Sri Lanka Tourism will soon formulate a US $ 100 million insurance fund to pay compensation to any tourist who suffer injury or death while visiting Sri Lanka, said Minister of Tourism Development, Wildlife and Christian Religious Affairs, John Amaratunga.

The Minister said that they will offer this tourism insurance scheme with Sri Lanka Insurance.

Amaratunge said that due to travel advisories from 38 countries in the aftermath of Easter Sunday bombings on April 21, tourists who visit Sri Lanka are not eligible to receive insurance from their respective countries. Therefore we have now decided to launch a special insurance scheme to pay compensation claims for tourists from US$ 100,000 to 250, 000,” the Minister told Daily News.

Amaratunge once again assured that the security forces have given a guarantee that the terrorism threat has now been neutralized and Sri Lanka is a safe place to travel. “We see around 2,000 tourists still visiting Sri Lanka on a daily basis. We are now once again talking to foreign embassies in a bid to tone down some of the travel advisories,” he said.

The Minister also said that several MICE events planned in Sri Lanka will be held this year and Sri Lanka Tourism will participate in 38 international travel fairs and 18 road shows in 2019 to boost the image of Sri Lankan Tourism.

He thanked both President of Universal Federation of Travel Agents Association (UFTAA) Sunil Kumar and Chairman, Travel Agents Association of Sri Lanka (THASL), Trevor Rajaratnam for showing solidarity with Sri Lanka by advancing the hosting of their AGM in Sri Lanka.

“Usually we hold this AGM in end August but will now host this in June on a request made by THASL to send a signal that Sri Lanka is a safe place to visit,” said UFTAA, President, Sunil Kumar.

He said they have also done similar events in Turkey and other countries whenever tourism was threatened by terrorism.

“Representatives of over 30 countries will attend this event and we will host this event in one of the three hotels affected from the Easter Sunday bomb blasts,” said Trevor Rajaratnam.

UFTAA established in Brussels in 1919 is an association of travel agents and tour operators and is one of the largest organization in the field of travel and tourism industry in the world.

Chairman, Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau /Tourism Development Authority Kishu Gomes, said that he was happy with the current security situation in the country and assured that there will be no more coordinated attacks by terrorists in Sri Lanka.

“The hosting the UFTAA AGM in Colombo will take a strong message to the world in terms of security environment and Sri Lankan Tourism is ready to welcome and delight global tourists.”

The Global Database of Events, Language and Tone (GDELT) global material conflict index showed that Sri Lanka was the second most improved nation-state.

The index aggregates news reports to gauge movements in national sentiment. Sri Lanka moved from being the fifth in coverage volume to the nineteenth. On April 22 Sri Lanka had the largest negative change in coverage, having a score greater than all other nations moving negatively combined and placed second in the coverage volume.

To better approximate the most ‘important’ developments of each day, this report is based on the aggregate volume of global news articles reporting material conflict events in each country, rather than on the raw number of unique events.

The report reflects major trends in global material conflict over the last 48 hours compared with the preceding 48 hours as reported by the GDELT event database.

The top 10 countries exhibiting the greatest increase in material conflict in the last 48 hours compared with the previous 48 hours are examined in more detail in individual country detail briefings within the report.

They can be accessed on the GDELT project website. The index uses data and technical support from Google.

Women in Logistics and Transport in Sri Lanka (WiLAT), stated that it would continue to invest more in the coming years to support in empowering women becoming leading professionals in logistics and transport sectors.

WiLAT has been successful in taking various steps to position it differently in the industry with unique and meaningful offerings to the membership from its inception. Today, WiLAT is in a very strong position with the guidance of its past chairpersons and have been able to transform WiLAT strategies and vision to stand out amongst other WiLAT chapters, said newly appointed Chairperson of WiLAT Sri Lanka, Gayathri Karunanayake.

She said further that WiLAT Sri Lanka was able to revamp its agenda time to time and was able to keep up with the status quo at the highest level.

