Sri Lanka aims to enhance Buddhist tourism by establishing connections between its temples and those in East Asia, announced Foreign Minister Ali Sabry following a visit from a delegation of monks from Vietnam.
President Ranil Wickremesinghe and Minister Sabry have inaugurated a temple-to-temple initiative, aiming to link 100 Sri Lankan temples with counterparts in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region.
Minister Ali Sabry expressed optimism about significant tourism growth through the temple-to-temple program, emphasizing its potential impact on tourism development.
Accompanying the delegation of monks were five travel agents from Vietnam, reflecting the collaborative effort to foster cultural and religious ties.
During the initial phase of the Temple-to-Temple program, several monks from Sri Lanka have received invitations from Indonesia, Malaysia, South Korea, and Vietnam, as reported by the Foreign Ministry.
The Temple-to-Temple diplomacy initiative is set to expand further during its second phase, reaching out to countries such as Singapore, Japan, Thailand, and Cambodia.
In a bid to boost its tourism sector, Sri Lanka has set an ambitious target of attracting 2.3 million tourists in 2023, surpassing the 1.5 million visitors recorded in the current year.
