(COLOMBO, LANKAPUVATH) – Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe while reiterating that the tourism industry has a promising future in Sri Lanka, on Wednesday (03) urged everybody to get together to ensure the industry thrives and enhance the country’s image in the eyes of world.
The Prime Minister making a special statement stated that the Government will assist the industry and announce further relief measures.
“At beginning of the year, Lonely Planet magazine named Sri Lanka as the world’s best destination to visit. However, after the Easter Sunday bomb blasts, we thought that we had lost this position. Many tourists fled the country. But last week, Lonely Planet stated that despite all the troubles Sri Lanka faced due to the attacks, we still remain the best destination for tourists to visit, the best destination in the world.
“We must feel proud as they said, “We came here and were greeted with friendly hello by the people. Everyone was friendly and they welcomed us everywhere. We did not see any problems. “This is the view of Lonely Planet magazine. “Therefore, I must emphasise that the Government is taking steps to assist the Tourism Industry, and will announce further measures soon. I would like to thank all those in the tourism sector-big and small-who helped to keep the industry moving.
“I must also hank the members of the Security Forces who helped us from 21 April, the day of the attacks, when I first met them. They set about capturing those responsible, and all are now in custody. They were able to accomplish this mission within just two months. So I must reiterate that tourism has a promising future in Sri Lanka. I urge everybody to get together to ensure that the industry thrives and enhances our image in the eyes of the world.”
