Tourism Minister Prasanna Ranatunga said that Sri Lanka has launched tourism promotion initiatives with Russia and Ukraine under the Government’s program to uplift the tourism industry.
The minister said that Russia and Ukraine are among the top 10 countries with the highest number of tourist arrivals in recent times.
During the pandemic, Sri Lanka implemented a project with Ukraine and Kazakhstan to bring tourists to Sri Lanka. Accordingly, 24,320 tourists have arrived in the country in the recent past.
Of those, 250 tourists have been contracted with COVID-19. About 150 of those who have been infected with the virus have returned to their country after recovering completely. Another 100 tourists are still receiving treatment in the country, the Ministry said.
Meanwhile, direct flights between Sri Lanka and Russia will commence from November 4, the Ministry said.
The decision was taken during a meeting between officials of the Russian Aeroflot Airlines and Sri Lanka Civil Aviation authority at Aeroflot Airlines headquarters in Moscow, Russia.
The Ministry said that step will be taken to hold such discussions with leading airlines around the world in the future with the aim of promoting Sri Lanka as an attractive tourist destination.
The talks are being held on the instructions of Tourism Minister Prasanna Ranatunga and discussion with Russian Aeroflot Airlines was the beginning of the programme.
During the meeting it was decided to resume flights between Russia and Sri Lanka from November 4. During the initial discussions, it was decided to fly from Russia to Sri Lanka twice a week.
The ministry said that the arrival of Russian tourists will increase further after the launch of direct flights from November 4.
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