Sri Lanka has launched a "Culinary Tourism" campaign to attract travellers and food enthusiasts from around the world, including Thailand, to visit a country which has been dubbed the Pearl of the Indian Ocean.
The new campaign is a government effort to restore confidence in its tourism sector following the deadly terrorist bombings on the island in April.
The Sri Lankan embassy in Thailand recently held a press conference to launch its "Culinary Tourism" website. It said Sri Lanka is not only a paradise for its wildlife and nature biodiversity but also its food which has been influenced by a variety of cultures, including traders from West Asia in ancient ties and its colonists, particularly the Portuguese and the Dutch.
Minister of Tourism John Amaratunga said the tourism industry is a key aspect of the country's economy and has been badly impacted by the attacks, with hotel bookings having fallen dramatically.
"Please be assured that the country is now safe for tourists who we are welcoming with our food and culture promotion campaigns," Amaratunga said.
The Minister said that China, Germany, India, Sweden and Switzerland have already downgraded their travel advisories from 'do not travel' to be cautious when travelling', while Thailand hadn't issued a travel advisory, only contact details for those affected by the attacks.
Sri Lanka's Tourism Bureau found that the number of tourists has dropped by half since the Easter Sunday bombings. It is estimated that the loss of tourism revenue was around USD 1.5 billion. About 2.5 million tourists visit the country each year on average of which 10,000 are from Thailand.
Sri Lanka's ambassador to Thailand Kshenuka Seneviratne said the two countries have developed relations for over eight centuries and shared many religious and culinary similarities.
Considering this aspect, Seneviratne said that there is no doubt that Thai travellers would enjoy eating Sri Lankan food.
In addition to this, diplomatic ties between the two nations remain as strong as ever after Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha's visit to Sri Lanka last July.
"I am confident that we can actively pursue together the further strengthening of thew tourism industry of Sri Lanka while forging people to people contact. Let us move forward in earnest, to be one family in two countries," the ambassador added.
Sri Lanka is now offering a 24-hour online visa application service, and an official trip under the stewardship of the Tourism Development Authority of Thailand will be arranged in the near future.
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