Ambassador Dr. Nalin de Silva held a virtual discussion with the officers of the Ministry of Tourism and Aviation, and the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau on the ways and means to promote tourism between the two countries. The meeting was held as an extension to the discussions held with the Myanmar Tourism Marketing Association, with the view of arranging a platform for ground level negotiations between the relevant authorities and tourist associations of the two countries.
The discussions focussed on materializing new proposals directed towards increasing awareness about Sri Lanka among Myanmar nationals. Based on the longstanding historical and religious relations between Sri Lanka and Myanmar, it was revealed that there is a huge untapped potential for developing pilgrim tourism between the two countries. The Ambassador proposed to introduce tailor-made tour packages including significant religious sites such as Kandy, Thiriyaya, Anuradhapura – Polonnaruwa with possible discounts to encourage Myanmar tourists. It was also proposed to invite the national television channel of Myanmar to produce a documentary in Sri Lanka in the post COVID period. A video on the religious connectivity between the two countries was also proposed aimed.
Significant attention was drawn towards the establishment of direct air connectivity between the two countries and options available were discussed in detail.
The meeting was attended by the State Secretary to the Ministry of Aviation and Export Zones Development M. Dewasurendra, officials of the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau and the Counsellor of the Sri Lanka Embassy, Yangon.
Embassy of Sri Lanka
Yangon
11 January 2021
