By Charumini de Silva
Post-Easter Sunday terror attacks, cricket is giving sports tourism and traveller confidence in security a boost, industry sources said.
They said that the back-to-back presence of two cricket teams – Bangladesh and New Zealand – as well as the hosting of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) U19 Asia Cup 2019 tournament, reinforced stability and security within the country.
The Bangladesh cricket team is currently in Sri Lanka to play three one-day international (ODI) matches, whilst New Zealand will arrive next month to play two test matches and three Twenty20 matches.
In September, Sri Lanka will host the eight-nation Under-19 ACC Asia Cup 2019 over 10 days. The tournament will see India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, UAE, Nepal and Kuwait playing in the traditional 50-over format.
“Hopefully cricket encounters and resultant regional and global media coverage will send a strong message to the international community that Sri Lanka is getting secure and normalcy is fast returning, following the unfortunate 21 April terror attacks,” industry sources told the Daily FT.
The arrival of the Bangladesh team hung in the balance soon after the incident, citing fears that Sri Lanka could be hit by another terrorist attack.
In June, it was reported that four National Security Intelligence (NSI) personnel – the civilian intelligence agency of Bangladesh – were sent to Sri Lanka to assess the situation, and early this month, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) confirmed that they would go ahead with the tour, with all three matches taking place at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.
According to SLC, around 30 foreign regional journalists had come to Sri Lanka to report on the Bangladesh tour, and they are expecting the same for the upcoming New Zealand tour in Sri Lanka.
The Kiwis will play the first test in Galle on 14 August, followed by the second encounter in Colombo on 22 August. They will play three T20s, including one at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium in Kandy.
“Sports tourism is an important ingredient in the overall tourism industry. Many countries gain a lot of publicity for sports tourism, but unfortunately we have not been able to capitalise on it,” Tourism Development Minister John Amaratunga told the Daily FT.
Despite having organised some surfing and baseball tournaments in Sri Lanka post-Easter Sunday attacks, the Minister pointed out that much more can be done to promote the destination, particularly in the sports tourism arena.
Sri Lanka Travel Feneteko