“Furthermore, WiLAT is engaging in collaborations with regional countries to mentor and support new entrance within the region. We make it an opportunity to share our knowledge and experience in forming WiLAT, emphasizing on the four strategic thrusts; leadership, empowerment, entrepreneurship and mentorship,” Karunanayake said.

“WiLAT strategy will remain as it is. However, with the new tenure, we have to put up plans to establish WILAT vision by formulating operational strategies for 2019,” she said, adding that membership is one of the main key strategic areas that WiLAT intends to focus more in coming years.

Over the years, WiLAT has endeavored to add value to the industry and to uplift the women engagement in the logistics and transport sector. WiLAT Sri Lanka up to date has completed six years of contribution towards parity for women in the logistics, transport and supply chain industry.

The mission of WiLAT is to promote the status of women in logistics and transport to bring together those who support talent and career development of women and to provide a support network and mentoring opportunities for women in the industry.

Portfolio investments in equity, which reflect foreign equity investment inflows excluding direct investments, recorded a marginal net outflow in 2018.

Portfolio investments in equity consist of foreign investments in the CSE other than direct investment transactions, and account for investments by non-residents, holding less than 10 per cent of the total shareholding of a Sri Lankan enterprise, according to Central Bank Annual Report 2018.

Reflecting the subdued global investor appetite in capital markets of emerging economies, Portfolio investment in the form of equity recorded a net outflow of US dollars 4 million in 2018.

This comprised a net outflow of US dollars 82 million from the secondary market and an inflow of US dollars 78 million to the primary market. According to the report there was a sharp moderation of net inflows to the CSE in 2018, in comparison to 2017 which recorded a net foreign inflow to the CSE amounting to US dollars 359 million, including net inflows to the secondary market amounting to US dollars 202 million and primary market inflows amounting to US dollars 157 million.

Overseas Realty (Ceylon) PLC recorded a group revenue of Rs 2,341 million for the first Quarter ended March 31, 2019, an increase of 67% over the corresponding period of last year. The Group Profit After Tax increased by 17% to Rs 1,390 million.

The Company revenue of Rs 592 million was 7% higher than the corresponding period of last year due mainly to higher rental rates and healthy occupancy levels maintained during the period.

The company is carrying out a comprehensive refurbishing and upgrading program to the common facilities of the building, with the intention of continuing to provide a superior service to owners, occupants and visitors. It is a strong testament to the company’s dedication and commitment to excellence, in providing quality office space.

Revenue of Rs 1.6 billion was recorded from apartment sales of Havelock City, compared to Rs 747 million in previous period due mainly to recognition of phase 4 revenue during the period.

Phase 3 consisting of 304 units with 87% construction completion by end of the Quarter, is expected to finish by September 2019. On the other hand Phase 4, consisting of 340 units, was 40% completed by end of the Quarter, is expected to finish by October 2020.

The Havelock City Commercial Development which would comprise a 50 storeyed office tower and a shopping mall built to international standards, will be an iconic landmark in the vicinity. The project is currently under construction and expected to be completed by April 2021. Pre-leasing of retail space has already begun.

The Group Net Asset Value per Share as at March 31, 2019 stood at Rs 33.32 and the Earnings per Share for the period was Rs 1.12.

Cinnamon Hotels and Resorts’ Maldives Manager for Human Resources, Roshan Netthasinghe, was recognised as one of the ‘50 Most Talented HR Leaders in Maldives’ at the HR Summit and Expo 2019 held in Male on 27thApril. This was the second consecutive year in which he had won the title at the recent event held in Addu City, Male, Maldives.

The “50 Most Talented HR Leaders” is a list of top 50 HR professionals in the Maldives, awarded by Human Capital, the most influential HR magazine in Male.

