Sri Lanka marinas to entice rich Indians to park yachts: Minister

ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka plans to entice rich Indians to park yachts in marinas in the South Asian island, as part of plans develop marine-linked tourism in 2023, Tourism Minister Harin Fernando said.

A marina has been built in Colombo Port City and they can also be parked in Galle and Trincomalee.

Marina

“Rich Indians who have their yatchts in Dubai, where it is very expensive to keep, can park their yatchs in Sri Lanka, in a place like Galle,” Minister Fernando told reporters in Colombo.

“They can fly their private jets into Mattala or Koggala and take their yachts. So it is an ideal destination to be promoted for high end tourists…”

Yacht parking is part of a strategy to boost marine linked tourism in 2024.

“In 2024 we will focus on marine tourism,” Fernando said. “We have asked President Ranil Wickremesinghe to reduce taxes and bring in water sports. We also plan on having a boat service like Maldives.”

Yacht parking is part of a strategy to boost marine linked tourism in 2024.

Sri Lanka also had 143 wrecks around the island, he said.

“In 2024 we will focus on marine tourism,” Fernando said. “We have water all over. We need to go diving and surfing. We need to exhibit this by dep sea diving and (sports) fishing.”

Baywatch

There were more opportunities to increase beach activity by encouraging jet skis, he said.

Steps will be taken to make beaches safer.

“We want to protect our beaches like in foreign countries with lifeguards,” Minister Fernando said.

“Maybe not like Baywatch but trained people.”

Sri Lanka is targeting 2.3 million tourists in 2024, up from 1.48 million in 2023.

India is expected to bring in a majority of visitors with a target of 310,000 – 343,000 tourists.

Sri Lanka is targeting at least 258,000 tourists from Russia, 251,000 from China, 193,000 from the UK and 151,000 from Germany. (Colombo/Jan11/2023)