Article author:
Reuters
Uditha Jayasinghe
Colombo-Sri Lanka is an island in danger of more foreign currency, its tourism minister said Wednesday.
Known for its rolling hills, pristine beaches and laid-back seaside towns, Sri Lanka faces the worst financial crisis in 70 years due to financial mismanagement and the COVID-19 pandemic. increase. industry.
Currently, 22 million countries do not have enough foreign currency to import even their necessities, leading to a shortage of medicines, food and fuel.
Despite the turmoil, Sri Lanka has seen a steady stream of 61,951 Indian tourists (mostly foreign tourists) in the first five months of this year, the government. Is keen to attract more Indians.
"Sri Lanka needs tourism revenue to get out of this crisis, which is essential," Tourism Minister Harin Fernando told reporters.
The Ministry of Tourism of Sri Lanka will hold road shows in five major cities in India with the aim of attracting business and leisure travelers in addition to weddings at their destinations.
"India is a very important market for us," he said.
Fernando arrived last year with less than 200,000 arrivals, despite some countries, including the United Kingdom, issuing recommendations to ask citizens. He said he hopes the number of tourists in this country will be about 1 million. To make only important trips to Sri Lanka.
"I'm sure the winter season will be good," Fernando said.
Due to lack of fuel, Sri Lanka extended the closure of schools nationwide and asked civil servants to work from home.
The country will present its debt restructuring plan to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in August. This is an important step in securing a $ 3 billion program to get the economy back on track. (Report by Uditha Jayasinghe, edited by Devjyot Ghoshal and Raju Gopalakrishnan)
