Sri Lanka tourism Promotion Bureau launched a major charm offensive in China recently, courting some of the most popular travel agencies and tourists in a bid to lure more Chinese visitors to the city. Minister of Tourism Development, Wildlife and Christian religious affairs John Amaratunga even highlighted the possibility of lifting the visa fee for Chinese visitors, seeing that the country is ready to welcome Chinese tourists again.
In conjunction with the exhibition, Sri Lanka Tourism also held a special media briefing for Chinese and International media outlets on June 17th at the China World Hotel in Beijing.
Over 60 media outlets and 40 representatives from airlines and travel agencies participated in the event, which included China’s CCTV, People’s Daily, Global Times, China Radio as well as Air China, China Eastern Airlines, Sri Lankan Airlines and China southern airlines.
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| Meeting with Director General of Ministry of Tourism and Culture in China |
Sri Lanka tourism participated in the Beijing International Tourism Expo (BITE) 2019 which is recognized as one of the most influential and famous international expositions sponsored by the Beijing Culture & Tourism Administration, organized by Beijing Relation Conference and Exhibition.
BITE, the largest international travel exhibition in China, is an important exchange and trade platform for promoting the global tourism resources and products and stimulating tourism consumption.
China is Sri Lanka’s second largest source market which drew 265,965 tourists last year. China has over 150 million outbound tourists, increasing 14% year-on-year.
At the presser, questions were posed by attendees on the current situation in the country. Minister John Amaratunga, Ambassador to Sri Lanka in China and Chairman of the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau Kishu Gomes updated the media on the current situation in Sri Lanka and that the country was safe to travel to.
In parallel with the participation at the fair and presser, Minister John Amaratunga and his delegation also undertook a special visit to the Yunnan College of Tourism in Kunming, China and also visited the Yunnan College of Tourism in Kunming, China on 17th June, 2019 during their visit to China.
As a result of this visit, the Yunnan College of Tourism also gave the opportunity for Chinese speaking Tour guides from Sri Lanka to participate in their Chinese Speaking Elite Tour Guides Training Programme, titled as ‘’ Sino – ASEAN Tourism Personnel Education & Training Base ‘’ which will be conducted from October. 13 to November 2.
Furthermore, Sri Lanka Tourism was also fortunate enough to receive the award for the “Best Organization” at the Beijing International Tourism Expo (BITE) 2019.
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| The Minister with Industry participants at the BITE 2019. Some guests at the Travel Expo |
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