'Oman, Sri Lanka have tourism potential'

"We opened our mission in the Sultanate of Oman on December 19, 1987 and our relations have grown from strength to strength ever since. We will reach the historical landmark of 25 years in our diplomatic relations with Oman," said Sri Lanka's Ambassador to Oman Asoka Girihagama .

He said, "Oman has become one of our closest friends in the Middle East region and our relations encompass various fields - from manpower, construction industry and hospitality to agriculture, education, tourism, trade and close co-operation in multilateral forums.

"There is one striking feature between Sri Lanka and Oman, among other similarities. Both countries have been internationally acclaimed as popular tourist destinations due to rich cultural heritage and wealth of natural beauty," Girihagama said.

"It is common knowledge that Muscat was awarded the prestigious title of 'Arab Tourism Capital 2012' in recognition of its rich culture and heritage.

Following this prestigious recognition, Oman has accelerated numerous tourism-related projects to meet the challenges in the tourism sector to make the country more attractive to visitors.

"Sri Lanka, while treading the same path, has taken numerous steps in infrastructure development to provide more facilities to visitors and to bring international standards to the tourism sector," he said.

Sri Lankan policy makers initiated a five-year tourism development plan in 2011 with a view to increasing annual tourist arrivals to 2.5 million; expanding annual foreign exchange earnings from tourism to US$2.75 billion and to increase the room capacity to 45,000 by 2016, among other things.

"In terms of tourism development, our room capacity must be increased by around three-fold from the current capacity of 14,000. Although it is an uphill task, we are determined to achieve that target within the next four-year period. Therefore, opportunities are open for investors to develop the hospitality industry of the country. I trust this is the opportune time to learn from each other of the challenges and experiences of the industry for the development of tourism sectors of the two countries," ambassador Girihagama said.

(Courtesy:timesofoman.com)