'Sri Lanka's tourism season should be throughout the year'

Sanjeevi Jayasuriya

Sri Lanka should not have seasons and off-seasons, but it should be a tourist season throughout the year, Chairman, Sri Lanka Association of Inbound Tour Operators (SLAITO) Chandra Wickramasinghe said.

SLAITO held its Annual General Meeting on Sunday in Trincomalee.

"We have the opportunity to sell the country as a whole and should make maximum use of this. The open sky and open sea policy is beneficial for the tourism sector to grow. There are tremendous opportunities for investors to promote the tourism industry", he said. The tourism sector could perform better in the future and already the level of inquiries has increased. We are in a position to compete with the Maldives with the Eastern coast. We need to encourage more airlines to Sri Lanka, he said.

The East coast could be marketed as a new product to promote the tourism sector in the Eastern province. The private sector should work in close cooperation with the Eastern Provincial Council administration, Chief Minister Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan told a ceremony organized by SLAITO. The Eastern province was liberated from the clutches of LTTE terrorists and a mega accelerated development program under the Nagenahira Navodaya is under way.

The expertise of the private sector is necessary for development and SLAITO could play a big role in blending their capabilities and experience to develop the province, he said.

Job opportunities should be created for youth. For this purpose development activities aimed at sectoral development should take priority.