Mr.Ranil Wickremesinghe, President of Sri Lanka Inaugurated the 67th Annual Convention of TAAI at Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH) in Colombo, Srilanka. The convention was held from 6th to 9 July 2023 and Hon. Harin Fernando, Minister of Tourism and Lands, was the guest of honour at the opening ceremony.
While addressing the delegates President Ranil Wickremesinghe proposed borderless Tourism by boosting tourism through the corporation of the seven-member nation of Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) comprising India Srilanka Bhutan, Nepal Bangladesh, Myanmar, and Thailand. President also stressed the theme of the convention Transcending Boarders and Transforming Lives and how this theme describes his proposal about borderless tourism areas.
In his address, President Wickremesinghe also spoke about significant strides made by the cash-strapped island nation since the economic crisis last year and highlighted its recovery from the crisis.
“We are trying to make tourism new and make more use of the potential. We faced bankruptcy in Sri Lanka and now we are getting out of it, the debt restructuring process is taking place. We still have to remember that the balance of trade is not in our favour. So, we have to ensure a positive balance of trade in the times to come,” he said.
In April 2022, Sri Lanka declared its first-ever debt default, the worst economic crisis since its independence from Britain in 1948, triggered by forex shortages that sparked public protests. Months-long street protests led to the ouster of the then-president Gotabaya Rajapaksa in mid-July last year. In the next 10 years, the per capita income of people will increase and they will travel around, he said.
“In 10 years, you will have a new industry. So, we will have to arrange our connectivity as well,” Wickremesinghe said, adding, “My idea is that BIMSTEC should be one big tourist area… Why don’t we open BIMSTEC? Why don’t we use the Bay of Bengal for a cruise?”
Wickremesinghe also spoke about other projects, including seven golf courses and more resorts, planned by his government to help speed up Sri Lanka’s recovery from the 2022 crisis. Some laws will be changed to accommodate the plans for the tourism sector, he said.
Gopal Baglay High Commissioner of India to Srilanka, Harin Fernando Sri Lanka’s Minister of Tourism and Lands; Nimal Siripala De Silva; Minister of Ports, Shipping and Aviation and Chalaka Gajabahu, Chairman of Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB). were also attended the Inaugural ceremony.
In his speech, Gopal Baglay said that this year’s theme Transcending Boarders and Transforming Lives reflects the relationship between Srilanka and India.
Gopal Bagley announced that daily flights connecting Jaffna in Sri Lanka and Chennai in India will commence from July 16, by Alliance Air. Bagley also emphasized the Geographical proximity of India and Srilanka and the deep historical and cultural ties between India and Sri Lanka, referring to the two nations as “civilisational twins.”
The opening ceremony of the convention also saw several dazzling performances by Sri Lankan artists.
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67th TAAI Convention at Colombo
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