Tourism and Wildlife Minister John Amaratunga said on Monday that Sri Lanka expects tourist arrivals to top three million this year.
Addressing the event held to launch the Wildlife Park Day Entry Digital Permit eService held at the Sri Lanka Tourism and Hotel Management Institute auditorium, he said that Sri Lanka is today much dependent on its tourism for foreign exchange.
In this regard as the industry has become the third highest foreign exchange earner they hope to increase these figures to top the list, he said.
The minister pointed out that due to the political upheaval that occurred last year since October 26 tourist arrivals to the country were affected. “The political upheaval made the targets go haywire,” he said.
With around three million tourists targeted for 2019, he noted that the convenience of this new eService is expected to assist travellers to obtain their tickets to enter the designated wildlife and nature parks in the country.
On the contrary in the past travellers were compelled to visit the park hours before opening time in a bid to purchase their tickets causing a lot of problems to tourists on holiday in the country, the minister said.
The minister also noted that if they were to depend on wildlife for tourism then they would have to look after the parks and its animals without causing harm to them since most have become rare species.
In addition, he pointed out that travel agents also could be notified of touring other national parks and subsequently including them into the newly launched eservice as well.
He also called on officials in the Wildlife Department to continue to carry out their functions and duties without being influenced by politicians in the future. (Sunimalee)
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