Colombo, Sri Lanka’s Tourism Minister John Amaratunga held talks with China’s tourism and airline officials to encourage more Chinese visitors to the island nation, it was reported on Sunday.
The talks were held during the Minister’s visit to Shanghai to promote Sri Lankan Tourism at the Shanghai World Travel Fair, Xinhua news agency quoted the Tourism Ministry as saying in a statement.
China has emerged as one of the leading markets for Sri Lanka’s tourism in recent years, with Colombo aiming for at least 1 million Chinese tourists per year by 2020.
According to Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau, nearly 100,000 Chinese tourists have visited Sri Lanka till April this year, making China among the three top source countries of international tourists to the island country.