Sri Lanka delegation in talks with Indian ashrams for tie-ups to boost tourism
Targeting religious circuits and pilgrimage routes in Sri Lanka as attractions for tourists from India and Gujarat, Hernando added that the delegation is in talks with “some ashrams” in India and Gujarat to facilitate travel for “big groups” from such Ashrams.
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Noting that the country saw its best tourism year in 2018 with 2.3 million tourists. (AP/PTI)A Sri Lankan delegation comprising its Tourism Minister Harin Fernando and cricketer-turned Sri Lanka tourism brand ambassador Sanath Jayasuriya inaugurated a Destination Management Company in Ahmedabad on Saturday, in a bid to woo tourists from Gujarat to Sri Lanka, emphasising that the country post the political turmoil has now had “some political stability with the new Cabinet”.
Targeting religious circuits and pilgrimage routes in Sri Lanka as attractions for tourists from India and Gujarat, Hernando added that the delegation is in talks with “some ashrams” in India and Gujarat to facilitate travel for “big groups” from such Ashrams.
“Yes, we had a political issue and protest a couple of months ago but things have settled down, things have eased up. We no longer have long fuel queues…and Sri Lanka is up and running for Indian tourists coming to Sri Lanka…We are looking to India as our big brother who has always been supportive and we thank the Modi government, specially at this point, for helping St Lanka during these difficult times. Sri Lanka is not just the beaches, we have a huge history, and religious tourism is very much present…so we are also looking at promoting Sri Lanka on those lines,” said Hernando, addressing a press conference on Saturday afternoon in Ahmedabad.
“Religious tourism and cultural tourism for Sri Lanka and India makes a lot of sense… we are trying to work with two ashrams and we are trying to bring a big crowd, of around 2,000 pilgrims, to Jaffna airport. We are looking at exploring these avenues. Sri Lanka is also a lot into wellness and yoga,” added Hernando.
Noting that the country saw its best tourism year in 2018 with 2.3 million tourists, with the tourism industry providing revenues of around USD 4-5 billion that year, Hernando, responding to a query from the Indian Express on targets this year, said, “Currently we have reached around 500,000 tourists for this year but right now we are seeing a major increase in our tourist capacities, Indians being number one among them, hoping that we will receive 1 million tourists. Currently we have earned USD 900 million in revenues but by the end of the year we might reach USD 2 billion because the peak of the season happens in winter travel.”
“By now, we have had some 75,000 Indian tourists followed by UK tourists, almost 65,000 of them. The first two to three months of the year were good but then we went to a dull period and currently we are seeing around 2,000 tourists landing in Sri Lanka per day, and we are looking to see 7,000 tourists per day at the peak,” he added.
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Commenting on China’s influence over Sri Lanka and how it pans out given China’s relation with India, Hernando added, “Sri Lanka is friends with everyone and I’m sure India understands it, we’ve had a very good diplomatic relationship with India. I think they (India) understand the situation. We have lots of investment from the Chinese in Sri Lanka and they have also been quite understanding of our requirements, so it’s not a major diplomatic issue.”
Stating that Sri Lanka is majorly looking at Indian investments in ports and shipping, power and energy, leisure sector, wellness and aviation, Hernando added, “Adani company is very close to the Sri Lankan government as well and we are working on a container terminal with Adani, which they’ve agreed. Power and energy is another sector which we are looking at where Adani and few other companies are interested.” He added that with respect to the leisure sector, ITC is “just finishing a hotel in Sri Lanka”.
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