The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Sri Lanka woos Indian tourists

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Aug 01, 2005

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Sri Lanka woos Indian tourists

Special Correspondent

Government pumps in funds to improve tourism infrastructure

CHENNAI: : Having recovered from the impact of the tsunami, Sri Lanka's booming tourism industry is now looking to tap the Indian market, Malraj B Kiriella, Director, marketing, Sri Lanka Tourist Board, has said.

"Only very little of India's potential as a generator of tourist traffic to Sri Lanka has been exploited. India, from where 1,05,151 tourists visited Lanka in 2004, is our second largest market after the United Kingdom. This year, till June alone, 54,680 Indian tourists visited Sri Lanka. We hope to make India our number one market very soon," Mr. Kiriella, on a visit to Chennai in connection with the India International Travel Mart, told The Hindu .

The Sri Lankan Government was pumping in funds to improve the tourism infrastructure. This year's budgetary allocation would be 10-15 per cent more than last year's Rs. 95 lakhs-Rs.1 crore.

The visa-free regime for Indian tourists, combined with the opening up of regional tourism markets after the 9/11 disaster, had helped. Earnings from tourism in 2004 were $416 million. It was the fourth largest revenue generator after apparels, foreign remittances and steel. "By 2010, we hope to bring in one million tourists into the country, making tourism the frontline industry," Mr.Kiriella said.

The industry was trying to promote the `beyond beaches' approach and showcasing other lesser-known aspects such as nature and wildlife tourism, shopping deals and wide range of cuisine.

It was promoting Sri Lanka as a destination for meetings, conventions and expos. Attractive packages had been worked out to woo the middle-budget traveller. Non-metropolitan markets such as Coimbatore and Pondicherry were being targeted by holding road shows.

"Around 2,000 new rooms are being added to the hotels in the country. Some hotels devastated by the tsunami have gone in for massive reconstruction and some of them have even upgraded from three-star status to five-star," he added.

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