Minister of External Affairs, Prof. G.L.Peiris and Minister of Economic Development Basil Rajapaksa, who are currently on a visit to Japan met with Mr. Akira Kanai, Chairman of the Japan Association of Travel Agents (JATA) yesterday to discuss tourism promotion in Sri Lanka.

At the meeting, the Sri Lankan Ministers informed that the Sri Lanka Tourism Authority is now concentrating on new areas of interest for tourists visiting Sri Lanka, which are mainly, eco tourism, religious tourism and certain specialized areas such as ayurveda.

The Ministers also emphasized that since the UK and US travel advisories on Sri Lanka have now been relaxed, they wish to invite a team of JATA officials to visit Sri Lanka and experience first-hand the present situation. They also requested the visiting team to give any advice on areas that require improvement in the tourism sector.

Mr. Kanai was of the view that the Japanese public need more awareness on Sri Lanka as a travel destination, and that Japanese visitors are very concerned about Japanese food and Japanese language when visiting a destination and these are the areas that need attention when attracting Japanese tourists to Sri Lanka.

The Ministers also met with Mr. Hajime Ishii, Member of the House of Councillors and Vice President of the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) at the party headquarters along with other parliamentarians. The Sri Lankan Ministers exchanged views on Japan-Sri Lanka relations and common political achievements. They also agreed to continue the strong bilateral relations between the two countries both at state and political party level.

The Ministers also met with Ambassador Yasushi Akashi, Special Representative of the Government of Japan on Peace Building, Rehabilitation and Reconstruction. The Ministers briefed Mr. Akashi on the current developments in Sri Lanka.