India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Nepal, and Bhutan make up the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC), a regional alliance.
Ranil Wickremesinghe, the president of Sri Lanka, has proposed turning the BIMSTEC region, which consists of the seven member countries, into a single “borderless” tourist area.
He was addressing on Thursday at the historic Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BIMCH) at the opening ceremony of the 67th annual conference of the Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI), one of India’s oldest travel-related groups.
‘Transcending Borders, Transforming Lives’ is the TAAI convention’s 2018 theme.
India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Nepal, and Bhutan make up the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC), a regional alliance.
The cash-strapped island country has been recovering since the economic crisis last year, according to President Wickremesinghe, who also mentioned this in his speech.
“We are working to innovate the tourist industry and maximize its potential. In Sri Lanka, we had to declare bankruptcy; now that we are emerging from it, the debt restructuring process is underway. We must always keep in mind that the trade balance is not on our side. Therefore, we must secure a favorable trade balance in the future, he stated.
And tourism is one method of generating money without incurring debt. So take full use of it, he said.
President Wickremesinghe also discussed a number of government-planned initiatives, including as seven golf courses and more resorts, that would hasten Sri Lanka’s recovery from the 2022 crisis. According to him, several regulations will be modified to take into account the ambitions for the tourist industry.
Sri Lanka had its biggest economic crisis since gaining independence from Britain in 1948 in April 2022. This crisis was brought on by currency shortages that led to widespread public outcry.
Mid-July of last year saw the overthrow of the then-president Gotabaya Rajapaksa after months of mass demonstrations.
He predicted that in the next ten years, people’s per capita incomes would rise and they will travel more.
You want to transcend boundaries, so why not create the whole BIMSTEC region a one borderless tourist (region)?, he said.
According to the president, it is “one tourist area” for everyone coming from outside whether they are Sri Lankans traveling to India or Indians traveling to Bangladesh.
“You’ll have a new industry in ten years. Therefore, we would also need to plan our connection, the president remarked, adding, “My suggestion is that BIMSTEC should be one large tourism area. Why do we not start BIMSTEC? Why don’t we take a cruise in the Bay of Bengal?
Numerous other dignitaries, including Gopal Bagley, the High Commissioner of India to Sri Lanka, Harin Fernando, the Minister of Ports, Shipping, and Aviation, Nimal Siripala De Silva, and Chalaka Gajabahu, the Chairman of the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB), attended the opening ceremony.
Later, Mr. De Silva said that President Wickremesinghe’s suggestion would increase travel to the BIMSTEC area.
Speaking to the crowd, Mr. Bagley noted that beginning on July 16, daily flights between Chennai, India, and Jaffna, Sri Lanka, would be accessible, as announced by Alliance Air.
He also emphasized the similarities in history and culture between Sri Lanka and India, referring to them as “civilizational twins.”
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Sri Lankan performers put up a number of stunning performances during the convention’s opening ceremony.