Tourism looks for high spenders
SLAITO organizes Products Meet Mart:
Harshini Perera
The tourism industry in Sri Lanka will concentrate in promoting Sri
Lanka as a tourist destination mainly in European countries. Tourists
from European countries are heavy spenders and long stayers and it will
be advantageous for Sri Lanka to tap those markets, Sri Lanka Tourism
Chairman Dr. Nalaka Godahewa said.
Dr. Nalaka Godahewa |
He said Sri Lanka Tourism is encouraging visits of journalists from
foreign countries as a form of introducing the country’s tourism
industry to the world.
Within the next five years, one out of seven citizens in Sri Lanka
should be involved in the tourism industry and the Government has
planned to declare 12 themes for the twelve months next year, Economic
Development Deputy Minister Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena said announcing
Sancharaka Udawa, Tourism Products Meet Mart that will be held on
January 27.
He said the Government will reduce bank interest rates to one digit
to boost industries including tourism.
Sancharaka Udawa will network a group of tourism related personnel
under one roof which will in the long run sustain the tourism industry,
Sri Lanka Association of Inbound Tour Operators (SLAITO) President
Nilmin Nanayakkara said.
He said that industry lacks foreign language speaking personnel which
will be one of the reasons to organize the Sancharaka Udawa, Tourism
Products Meet Mart.
There is inadequacy of foreign language speakers especially in
Chinese, Spanish, Dutch, French and even English. Sancharaka Udawa will
also invite an insurance company to be present on the occasion.
Health and safety measures taken by any tourist destination is the
primary consideration of tourists when relating to a country and Sri
Lanka should adopt such a system with an insurance company to ensure the
health and safety of tourists,” Nanayakkara said. |