Lanka welcomes Indian corporates to promote budget hotels

Sri Lanka on Monday expressed interest in investment from Indian corporates for the construction and promotion of budget hotels. Minister Milinda Moragoda said India is their largest market and his country is focusing on Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions (MICE) tourism in collaboration with Indian companies.

Moragoda called on Union Tourism Minister Ambika Soni and discussed ways to promote and strengthen cooperation in the sector. He said his country also wants promotion of some Buddhist centres in south India for Sri Lankan tourists.

Stressing the importance of historical and cultural ties between the two countries, Soni said the Joint Working Group constituted in 2004 for the purpose, can discuss and work out the modalities of the promotion of tourism related projects between the two countries.

Soni suggested the meeting of the JWG should be convened soon as a follow up of today's meeting. She said Sri Lanka can participate in more in travel fairs and marts to promote tourism between the two countries. She said India is promoting Buddhist Circuit Tourism in a big way and spots related to Buddhism are being developed not only in U P and Bihar but also in Orissa, Andhra Pradesh and North East.

The Ministers agreed to convene a meeting of the Joint Working Group between the two countries at a convenient date to accelerate cooperation in the tourism sector.

In 2006, according to a provisional estimates, 154,813 tourists arrived from Sri Lanka to India and the outbound tourist traffic from India to Sri Lanka in 2005 was 113,323.