Sri Lanka looks to attract tourists from Bangladesh

In an effort to diversify source markets for Sri Lanka tourism, authorities have kicked off a fresh initiative to attract visitors from Bangladesh.

The Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB) with the assistance of Sri Lanka High Commission in Dhaka, and SriLankan Airlines recently arranged a familiarization tour for the Bangladesh Travel Writers Association (BDTWA) and Tour Operators Association of Bangladesh (TOAB). The 16-member group toured Sri Lanka in an 8-day visit from February 25 to March 4.

Ten members were from the TOAB, and six members, four writers and two photographers, were from the BDTWA.
The visit coincided with the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of Diplomatic Relations between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh that fell on 4 March 2022.

During the 8-day stay, the group from Bangladesh visited several sites including Sigiriya, Matale, Kandy,Nuwara Eliya, Ella,Galle, Bentota and Colombo city.

The members also had B2B meetings with 50 leading tour operators, hoteliers, editors and news reporters. 
During the meeting, the group discussed the way forward for further collaboration of two-way tourism promotion of both Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, the Promotions Bureau shared in a statement.

The two associations from Bangladesh are scheduled to organise a number of promotional activities with the support of SLTPB and the Sri Lanka High Commission in Dhaka to promote Sri Lanka as an attractive destination among Bangladeshi travellers.

In the first two months of 2022, Sri Lanka welcomed a total of 561 tourists from Bangladesh from 1 January to 28 February.