Sri Lanka’s state of the tourism industry in focus for virtual conference event

• Key Sri Lankan aviation, tourism and hotel leaders set to discuss the evolving COVID-19 impact and journey forward

Sri Lankan Airlines Chairman Ashok Pathirage

Sri Lanka Tourism Chairperson Kimarli Fernando

Sri Lanka is set to join South Asia’s tourism reopening push on 1 August; following on the heels of last week’s announcement the Maldives is aiming for a July return. With a special two-step post-COVID-19 protocol laid out by the government, the country’s travel and tourism stakeholders are now focused on setting the wheels in motion for a return to business.

On Thursday 11 June at 1 p.m. Colombo time, a comprehensive one-hour web event organised by hospitality consulting group C9 Hotelworks and Delivering Asia Communications titled ‘Sri Lanka – Reimagining the Tourism Journey Ahead’ will be held. This special event is expected to draw strong participation across Sri Lanka’s travel and tourism industry, but is also attracting keen interest from Asia’s broader hotel, aviation and hospitality investment sectors. An impressive line-up of speakers include Sri Lanka Tourism Chairperson Kimarli Fernando, Sri Lankan Airlines Chairman Ashok Pathirage, investment banker and entrepreneur Thilan Wijesinghe and Cinnamon Hotels and Resorts Head of Brand Marketing and Cinnamon Life Mall CEO Dileep Mudadeniya. Topics will include:

Airlift: will travel bubbles create a stated recovery of flights and from what markets?

Hotels: how are hotel owners and operators addressing the crisis and beyond?

Financial Institutions: debt, loans and defaults, how is the travel sector coping?

Government: what incentives are available for tourism businesses to stimulate growth? Non-Traditional Accommodation: is Sri Lanka’s considerable set of villas and private accommodation best suited for post-crisis travel?

China: what is the sentiment towards travel to Sri Lanka in this important segment?

A key special segment of the event will be the findings of a newly completed travel sentiment survey of prospective Chinese travellers to Sri Lanka in first tier cities in Mainland China, undertaken by C9 Hotelworks and Delivering Asia Communications. Summarising the findings, nearly 50% of respondents are looking to travel overseas in either late this year or early in 2021, with 77% saying they’d like to visit Sri Lanka.

As Sri Lanka looks to return to the international stage there will be an open discussion of both the challenges and opportunities in the second half of 2020.

 To sign up for the ‘Sri Lanka – Reimagining the Tourism Journey Ahead’ Virtual Conference, visit the following link (participation is complimentary): https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_lcICMuFGTSaAn2YPNN7PmA.