• Travel agencies to set up bilateral communications
• Direct flights from September

BY Dinitha Rathnayake

The joint tourism programme between Sri Lanka and Russia has been launched, and accordingly, the Russian Government has announced that it fully supports the promotion of Sri Lanka as an attractive tourist destination among Russian tourists.

Minister of Tourism Prasanna Ranatunga, who is currently on an official visit to Russia, held a discussion with Federal Agency for Tourism (Rostourism) Central Office Deputy Head Elena V. Lysenkova. The discussion took place at the agency’s Central Office in Moscow.

Ranatunga briefed Russian tourism authorities on the health guidelines being followed by tourists visiting Sri Lanka in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Meanwhile, Aeroflot, Russia’s flag carrier and largest airline, has opened sales of tickets for direct flights on the Moscow-Colombo route, which is scheduled to begin operating from 2 September on a twice-weekly basis.

SriLankan Airlines, on the other hand, has already resumed flights between Colombo’s Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) and Moscow’s Domodedovo Airport (DME) after a hiatus of six years, since 2015.

In this backdrop, the Sri Lankan Government is committed to preventing the spread of Covid-19 from tourists to Sri Lankans and from Sri Lankans to tourists, he noted. Further, the Sri Lankan Government has taken steps to vaccinate 75% of Sri Lankan citizens before the end of August, according to the Minister.

It was also agreed that promotional programmes would commence from the beginning of September to promote Sri Lanka to Russian tourists. Furthermore, it was also decided that a stable communication structure would be established between Russian and Sri Lankan travel agencies. The two sides also exchanged views on Russia’s tourism conferences and exhibitions, promotional tours for Russian journalists, and the expansion of Sri Lankan tourism for investment opportunities, especially for Russian businessmen.

After Sri Lanka reopened for tourism, it has seen the largest number of tourists from countries in the Russian region.

A total of 25,476 tourists have visited the country in the recent past. Of these, only 203 were reported to be infected with Covid-19, a percentage of only 0.79%, said Minister Ranatunga.

Lysenkova agreed to extend the fullest support of the Russian Government to Sri Lanka for the development of the tourism industry. She also said the launch of direct flights from Colombo to Moscow will encourage tourism between the two countries.

Meanwhile, businessman and former Sri Lankan Ambassador to Ukraine Udayanga Weeratunga recently said in a special press discussion that approximately 1,000 Russian tourists are expected in Sri Lanka from September this year, as a measure to revitalise the severely affected tourism industry.

Source: https://www.themorning.lk/russia-sl-launch-joint-tourism-programme/