A call for Indian travelers to boycott the Maldives is “absolutely” helping Sri Lanka’s travel industry, the country’s Tourism Minister Harin Fernando said on Thursday.
“The Maldives issue … is helping us,” Fernando told CNBC in January, referring to a social media row that led to a sharp drop in Indian visitors to the Maldives this year.
India was the largest source market for Maldives in 2023. But according to Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Tourism, it now ranks sixth behind visitors from China, Russia, Britain, Italy and Germany.
In contrast, about 34,400 Indian tourists visited Sri Lanka in January, more than double the 13,759 travelers in January last year, according to the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority. Arrivals in the first quarter of 2024 surpassed the same time period in 2023, with the price of Sri Lankan visas temporarily doubling despite a drop due to the visa dispute in April.
Fernando also noted the strong ties between Sri Lanka and India in both business and tourism.
“Sri Lanka is a big market. [Indian travelers]”They said.” Sri Lanka has a lot to offer … Sri Lanka has more value when it comes to India.
He cited the country’s beaches, casinos, shopping and the Ramayana Trail, a series of sites mentioned in the ancient Hindu epic Ramayana.
Besides, the two countries are very much connected, he said.
“Connectivity – that’s the driving factor,” he said. “Sri Lankan Airlines alone flies to Indian airports 80 times a week.”
India’s growing travel power
Indian travelers will become the world’s fourth largest travel spenders by 2030, a prediction that “absolutely” bodes well for Sri Lanka’s tourism industry, Fernando said.
“I think the fastest growing economy is India, and Sri Lanka is definitely benefiting from that,” Fernando said, adding that Indian companies have invested heavily in the island.
“ITC, the big hotel chain, has opened its first hotel outside India in Sri Lanka. We just opened it a few weeks ago, and it’s a beautiful property … in cheek-by-jowl,” he told Seaside. said referring to the area. The capital of the country is Colombo. “It’s one of the best things I’ve ever seen in my life.”
Concept of Maldives in Sri Lanka
Fernando said he hoped to see more investment from global brands coming to Sri Lanka – investment that would not have left the “teardrop island” as it embarked on a 25-year civil war. Which ended in 2009.
He said that we have invited a lot of investment from abroad. “We’re building some overwater bungalows in our new area – like the concept of the Maldives – because we’re surrounded by the coast.”
Fernando also outlined plans to add adventure activities to attract younger travelers, from hot air balloons to skydiving and exploring more than 100 nearby World War II shipwrecks. of the.
Fernando said that with concert economics increasing tourism, Sri Lanka plans to bring in musical acts to attract tourists as well.
He said that we are launching Sri Lanka as an entertainment hub. “We have a lot of big names coming to perform.”
Credit : www.cnbc.com