The much recognized annual list celebrates the most talented players in the field of people strategy and names people whose ideas and actions are shaping practices in Human Resources. The list is compiled by Human Capital editorial team in conjunction with expert panels of academics, former HR directors, plus readers of Human Capital magazine

Head of HR Cinnamon Resorts & Hotels Ishara Naufal stated, “Having won this award for the second year, shows the company’s ability to recurrently excel in HR related practices at a global level. This is an extremely worthy recognition of the work ethic at our organization and we guarantee that the brand will continue follow these principles to create inspiring moments to our customers.”

Cinnamon Hotels & Resorts is reputed for offering its employees consistent training and career development opportunities, competitive remuneration and benefit packages and the ability to be a part of a great place to work while creating an environment where their voice and opinions matter.

Entrepreneur Organization Sri Lanka organized the Global Student Entrepreneur Awards (GSEA) that inspires students and young people to start and grow entrepreneurial ventures National Finals recently at JAT Holdings Thalawathugoda.

The ideas of young Sri Lankan entrepreneurs were presented to a panel of judges comprising Yasendra Amerasinghe CEO of Carmart (Pvt) Ltd, Dulith Senanayake Director of Swedish Trading Audio Visual (Pvt) Ltd, Jithendran Gajendran Partner of GAJMA & CO, Saurabh Udeshi Director of The Chinese Dragon Café (Pvt) Ltd, Richard Gunawardene Director at JAT Holdings (Pvt) Ltd

The final round of the local event was moderated by Revantha Devasurendra Director of ARRC Capital (Pvt) Ltd, where the panel of judges evaluated the products and ideas displayed by the promising entrepreneurs of Sri Lanka.

The program objective is to honor the world’s top student entrepreneurs and to inspire other students to consider entrepreneurship.

Winner of the day was Uttunga Jayawardena Xylo Industries (Pvt) Ltd who is currently reading for his Attorneys at Sri Lanka Law College.

Last season, over 1600 students from over 50 countries applied for the EO GSEA and the top 56 student entrepreneurs selected through National level competed in EO GSEA in April which was held in Toronto, Canada. Axel Garcia Burgos, a student representing Puerto Rico, was named the 2018 GSEA Champion for his company, PRatian LLC.

This year, the Global Finals will take place in Macau, China in April 2019 and in order to select the Sri Lankan representative for this competition.

Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT), the leading telecommunication service provider in the country, entered into a partnership with Yechee Group (Pvt) Ltd., the professional steel construction service provider to power Lotus Gardens Residencies with SLT Smartline and Megaline Services through SLT’s superior fibre connectivity.

Lotus Gardens Residencies is a latest ongoing property development project located in Athurugiriya, owned by Yechee Group (Pvt) Ltd. and is a unique apartment complex with 48 elegantly designed units

SLT will be powering the apartment complex with the company’s strongest fibre-to-the-home infrastructure that will provide residents with ultra-fast internet connectivity with download speeds of up to 100 Mbps, crystal clear voice communications as well as access to high definition (HD) TV content via PEO TV. SLT’s superior ICT services will pave the way to revolutionize the digital lifestyle experience of the residents in the 48 units.

The agreement between the two companies was signed at SLT headquarters, Colombo recently.

Yechee Group is a multinational firm specializing in real estate and steel construction in Sri Lanka. Based out of Colombo, the firm provides a comprehensive range of services including project and development services, property and asset management, integrated facilities management, real estate capital markets across the office, hotel, land, industrial, retail and residential sectors.

This is mutually beneficial partnership venture which can be provided SLT’s unmatched solutions to ensure the highest experience to the residents via SLT services. SLT, in its capacity as the national ICT solutions provider, provides ICT services to the Government and domestic and enterprise customers in Sri Lanka.

The 6th Annual General Meeting of the Women in Logistics and Transport (WiLAT) was held at the Auditorium of the National Chamber of Commerce and Gayathri Karunanayake (CMILT) was appointed as the new chairperson for the year 2019/20.

