The government will undertake a tourism promotion drive in the Fujian province of China this week to attract more Chinese tourists.
Tourism Promotion Minister John Amaratunga told Xinhua that tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka were up 20 percent in January compared with the corresponding period last year.
“We welcomed over 200,000 tourists last month. This is despite flight restrictions at the Colombo Bandaranaike International Airport for renovations of the runway,” he said. The bulk of the tourists were Chinese and Indian nationals.
He said he would leave for Fujian on Friday, February 17 to launch a promotion drive with the help of authorities in the southeastern province of China.
“We will set up a tourism promotional centre in that area for the benefit of those who wish to travel in Sri Lanka,” he said.
Last year 2.2 million tourists visited Sri Lanka. The minister said he was targeting to bring in as many as 2.5 million tourists this year.