India biggest source market, likely to stay so for next couple of years: Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau
India is the biggest market for Sri Lanka in terms of tourism arrivals and that is likely to be the case in the long term as well, said said Chalaka Gajabahu, chairman, Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB), the government body responsible for handling all marketing and promotion activities for the island nation. «In terms of numbers, right now, India is the number one source market for us and I'm pretty sure it's going to stay there for the next couple of years and for our long term plans as well,» he said. Gajabahu said the country has already got over 600,000 incoming tourists till June 30.
«Our last year's overall figure was 720,000. Our target is to get 1.55 million tourists. 2018 was the best year in terms of travel for us as we got 2.3 million tourists.
If we can get close to 2 million, it will be a massive recovery for us,» he said. «Our president Ranil Wickremesinghe has asked us to focus on India and China as the numbers from these two markets won't fail us for the next three to four years,» he added. Gajabahu was speaking at the 67th Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) convention in Colombo.
TAAI is hosting its 2023 convention in Colombo from July 6-9 on the invitation from SLTPB. Referring to the economic crisis, he said the country is moving forward in terms of the economic situation and debt restructuring. «We are moving forward through support from World Bank, Asian Development Bank, IMF, and the EU programmes that are all in process.
Yes, there is criticism about it but even though there is criticism, there is no solution. If there is criticism, there should also be solutions. Right now, the current government is offering solutions and we are moving forward,» he said.
Read more on economictimes.indiatimes.com
