Sri Lanka is planning on introducing electric vehicles for use in the tourism sector, Tourism Minister Harin Fernando said.
Speaking at the Cabinet Press briefing held yesterday , Minister Fernando also said that most of the vehicles in the current tourism fleet are very old and were imported way back in 2018 and new vehicles were needed for replacement.
The Tourism Minister said that he is also expecting to hold discussions with President Ranil Wickremesinghe and the Central Bank officials with regard to the debt moratorium granted to the tourism industry.
“The debt moratorium granted on capital and interest for the tourism industry will expire on December 31, 2022. We do accept the fact that extending the debt moratorium for a longer period will have implications on the banking industry. At the same time, we want to support millions of people engaged in the industry. We hope we will get a positive result.”
Speaking on tourist arrivals projections for 2023, Minister Fernando said Sri Lanka aims to attract 1.5 million tourist arrivals in 2023 and 3 million by 2024 as the country is making progress towards restoring normalcy amidst negative publicity.
Minister Fernando also expressed hope that Sri Lanka will receive some 750, 000 tourists by the end of this year. Speaking further on tourist arrivals projections, Minister Fernando said it’s all about building a positive mindset whilst continuously increasing the air seat capacity.
He said many airlines including Azur Air , Swiss Air, Aeroflot will fly into Sri Lanka next year as well . With these positive outcomes, the Minister expressed hope that there will be a steady amount of tourists coming to Sri Lanka .
“We don’t want Sri Lanka to become a bucket list travel country or to become another Malaysia, Singapore or Thailand.We need to build a relationship with the visitors to come back to Sri Lanka. To this end Sri Lanka tourism has come up with many projects including a project funded by the European Union to make sure repeaters come to Sri Lanka.
Noting that efforts are being taken to attract international tourists from key markets, most importantly from India, the Minister said , his Ministry alongside with the Tourism Development Authority has embarked on many projects to popularize key tourist attractions in Sri Lanka among international travellers.
To this end, Sri Lanka tourism is looking at promoting ferry services , Ramayana Trail whilst bringing more passenger cruise ships to Sri Lanka
Accordingly, Sri Lanka is to promote its tourism industry on a much bigger scale under 150 themes in 2023, which include ,Sports tourism , Religious tourism ,Adventure tourism , Maritime and wellness tourism and many others.
Emphasizing the need to explore new markets rather than purely depending on traditional markets, Minister Fernando said as per the short –term tourism industry development plans , it is expected to promote Sri Lanka tourism in countries such as India , Russia Poland, Azerbaijan with the help of travel and media agents of the respective countries.
“Plans are also underway to have road shows in China in 2023, “ he said.
Charter operations to Mattala Airport
As a short- term remedy for the ongoing congestion at the Bandaranaike Airport, Tourism Minister Harin Fernando said plans are underway to move charter operations to Mattala Airport.
“ If charter operations can be moved to Mattala Airport, it is possible to give better landing fees which will in fact attract more airlines to Mattala airport.”
Minister Fernando added that the matter has already been discussed with the Cabinet.
Add new comment