A virtual awareness session for the Travel Trade in Western India was held on 19 January 2021 to announce the re-opening of Sri Lanka for international tourists from 21^st January 2021. This was the first awareness session organized for the Indian Market to inform of Sri Lanka’s re-opening and the “safety protocols” associated with the re-opening of the country for tourists.

Chairperson, Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB) Kimarli Fernando, Consul General Mumbai Chamari Rodrigo, President, Travel Agents Association of India Jyoti Mayal, Acting President, Travel Agents Federation of India Pradip Lulla, travel agents based in Western Region of India and Senior Officials of the SLTPB participated at this meeting.

While welcoming the gathering, the Consul General said “Although the threat of Covid-19 is still out there, the launch of the Covid-19 vaccination drive gives us new hopes to fight against the pandemic. Sri Lanka is very optimistic and Sri Lanka tourism gears up to welcome International visitors again”.  She also took the opportunity to thank the stakeholders in the Indian travel industry for the continued support rendered for Sri Lanka throughout.

Chairperson, SLTPB made a detailed presentation on the ground work put in place by the Sri Lanka Government to welcome the tourists to the country in accordance with the health guidelines to prevent the spread of Covid-19 from tourists to locals and vice versa. Sri Lanka Tourism has published ‘Safety Protocols’ to be followed by the Tourism industry stakeholders and visitors. “Sri Lanka does not require a minimum number of days to stay and around 131 hotels certified by SLTPB for following health guidelines will provide accommodation for tourists. In the initial 14 days of the stay, travellers can stay at any number of ‘Safe & Secure’ certified, Level 1 hotel which provides accommodation exclusively for international tourists”, she added.

The event concluded with a question and answer session to address the concerns of the gathered Indian travel industry partners.

The Sri Lanka Consulate General in Mumbai in collaboration with the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau organized the event.