Sri Lanka successfully hosts third BIMSTEC Working Group meeting in Colombo

BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral, Technical and Economic Cooperation), as a regional corporation, was initiated to bring together the countries in the Bay of Bengal to discuss and work in collaboration to develop major sectors in a country, including tourism within the region. The member States include Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Thailand, whilst its headquarters is based in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Followed by the second Working Group meeting, which was held in Kathmandu, Nepal, the third meeting of the BIMSTEC Working Group on Tourism was held in Sri Lanka from 18 to 19 March in Colombo, hosted by the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB), under the Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism Ministry.

Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism Ministry Additional Secretary S.L. Naseer, chaired the meeting together with BIMSTEC Secretariat in Dhaka Directors Si Thu Aung and Uttam Kumar Shahi. Distinguished heads from other member states, Sri Lankan Government officials, and Industry representatives attended the meeting. He thanked the Government of Sri Lanka and Ministry for hosting this meeting of the Working Group on Tourism and elaborated on the key areas of discussion. Speaking at this occasion, S.L. Naseer as the Chair of the meeting, underscored the shared commitment of BIMSTEC countries in fostering regional collaboration and advancing sustainable tourism and emphasised Sri Lanka’s rich cultural heritage and natural beauty. He encouraged constructive discussions aimed at enhancing connectivity, promoting cultural exchanges, and developing innovative strategies to strengthen the tourism sector across the BIMSTEC region.

The meeting commenced with the open remarks of Si Thu Aung, representing the BIMSTEC Secretary General. Thereafter, the keynote remarks were made by Sri Lanka Tourism Chairman Buddhika Hewawasam. Addressing the meeting, he stressed the importance of sustainable tourism which will ensure long-term benefits for all BIMSTEC member states. “We envisage the tourism momentum to continue into the future and the ongoing collaboration with BIMSTEC will have far reaching benefits for the member nations,” he further said.

Deliberations were made on important topics commonly beneficial for the BIMSTEC countries, such as; BIMSTEC policy guidelines for having harmonised and coherent tourism policies among member states, operationalising BIMSTEC Tourism circuits, and developing BIMSTEC Tourism packages and products etc.

During the forum, discussions were also held with regard to forming a virtual tourist information centre, which will be coordinated by India as the lead country. Another important topic which was discussed was implementing the BIMSTEC Tourism circuits. Accordingly, Buddhist circuit, temple circuit, ecotourism circuit, cruise and adventure circuits will be developed., Operational modalities will be formulated by the lead member state/s assigned for each circuit. In this regard, Sri Lanka will be one of the country’s leading Buddhist and cruise circuits. The representatives from the industry who attended recommended including Ramayana Trail as one of the BIMSTEC Tourism cultural circuits. During the meeting, discussions were held with regard to developing tourism packages and products, that would benefit each of the member states, which would be supported by training, workshops, FAM Tours for tour operators, joint promotional activities and strengthening connectivity. Infrastructure and promoting seamless travel with member states were also discussed. 

Other issues such as Visa facilitation, Intra regional currency facilitation, reducing entrance fee of the tourism sites, organising a regional travel fair and enhancing BIMSTEC Tourism fund were also discussed in length. Thus, the working group meeting concluded on a positive note, confirming to hold the third BIMSTEC Tourism Minister’s roundtable meeting in July 2025 in Bangladesh and the fourth meeting of the network of tour operators to be held in Sri Lanka in 2026. Further, it was confirmed that the fourth meeting of the BIMSTEC working group on Tourism will be hosted in Thailand in 2026. 

At the end of the forum gift items were given away for the delegates which was followed by a dinner, hosted by the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau at Hotel Ramada, Colombo, along with cultural entertainment. Before their departures, a city tour in Colombo was organised by the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau, highlighting the main tourist attractions to take some memories back home. Arrangements for the meeting was coordinated by SLTB Market Officer – South Asia Shirani Herath in collaboration with officials of the Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism Ministry.