China tour agents – Pic by Lasantha Kumara
- Group of 103 Chinese travel agents on 8-day familiarisation tour to SL, largest group to visit post Easter Sunday terror attacks
- Chinese travel agents view Sri Lanka as a safe tourist destination, pledge to promote SL
By Charumini de Silva
Sri Lanka Tourism has stepped up its efforts to woo more Chinese tourists by bringing down the largest contingent of travel agents from the Asian giant.
The familiarisation tour ‘China Panda Travels Sri Lanka’ is organised by a local destination management company (DMC), Thambili Holidays, in collaboration with a key Chinese travel arm, Global Tourism. A group of 103 Chinese travel agents and professionals from Chengdu, Shanghai, and Beijing, among other cities, are now on an eight-day familiarisation tour in various parts of Sri Lanka.
Outlining the purpose of this familiarisation tour, Thambili Holidays General Manager Thimira Rajarathna said they intend to assure the Chinese that Sri Lanka is now safe for travelling whilst showcasing the same.
“We believe that recovery of the Chinese travellers’ confidence towards Sri Lanka will help to create a significant impact on our tourism industry as China remains the second largest source market. We want to reinforce the fact that the experience of travelling to Sri Lanka is just too good to forget,” he added.
China is Sri Lanka’s second largest source market and brought in 265,965 travellers last year. China has over 150 million outbound tourists, with it increasing 14% year-on-year.
Rajarathna also extended its fullest support to Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB) in all its endeavours to rebuild the image of the country.
The eight-day familiarisation tour, which commenced yesterday at Hilton Colombo, will cover all key tourist attractions around the island.
SLTPB Chairman Kishu Gomes welcomed the move by the private sector and insisted that China was a critical market that they are focusing on to revive the industry following the Easter Sunday setback.
He also revealed that there had been a positive growth in tourist arrivals during the past two months. “From May to June, there was a 70% increase in tourist arrivals,” Gomes pointed out.
Last month, an official delegation headed by Tourism Development Minister John Amaratunga visited China to intensify its promotional activities. In addition, SLTPB, along with local travels agents, hotels and service providers, participated in the largest international travel exhibition in China – ‘Beijing International Travel Expo’ (BITE) 2019. Around 15 local travel agents, hotels and service providers participated in the three-day expo in Beijing, having business to business (B2B) meetings with their counterparts, representing over 100 countries in the world.
Sharing some of the first impressions on Sri Lanka, the Chinese travel agents said they were already mesmerised by the warmth of Sri Lankan hospitality and the natural beauty of the island.
“People are very nice. Most of the travel agents are first-timers to Sri Lanka and everyone is looking forward to the rest of the trip,” He Lu who was part of the group said.
When asked if they had any worries about visiting Sri Lanka, she said that they were well-informed about the necessary steps taken by the Government to beef up security in the country and was very comfortable with all the arrangements.
“I wouldn’t have travelled with my toddler if Sri Lanka wasn’t safe. We felt Sri Lanka is a friendly and safe place to travel,” she stressed.
On their return to China, the travel agents pledged to reinforce the positive image of Sri Lanka as a great travel destination and introduce new travel packages to promote Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka Travel Feneteko