The Sri Lanka Tourism sector will record nearly to US$ 4 billion revenue for 2019 and will also see arrivals of nearly 2 million tourists Minister of Tourism John Amaratunge said.This would be dip of around 20% in comparison to last year. Currently the arrival figures are at 1.5 million and tourism revenue is passing the USS 3.5 billion mark. “We expect around 400,000 victors in the next two months,” he said.
Chairman Sri Lanka Tourism Promotions Bureau Kishu Gomes said they have been actively promoting and inviting global decision makers of the tourism section and the latest was a group representing Belgium. “They have the power to influence around 93% of the out bound market and our aim is to attract more Belgium arrivals through them.”
TUI President Luc Coussement said that they feel that Sri Lanka now is a safe destination they will spread this message to the world. “We are also happy with the connectivity with the highways in Sri Lanka and also the opening up of the Jaffna Airport which are steps taken in the right direction. The opening of the Kandy highway would also be beneficial for tourism.
He said today travel patterns are changing and people are looking for experiences and Sri Lanka is providing that. He also said that the Sri Lankan Hotels are of high quality and in right size and rates are now not over priced.
Managing Director SLTPB, Chamarie Maelge said that Belgium tourists are high spenders and their average stay is around 13 days and they prefer beach and culture. “We have more visits by other travel sector decision makers in the future too.”