Gaaythri takes the helm from the outgoing Chairperson of WiLAT Dhashma Karunaratne and will be responsible to execute WiLAT’s advocacy initiatives whilst working closely with its parent body, the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT) & Global WiLAT Forum.

Gayathri has over 14 years work experience in field of Supply chain and was the former Logistics Manager of Unilever Sri Lanka LTD responsible for the End to End Logistics function managing five distribution centers with dedicated 3PL logistics teams spread around the region.

She is also a process champion in SAP and ERP implementation and is an expert in process development for Logistics Operations. She is currently heading the 3PL business unit at Spectra Logistics (Pvt) LTD.

Anoma Ranasinghe, Niroza Gazzali and Maithree Attanayake were elected as the Vice chairpersons whilst Amra Zareer was re-elected as the Secretary and Manajri Nigamuni was elected as Treasure for WiLAT for the year 2019/20.

The outgoing Chairperson, Dhashma Karunaratne will serve as the immediate past chairperson and Gayani De Alwis will continue in the capacity of Advisor for WiLAT Sri Lanka.

Dhashma Karunaratne, outgoing Chairperson, said that she hopes, WiLAT Sri Lanka will continue the efforts under the four strategic thrust namely mentorship, leadership, entrepreneurship and empowerment.

She added that at a time when WiLAT Sri Lanka is in a very strong position, she is confident that the new committee under the able leadership of her successor would be able to translate vision and strategy in to world class execution and bring together all females in the Logistics & Transport Industry to create value to the economy.

The new Chairperson Gayathri Karunanayake concluded by pledging to make WiLAT Sri Lanka the shiniest diamond in the WiLAT global crown and mentioned she would work towards investing in young women professionals to encourage them in leadership and empowerment and help to set good foundation for future progress of women in the logistics, transport and supply chain industry.WiLAT is the women’s forum of Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT) and is part of an ever expanding global network. 

During the year upto May 10, 2019 the Sri Lanka rupee appreciated against the US dollar(4.1percent).Given the cross currency exchange rate movements, the Sri Lanka rupee appreciated against the pound sterling (1.5percent), Japanese yen(3.7percent),the euro(6.0percent)and the Indian rupee(4.2percent)during this period.

Broad money (M2b) expanded by 9.8 %, on a year-on-year basis, in March 2019.

Net Credit to the Government from the banking system showed a decrease of Rs. 58.9 billion in March 2019. Credit to public corporations recorded a decrease of Rs. 12.2 billion in March 2019. Credit extended to the private sector increased by Rs. 23.1 billion in March 2019.

The total outstanding market liquidity was a surplus of Rs. 61.537 billion by end of the week, compared to a surplus of Rs.44.61 billion by the end of last week. The reserve money decreased compared to the previous week mainly due to the decrease in currency in circulation and deposits held by the commercial banks.

By May 10, 2019, the All Share Price Index(ASPI)decreased by 2.04% to 5,327.7 points and the S&P SL 20 Index decreased by 3.78% to 2,519.1 points, compared to the previous week. The first quarter of 2019, domestic tea production reported a decline mainly due to the effect of low auction prices and trade union action. Production of rubber increased with the support of favourable weather conditions while coconut production increased significantly continuing its growth momentum.

During the period, crude oil prices followed a mixed performance. Price decline was mainly supported by the announcement of U.S. president to increase tariffs on Chinese goods in this week. However, oil prices increased due to the renewed optimism for U.S. - China trade deal. Overall, Brent and WTI prices rose by US$ 2 per barrel and US$ 2.1 per barrel within the period.

Source CBSL Weekly Economic Indicators

Amidst challenging market conditions, Hatton National Bank posted a profit before tax of Rs 3.3 billion and a profit after tax of Rs 2 billion for the first quarter of 2019.

