Sri Lanka targets Filipino tourists

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka is targeting the Philippines as part of efforts to get a presence in newly emerging tourism markets in Asia, the island’s Tourism Promotion Bureau Chairman Chalaka Gajabahu said.

“This is an emerging market so we have to grab much as possible we can,” Gajabahu said.

“Being a country in South Asia, they travel to India and Maldives as well.

“It has a high-end market and even a middle market so we also wanted to promote Sri Lanka in Philippines because we have everything as an island,”

The Philippines economy grew 7.6 percent in 2022, the fastest growing country in East Asia after Malaysia and Vietnam.

In 2022, only 1,961 visitors came. In the first two months of 2022 Sri Lanka welcomed 450 Filipinos. In 2018, 19,303 Filipinos visited the country, showing the potential of the market.

Around 14 travel agents were brought down to build relationships between Sri Lanka and Philippine travel agencies and raise awareness of Sri Lanka as a tourist destination, Gajabahu said.

“We had a B2B session with our travel agents in Sri Lanka, we linked them up with the local travel companies here to showcase our preference for the Philippines as a top vacation destination, and to create alliances and connections,” he said.