High Commissioner Prof. Sudharshan Seneviratne said historical linkages and cultural similarities of Sri Lanka and Bangladesh could be used as instruments to promote the tourism industry for the benefit of both countries. Prof. Seneviratne said so at a special tourism promotion briefing organised by the High Commission of Sri Lanka in Dhaka for travel agents and media personnel in Bangladesh on 29 May, in collaboration with the Association of Travel Agents of Bangladesh (ATAB) and the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB).

The High Commissioner further emphasised that Sri Lanka and Bangladesh could work together to promote two-way tourism especially related to marine archeology through collaborative exchanges of relevant institutions of both countries. The religious linkages in Buddhism will also pave the way for people to people interaction and pilgrim travel to explore each other’s countries. Bangladesh is an important market for Sri Lanka to also promote high-end tourism relating to Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions (MICE) and cruise tourism.

Secretary General of ATAB, Abdus Salam Aref said that the Association will continue to extend further cooperation to promote Sri Lanka among Bangladeshi tourists. Both countries could jointly work to enhance and promote tourism benefitting each other.

Making a comprehensive presentation on Sri Lanka’s tourism industry, Director Public Relations of Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB) Madubhani Perera briefed the gathering of the many attractions that Sri Lanka has to offer for travellers from Bangladesh. Although the numbers of visitors from Bangladesh to Sri Lanka had decreased over the past few years, Sri Lanka looks forward to increasing these numbers to around 25,000 visitors at the end of this year.

Sri Lankan travel agents, presently touring Bangladesh on a special FAM tour organised by the Bangladesh Tourism Board, engaged in B2B exchanges following the briefing with local travel agents.