HNB Chairman Dinesh Weerakkody Commenting on the performance noted that “amidst macroeconomic gains, Sri Lanka’s economic growth trajectory remains underwhelming and meandering below 4%. This has occurred due to a combination of tepid domestic demand, reduced government expenditure towards managing its deficit, tightening monetary policy, the political upheaval during the final quarter of 2018 and the overwhelming debt burden. Most of all this continues to exert enormous pressure on the performance of the Financial Sector”

During the 12 month period ended 3 March 31, 2019, advances and deposits of the Bank grew by 11.4% to Rs 749.8 billion and 11% to Rs 799.7 billion respectively. The Bank was also successful in maintaining a CASA base of Rs 279.6 billion enabling the Bank to record a 22.1% growth in Net Interest Income (NII) of Rs 13 billion for the period.

Net Fee income amounted to Rs 2.2 billion for the first quarter and constituted 14.9% of Total Operating Income.

Income from credit cards and guarantee commission which are key contributors to fee income, demonstrated robust growth.

Commenting on the performance Jonathan Alles, Managing Director CEO of Hatton National Bank stated that “the slowdown in economic growth, collection difficulties experienced by many industries as well as the impact from the extreme weather conditions experienced in previous years, has resulted in higher non-performing assets in the banking industry and it continues to affect the current portfolio. In addition, the introduction of the stringent SLFRS9 requirements on impairment on performing loans as well as on investments in other financial instruments has contributed to an increase in impairment charges for the period”.

Accordingly, impairment charges for the Bank, amounted to Rs 4.2 billion for the three months ended March 2019. Total Operating Expenses increased by 17.9% YoY to Rs 5.9 billion and the Bank reported a cost to income ratio of 39.6% for the period.

The introduction of the debt repayment levy in 4Q 2018 as well as the removalof certain exemptions on income from investments with effect from April 2018, resulted inan increase in the total effective tax rate to a significant 58.6%. Accordingly, the Bank’s total tax charge was at Rs 2.9 billion for the period. All Group companies contributed to Group Total Operating Income of Rs 18.7 Bn for the first quarter, recording a 9.6% YoY growth. HNB Group made a profit before tax of Rs 3.4 billion and a profit after tax of Rs 2 billion during the first three months of 2019.

The Polonnaruwa regional office of Sri Lanka Telecom Mobitel which was modified by Asela Liyanage was opened by President Maithripala Sirisena on May 12. This was modified as a part of the ‘Pibidemu Polonnaruwa’ program which was initiated to convert the city of Polonnaruwa to a well developed city. Here President Maithripala Sirisena inspects the premises followed by Chairman, SLT, P.G Kumarasinghe Sirisena

Nations Trust Bank’s performance during the quarter ending March 31, 2019 reflected a continuation of the issues witnessed in the previous few quarters with increasing non-performing loans and moderation of credit growth.

The increased credit cost arising from both higher NPLs and policy changes relating to SLFRS 9 impairment provisioning added further pressure to the results of the quarter when compared with the corresponding period. Despite these unfavorable conditions, Group pre-tax profits remained relatively constant at previous year levels, recording Rs 1,938 million whilst post-tax profits were affected largely due to the Rs 209 million impact arising from the Debt Repayment Levy.

Therefore, Group post-tax profits for the quarter recorded Rs 773 million down by 18% over the corresponding period. Notably, Bank post-tax profits recorded a larger drop due to the inter-company dividend income of Rs 291 million received last year resulting in a higher operating income for the comparative quarter.

Net interest income growth was weak at 8% owing to the pressure of narrowing NIMs to 4.89% from 5.46% reported in the corresponding quarter. Interest income growth moderated at 18% mainly due to a cautious lending approach adopted for selective portfolios coupled with some impact stemming from changes in impairment policy rules. A higher increase of 26% is seen in interest expenses due to rising cost of funds and a higher mix of medium term funding raised for better diversification of the funding base.

Fees and commission income growth reduced to 6% reflecting the sluggish rate of growth witnessed in fee generating transactional volumes across product lines. Net trading losses arising from the movement in SWAP premiums is largely negated by the revaluation gains arising from balance sheet positions accounted under Net other operating income. The Bank continued to benefit from the relatively lower funding costs of the forex swaps compared to high cost rupee deposits.

