Sri Lanka Tourism launched a global campaign in India to attract more tourists, with the delegation, including the tourism minister, launching it in Mumbai among leading tour operators and travel agents. Currently, over 20% of tourists in Sri Lanka are Indians and Sri Lanka plans on attracting 10% of 50 million Indians that fly out of India every year. Dr Velson Vethody, Consul General of Sri Lanka in Mumbai said, “Sri Lanka has rich heritage, scenic beauty, green landscapes and its people are known for their simplicity and hospitality.”
The country is aiming at attracting more tourists for meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibition (MICE) purposes. Thisum Jayasuriya, Chairman, Sri Lanka Convention Bureau presented the list of potential destinations for MICE tourism and also announced opening of upcoming venues and hotels for increasing number of tourists.
Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology Extends Scholarships to Indian Students Sri Lanka is seeing an unprecedented increase in tourism with 106% year-onyear increase in the tourists visiting the country with around 9,000 tourists flying in every day. Suman Udhayakumaran, Manager, Sri Lankan Airlines also discussed the 95 flights that connect Sri Lanka with nine countries of India. Mumbai and Colombo are connected with two flights daily. Harin Fernando, Minister of Tourism, Sri Lanka, said, “India has always been with us.”
