Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasinghe has pledged to bring back hundreds of tourists to Sri Lanka in a new promotional drive by August this year following the devastation caused to tourism by Easter Terror.
He reiterated that every possible step will be taken to transform Sripada –Nallathanniya as a sacred city and tourism zone soon.
Sri Lanka has been named the best country in the world to visit in 2019 by Lonely Planet and the tourism industry which resulted in external earnings of US$ 4.4 billion in projected to reach US$ 5 billion in 2019.
All those hopes have now been shattered with around 35 countries including the US, UK, India China, Canada and the EU have issued travel advisories on Sri Lanka following the deadly bombings.
President Maithripala Sirisena’s recent appeal to Ambassadors of all countries in Sri Lanka had been unheeded as the credibility of the head of state had been shattered due to his irresponsible uterrences and behavior, diplomatic sources said.
Despite these unfavorable circumstances, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasinghe expressed confidence that the tourism industry will make a comeback sooner than expected.
He was speaking at a meeting with the Business community in Nallathanniya in Maskeliya areas at White Elephant Hotel recently.
“Normally April May, and June are the low months for tourist arrivals in Sri Lanka, This gives the security machinery the opportunity to address the situation and position Sri Lanka to recover in time for the peak season in the second half of the year, he said.
(LI)