Impairment charges recorded an increase of 10% mainly due to the continued cash flow stresses witnessed in selective portfolios as evidenced in the deterioration of the Group NPL ratio to 4.88% from 4.58% reported in December 2018. The Bank continued its efforts in improving asset quality with prudent risk management practices and better alignment of collection processes.

The volume of industrial production has increased by 5.7% in March, 2019 compared to the same month in 2018.

Among the manufacturing industries; volume of products of ‘manufacture of leather and related products’(18.1%), ‘manufacture of electrical equipment’ (10.5%) and ‘manufacture of chemicals & chemical products’ (8.0%) have shown remarkable increases meanwhile ‘other manufacturing’ (49.1%) (which includes manufacturing of motor vehicles, trailers and semi–trailers, other transport equipment, jewellery), has reported decrease during this period.

The industrial production of the manufacturing sector for the first quarter of 2019 has increased by 2.2% compared to the same quarter in 2018.

Among the manufacturing industries; volume of products of ‘manufacture of textiles’ (8.5%), has shown a remarkable increase in production during the first quarter of 2019, compared to first quarter of 2018 and products of ‘other manufacturing (31.9%), reported a decrease during this period.

Jetwing Symphony PLC (JETS), the investment arm of Jetwing Hotels, announced its results yesterday for the financial performance in 4Q FY 2018/19.

Jetwing Symphony PLC recorded revenue of Rs. 608 million for the quarter ended March 31-2019. Revenue for financial year ended reached Rs. 1,911 million, an increase of 26% compared to FY18. The group reported a 19% EBITDA growth (QoQ) with Jetwing Yala, Jetwing Lake, Jetwing Colombo Seven and Jetwing Kaduruketha declaring positive EBITDA figures. This growth was primarily driven by an increase in the ARR across all operating hotels and the management’s effective control of operational costs.

The Group recorded a profit of Rs 89 million for the quarter recovering from a loss of Rs. 3 million for the last corresponding quarter (Q4FY18). The loss for the year stood at Rs. 281 million of which foreign currency exchange losses stood at Rs. 156 million as a consequence of the LKR depreciating by c. 13% against the USD during the year under consideration.

Hiran Cooray, Chairman of Jetwing Symphony PLC, commented: “We are pleased to see our properties attracted an increasing number of guests during the quarter which is testament to the high level of quality and standards set by out dedicated team. They are what enable us to deliver a star-class performance and remain ahead in a competitive industry. My thoughts and prayers go to those who were affected by the cruel Easter Attacks and I’m appalled at the terror that resulted from this senseless act of cruelty. This recent calamity will have an immense impact on the tourism industry in the short to medium run, but we are comforted by the overwhelming love and support we have received from the international community. Once the situation is brought under control, I’m certain that tourism in the country will return to how it was.”

London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) has signed a landmark Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) to facilitate further collaboration between the two Groups.

The ceremony, was held at London Stock Exchange Group’s office in London and was attended by Mark Field MP, UK Minister of State for Asia and the Pacific; Manisha Gunasekara, High Commissioner of Sri Lanka in the UK; Dr Indrajit Coomaraswamy, Governor, Central Bank of Sri Lanka; Ranel T. Wijesinha, Chairman, Securities and Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka; Ray Abeywardena, Chairman, Colombo Stock Exchange; Rajeeva Bandaranaike, CEO, Colombo Stock Exchange and Nikhil Rathi, CEO, London Stock Exchange Plc and Director of International Development, LSEG, and Dee Liyanwela, Group Head of Shared Services Centres znd Head of LSEG Technology Sri Lanka (LSEG).

The MoU would enable LSEG to support the CSE in the development of the domestic debt market including the market for offshore Sri Lankan rupee bonds; LSEG Technology support in upgrading capital market infrastructure and delivering technology solutions to the CSE; FTSE Russell guidance in capital market classification and index inclusion and improving links to international Central Securities Depositaries (iCSD).

