The Embassy of Sri Lanka in Beijing, with the support of the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB), successfully hosted a Sri Lanka Tourism Briefing and Networking Reception on 8 June 2026, bringing together over 120 representatives from China's travel trade, media organizations, tourism-related investment sector, airlines, content creation industry, and Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions (MICE) sector.
Among the participants were representatives of leading Chinese travel companies and media organizations, including China Tourism Group Travel Services Corporation Limited, China International Travel Service (CITS), China Youth Travel Service (CYTS), Spring Tour, Mafengwo, Xinhua News Agency, People's Daily, Global Times, Guangming Online, and China Times, together with representatives of SriLankan Airlines and Beijing Capital Airlines.
The event, led by Deputy Chief of Mission (DCM), Poornima Gunasekera marked the resumption of the Embassy's direct engagement with China's travel trade and media community after a considerable period and provided a platform to outline new initiatives aimed at strengthening tourism cooperation between Sri Lanka and China ahead of the 70th Anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries in 2027.
In her keynote address, the DCM highlighted the longstanding historical ties between Sri Lanka and China, dating back more than 2,000 years through the ancient Maritime Silk Route, and stressed tourism as a key channel for deepening people-to-people exchanges. She noted Sri Lanka’s strong tourism recovery, with over two million international arrivals in 2025, and reaffirmed the country’s image as a safe, peaceful, and welcoming destination. She also highlighted the Government’s expanded visa-free entry programme covering 40 countries, including China, designed to make travel easier and more convenient.
She emphasized Sri Lanka’s unique tourism offering, which combines exceptional diversity within a compact geographical area. Within just 65,610 square kilometres—about four times the size of Beijing—visitors can experience beaches, UNESCO World Heritage Sites, wildlife safaris, tea country, wellness tourism, adventure activities, cultural heritage, gemstones, and authentic Sri Lankan hospitality. She also underlined improved connectivity, noting that a direct flight from Beijing to Colombo takes around seven hours, making Sri Lanka a convenient option for Chinese travellers within broader Asian travel itineraries.
Turning to market trends, she noted that in 2025 Thailand attracted approximately 4.5 million Chinese visitors and Malaysia around 3.4 million, while Sri Lanka received about 132,000. She described this gap as evidence of significant untapped potential in the Chinese outbound tourism market. Against this backdrop, she presented a long-term vision of increasing Chinese tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka to one million annually, emphasizing that while this would require sustained collaboration, it is realistic given China’s large outbound market and Sri Lanka’s comparative advantages. She also stressed that the goal goes beyond increasing arrivals, aiming to boost tourism revenue, generate employment, attract investment, and strengthen bilateral ties.
As part of this strategy, the DCM proposed positioning Sri Lanka as an extension of Southeast Asian travel routes, encouraging Chinese travellers already visiting Thailand and Malaysia to include Sri Lanka in their itineraries. Under the promotional theme “Go Beyond One Destination - Discover the Ultimate Asian Dream Vacation,” she highlighted Sri Lanka’s appeal as a single destination offering culture, nature, wildlife, wellness, heritage, and beaches. She also advocated closer tourism cooperation with the Maldives, noting the two countries are less than an hour apart by flight, and suggested promoting combined travel packages that pair the Maldives’ island experiences with Sri Lanka’s cultural and adventure offerings.
A comprehensive tourism presentation, conducted in both English and Chinese, provided participants with updated information on Sri Lanka's tourism products, connectivity, investment opportunities, conference and incentive travel facilities, and recent developments in the tourism sector.
A major announcement confirmed that Beijing Capital Airlines will resume direct flights between Beijing and Colombo in September 2026, restoring an important air link and strengthening tourism, business, and people-to-people connectivity. This service will complement the existing 23 weekly flights between Mainland China and Colombo.
During the interactive session, the DCM announced two Familiarization (FAM) tours—one for media representatives and another for travel industry professionals who have not yet promoted Sri Lanka. These programmes, implemented with the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau, aim to expand the network of Chinese tourism promoters and provide firsthand exposure to Sri Lanka’s attractions and tourism infrastructure.
The Embassy also outlined plans for a tourism business matchmaking programme between Sri Lankan and Chinese stakeholders to foster partnerships and investment, as well as a cultural and tourism roadshow in China showcasing Sri Lanka’s culture, cuisine, tea, heritage, and tourism offerings.
A highlight of the event was the participation of Chinese travel influencer Alex Bao, whose content has drawn over 100 million views. Having visited more than 100 countries, he expressed strong interest in Sri Lanka, noting that the briefing and peer feedback significantly increased his interest in experiencing the destination firsthand.
Chinese companies interested in tourism investment and MICE tourism also participated, with the event generating strong engagement around cooperation, investment, media collaboration, and promotion. The briefing concluded with a networking reception.
The Embassy of Sri Lanka in Beijing reaffirmed its commitment to working closely with the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau, airlines, media organizations, travel industry stakeholders, and Chinese partners to strengthen tourism cooperation, increase visitor arrivals, and further deepen the longstanding friendship between Sri Lanka and China.
Embassy of Sri Lanka
Beijing
15 June 2026
