Tourism Minister Harin Fernando revealed short- and long-term plans to revive the troubled sector with the support of resilient and agile tourism stakeholders.
During a brief interview with CNN’s renowned business news anchor Richard Quest on Tuesday, Minster Fernando affirmed Sri Lanka’s tourism industry bounced back over the past three months, despite the multiple challenges.
“Things are turning out to be good. Over the last three months, tourism has picked up in Sri Lanka. The industry is strong, and the hoteliers and travel agents have a long history and vast experience. Tourism is one industry Sri Lanka needs to put our hands up and perform,” he said.
In the wake of tourism revival in the island with arrivals of travelers exceeded the 580,000 mark, with 12,431 travellers arriving in the country during the first week of the month, Minister Fernando expressed confidence in Sri Lanka’s product offering, adding that the industry has a short and long-term plan to revive the billion-dollar tourism industry.
As per provisional data released by the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) yesterday, a total of 580,689 visitors arrived so far.
During the first week of November, Russia topped the tourist inflow with 3,343, followed by India with 1,813, and the UK with 1,029, Germany with 921, Australia with 623, Maldives with 468, Canada with 408, US with 365, France with 291, and Poland with 223 travellers were welcomed in Sri Lanka.
The daily average arrivals have slightly picked up to 1,710 during the first week of November, compared to 1,231 in October. November’s first five-seven arrivals also showed an uptick of 44% compared to 8,641 tourists in the corresponding period in October.
Despite the multiple challenges, Sri Lanka’s tourism industry looks to be in high season, as they ramp up efforts to achieve the set targets and boost foreign exchange inflows to overcome the economic woes.
Earnings from tourism from January to October amounted to US$ 1.02 billion reflecting a 546% increase from the corresponding period of last year impacted by COVID-19, latest data released by the Central Bank showed
“It is a task but look around the world; everywhere you see has some issue. Even though Sri Lanka is in a mess, our outlook is slightly better because Sri Lanka has a good product to sell. Sri Lanka as a product has something for everyone,” he stressed.
Noting that the country has gotten over the queues and revived tourism to a certain extent, Fernando said Sri Lankans have a positive nature.
He explained that jumping into India is the short-term plan to tap into a fraction of the massive middle-income market of 230 million and to attract Bangladeshi travellers, whilst the long-term intention is to draw tourists from European countries during the winter season.
As the situation in Sri Lanka continues to improve, he said Mastercard introduced a card promotion for the island nation as a safe, affordable destination for inbound travellers, particularly in India and Bangladesh.