Nikhil Rathi, CEO, London Stock Exchange Plc and Director of International Development, LSEG said, “We are honoured to host Sri Lanka’s $2.4 billion off-shore US dollar bond on London Stock Exchange’s International Securities Market. The success of this issuance reflects the international investor community’s continued support for Sri Lanka. LSEG has a long-standing connection with Sri Lanka and today’s signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between LSEG and the Colombo Stock Exchange is an important milestone, under which we will explore opportunities to work together in ways that we believe will deepen and widen the Sri Lankan capital market and attract greater investment to the country.”

Chairman CSE Ray Abeywardena, said, “Our two institutions share an excellent working relationship built on trust and mutual respect, which has paved the way for successful engagements in multiple initiatives over the years. The foray that we are jointly forging today is an extension of that relationship. The scope of the MoU paves the way for a number of new avenues of cooperation between the CSE and LSEG along with our respective depositories and will immensely advance CSE’s visibility and connectivity to international markets.”

Mark Field MP, Minister of State for Asia and the Pacific at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office said, “I am delighted that Sri Lanka has chosen to list its US-dollar denominated bond here in London. London’s strengths as the world’s leading financial centre are of course well known. This listing and Memorandum of Understanding between London Stock Exchange Group and Colombo Stock Exchange serves both to underline that position and to highlight the strength and breadth of our relationship with Sri Lanka.”

The ceremony commenced with the observance of a minute of silence in memory of the lives lost during the Easter Sunday terror attacks in Sri Lanka.

The MoU follows the successful listing of Sri Lanka’s $2.4 billion off-shore US dollar bond on London Stock Exchange’s International Securities Market in March 2019. Proceeds of the issuance would be utilised towards servicing Sri Lanka’s debt obligations and improve its foreign reserves.

Consequent to the recent downturn in arrivals following the Easter Sunday attacks, Sri Lanka Tourism has planned a series of short term promotional programmes to attract tourists from short haul markets.

These promotional programmes are being carried out on the strength of security assurances given by the defence authorities that all necessary precautions have been taken to ensure the safety of tourists.

As part of this strategy, Sri Lanka Tourism is planning to conduct promotional campaigns in source markets closest to the country. Thailand which shares a close relationship with Sri Lanka especially through Buddhism has been selected as the first country to carry out the new series of promotional campaigns. Thereby Sri Lanka Tourism will be an active participant at THAIFEX 2019 and World of Food - Asia which is to be held in Thailand later this month.

Sri Lanka Tourism will leverage this platform to conduct a travel consumer event as well as a Sri Lanka Food festival to draw attention to the country’s tourism products. These events will take place from 27th May to 1st June at IMPACT Exhibition and Convention Center in Bangkok, Thailand. THAIFEX 2019 and World of Food – Asia is a popular travel event in this part of the world and is expected to be patronized by 65,000 visitors this year.

As a special concession Sri Lanka Tourism is offering to bear the full participation cost of 20 Sri Lanka destination management companies on a first come first served basis.

Sri Lanka will participate at these events with a delegation of tourism officials headed by Minister of Tourism Development, Wildlife and Christian Religious Affairs, John Amaratunga. The delegation led by the Minister is expected to have meetings with religious leaders who can influence Buddhist Travel, meetings with the Thai travel trade, airlines and other key stake holders. There will also be structured B to B meetings on pre scheduled appointments with Thai Travel Trade and Sri Lankan DMCs

In addition to promotion of the Buddhist Trail, Sri Lanka Tourism also aims to promote adventure tourism, culinary tourism and wellness tourism at THAIFEX 2019 and World of Food – Asia. A special feature will be the consumer promotion for visitors. Sri Lanka Tourism will also launch a promotional micro website for Adventure Tourism in Sri Lanka as part of the programme.