Sri Lanka Tourism will today kick off its first series of roadshows post-COVID pandemic in select cities of China, to woo more visitors and fast-track revival of the industry battered by multiple crises since 2019.
The roadshows will be held from 17 to 21 April targeting three key cities including Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou. The main purpose of hosting these roadshows is to promote Sri Lanka as an attractive tourism destination across China, as it is one of Sri Lanka’s key source markets.
“This is a special occasion for Sri Lanka since this will be the first roadshow series post-pandemic in China. We hope to take maximum advantage of this opportunity and further the friendship between the two countries,” Tourism Minister Harin Fernando told the Daily FT.
He also said it will also strengthen the bilateral and cultural ties between the two countries. As an economic powerhouse — China has been a long-time friend of Sri Lanka assisting in cultural, economic and development partners. The country has always been helpful at the most difficult times for Sri Lanka,” he added.
The delegation will be led by the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau Managing Director Padma Siriwardana along with the Sri Lanka Convention Bureau Chairman Thisum Jayasuriya with over 30 local travel agencies, DMCs and hotels participating in the roadshow.
Each roadshow will include B2B sessions facilitating numerous discussions followed by an evening networking event which will also help to improve business partnerships.
The event also focuses on promoting a myriad of tourism experiences while focusing on converting potential travellers to make bookings and highlighting the positive message that Sri Lanka is open for leisure, business and MICE tourism.
In crisis-free 2018, tourist arrivals from China at 265,965 was the second largest for Sri Lanka. It fell to 167,863 in 2019 owing to the Easter Sunday terror attacks. China also emerged as the world’s top spender on outbound travel worth $ 277 billion in 2018.
China included Sri Lanka in a pilot program to resume its outbound tourism by groups from 6 February and on 1 March welcomed the first batch of Chinese tourists for 2023 after a lapse of three years.
“The combined effect of pent-up demand, ease of travel restrictions and regular flights will be a favourable condition for Sri Lanka during the off-peak season,” Tourism Minister Fernando said.
China started its flight operations to Sri Lanka via China Eastern Airlines and SriLankan Airlines. It also has plans to further expand the air connectivity between the two countries.
Sri Lanka Travel Feneteko