The consulate of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka in Chengdu officially opened in mid December 2009.
With the opening of the consulate, Sichuan citizens will be able to apply for Sri Lankan tourist visas in Chengdu, instead of having to go to Beijing or Shanghai.
Karunatilaka Amunugama, the Sri Lankan Ambassador to China, said that Sri Lanka thinks highly of Sichuan, which is a large tourist source market as well as a fascinating tourist destination. The Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau has met with Thai Airways, Singapore Airlines, and AirAsia, hoping they could offer preferential prices to Sichuan tourists. The relevant departments of the country are consulting with these airlines, and are expecting to extend the current Colombo-Bangkok route to Chengdu and to launch a direct route from Sri Lanka to Chengdu.
Local travel agencies in Sichuan also showed their interest in travel to Sri Lanka. They will develop tourist routes once conditions are propitious. Currently Sri Lanka and Chengdu are discussing the issues concerning charter flights. It is expected that a charter flight could open before Spring Festival 2010 if everything goes well.
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