On July 18, 2019, twenty-eight Chinese journalists and travel writers arrived in the nation as part of a week-long familiarization trip to promote Sri Lanka as an optimal vacation destination to attract more oriental tourists. From 18th–24th July 2019, they will be in the nation.
China remains Sri Lanka’s main source market as a nation that annually brings a big amount of tourist arrivals. Until June 2019, the total number of international tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka was 1,008,449, 97,560 of which were Chinese.
Hon. The Hon. At a press briefing in Beijing in combination with the Beijing International Tourism Expo (BITE) 2019, Minister of Tourism Development, Wildlife & Christian Religious Affairs John Amaratunga updated more than 60 major media houses on the scenario in Sri Lanka. The Minister encouraged the reporters to discover and experience Sri Lanka’s distinctive features. The invitation was expanded as part of this week’s familiarization trip to reporters representing three major towns in China, namely Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou.
This media delegation includes a combination of reporters from print media, radio, television, electronics, social media, and travel magazines. After a brief break, the reporters who arrived in the nation on July 18 were taken to Sigirya where they spent a day climbing the rock fortress.