Government to launch ‘Visit Sri Lanka’ with aims to draw 5 million tourists

President Ranil Wickremesinghe announced that the government will be unveiling a new tourist plan called ‘Visit Sri Lanka’ that will be released in the upcoming months. He claimed the proposal is in the final stages of development and would be made public as soon as it is complete.

President Wickremesinghe made this statement while attending the Award Ceremony and a Gala dinner of the ‘Bocuse d’Or 2023’ competition held at the Waters Edge Grand Ballroom Sunday (23) evening.

The government aims to bring in 5 million tourists, of whom 2.5 million will be high-end visitors, President Wickremesinghe said while emphasizing the industry as a significant economic driver. According to Indian estimates, Sri Lanka can host up to 10 million tourists, of whom most will be tourists from Asian and the Indian Ocean region, he continued.

Transformation of the tourism industry is required to make Sri Lanka competitive in the global travel market place and the government has recognized the potential in promoting the country as a tropical nation with a diverse culinary style. Hence attention will be given to develop the culinary tourism in the country, the President said.

The government is prepared to launch a Culinary School in collaboration with the private sector, the travel industry, and the hotel industry, the President added, noting that there is a need to train more personnel in the hospitality field, particularly in culinary tourism. Attention will also be paid to assist private Culinary Schools in accomplishing this task, he added.