists as many countries have banned visitors from mainland China.
Published By : Bhavya Sukheja
Published On: 10 February 2020 at 18:11 IST