Sri Lanka's Apex Organisation for Export Promotion
The global wellness tourism market is expected to reach USD 1,062.83 billion by the end of 2025. The growing interests of the tourists towards the sectors such as health, travel, and foods are the factors driving the growth of the market over the forecast period. However, the rising number of tourist destinations in developing countries such as India and China have attracted more customers from the international market.
While Sri Lanka healthcare is renowned to be one of the best in the region, the recent Easter Sunday attacks highlighted a major gap in need of urgent attention – emergency delivery of lifesaving medicine to people in dire need of help. The unprecedented simultaneous bombings caused a shortage of blood, leaving hospitals scrambling to bring down blood from other areas of the country. While the country had enough blood to meet the emergency demand, it lacked an effective to move it from where it was to where it needed to be.
Transforming Sri Lanka into the hub of the Indian Ocean, with a knowledge-based, highly competitive and social-market economyis the objective of the Vision 2025 policy document of the Government.Making the transistion to anexport, FDI and tourism orientedcountry is the only optionfor Sri Lanka to create better jobs for the youth of our country and to graduate to a higher income economy.
As per the instructions of the Hon. Malik Samarawickrama, Minister of Development Strategies and International Trade, Export Development Board organized a meeting with the key Exporters and Investors on Friday 03rd May 2019 at the 3rd Floor Auditorium to discuss the current situation of the country.
Sri Lanka’s share in the global export market and the contribution of exports to the national GDP has been in decline whereas imports to the country is in the increase. Further exports are dependent on imported inputs therefore, it is noted that the gap between export and import has been continuously increasing.
Sri Lanka participated in the Arabian Travel Market (ATM 2019), the largest annual professional and official exhibition for the Tourism market in the Middle East last week.
The tourism industry which suffered economic losses due to the Easter Sunday attacks, looks forward to regain its lost position sooner than expected with the support of the Government.
The seventh seminar for the Vavuniya, Mullaitivu and Mannar District entrepreneurs on the national program of developing 2000 new exporters was held on 1 March at the Vavuniya district secretariat conference hall.
The Embassy of Sri Lanka in Brazil successfully organised a three-day trade and tourism promotional event in Sao Paulo, the commercial capital of Brazil, from 20 to 22 February. The event drew the interest of a large number of prominent Brazilian importers, trade consultants, officials of trade associations, travel journalists and travel trade industries based in Sao Paulo.
The World Expo is one of the oldest and largest international events taking place every 5 years and lasting for 6 month where everyone can learn, innovate and create progress by sharing ideas and working together through a common theme. United Arab Emirates (UAE) has been selected as the host country for the forthcoming event to be held in year 2020. This World Expo will be held for a period of six months from 20th October 2020 to 10th April 2021 in Dubai under the theme “Connecting Minds, Creating the Future”. The World Expo in Dubai in 2020 will be the first to be held in the MENA & SA (Middle East and North Africa & South Asia Region.
The National Export Strategy (NES) is progressing in the right direction. It has six focused areas and is expected to provide the impetus for the export drive supporting economic growth, Chairperson of the Export Development Board (EDB), Indira Malwatte said.
Sri Lankan Wellness Tourism sector delegation has successfully concluded the participation at Arab Health Exhibition & Congress from 28-31 January 2019 by generating average 100-120 initial business contacts and out of which 75 are potential conversions. All the companies have had successful business contacts with the Travel Agents and other relevant organizations. Most of the Arab Clients have requested short holiday packages average for three four days which will be cost effective and companies are in the process of designing the packages to the identified clients. Delegation has showcased the best offerings of the Sri Lanka Wellness Tourism sector to the Arab clients & most of the travel agents and it was revealed that there is a huge potential for Sri Lanka to promote Wellness Tourism.
With the concept of wellness becoming a buzzword in the world, the tourism industry has capitalized on its potential by offering travel experiences that have health and well-being as a core component. International travellers are increasingly considering wellness when planning their holiday itinerary. With trips being organized based on concepts such as physical, psychological and spiritual wellbeing, healthy food and spa treatments.
Sri Lanka’s merchandise and service exports in 2018 are estimated to have hit an all-time high of $ 17 billion, up 15% from a year earlier prompting the Government to be confident of achieving the $20 billion milestone this year.
The 22nd Presidential Export Awards Ceremony was held to celebrate the outstanding achievements of the Exporters at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH) in Colombo, on September 18, 2018, under the patronage of His Excellency Maithripala Sirisena the President of Sri Lanka.
Following is the address by Minister Malik Samarawickrama at the Presidential Export Awardson 18 September
