Sri Lanka's Inspector General of Police (IGP) Pujith Jayasundara on Monday (August 13) had told Tourist Police officials that they should learn Chinese, Hindi and French in addition to English. The Police Chief Jayasundara’s comments had arisen at a time when the tourism sector in Sri Lanka is expected to become the largest foreign exchange earner for the country in the years to come fuelled by increasing tourist arrivals from India and China along with the Asian region which is home to over 4.5 billion population in the world surrounding Sri Lanka.

"Officers of the Tourist Police Division should pay special attention to language training. In addition to English, they should also learn widely used international languages such as Chinese, Hindi and French," IGP Pujith Jayasundara had said adding that a new uniform would be introduced to the Tourist Police Division.

“In a few years, the tourism sector was expected to become the largest foreign exchange earner for the country. Therefore, ensuring safety of the foreigners visiting Sri Lanka will be a top priority for the police force, Jayasundara had said.

He has further said that 25 new police posts will be set up covering all the main tourist spots across the country for visitors' security. The decision had been taken after discussions with the Chairman and senior officials of the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA).

- Reporting By Devendra Francis