Chinese couple say “I do” in Sri Lanka

Zhang Yi Fan and Shen Yao, a Chinese Couple, married at a wedding ceremony held in the Jetwing Lighthouse Hotel at Galle yesterday. The Poruwa ceremony or the formal wedding, in full compliance with Sinhalese customs, took place at the auspicious time, giving an unforgettable experience to the couple and the visitors.

This event was organised by Jetwing Travels. Having foreseen the opportunity of promoting Sri Lanka as a wedding destination for the tourists worldwide and thereby achieving the target of 2.5 million tourists by 2016, the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau also participated in the event.   

The newlywed Zhang and Shen, a construction engineer and a primary school teacher respectively, got to know about Sri Lanka from the internet. Subsequently, they planned their wedding as per the Sinhalese customs, in coordination with a Chinese tourist agent. They arrived in the island on last Sunday with the ambition of spending a wonderful honeymoon in the beaches of Sri Lanka. “We never thought Sri Lanka would be such a beautiful island”, the couple said, “We only realised it after landing here.”

Under the guidance of the Minister of Economic Development Basil Rajapaksa SLTPB has special strategies to gain access to the rapid developing market of China, the largest outbound tourism industry of the world. Promotion of Sri Lanka as a wedding destination is a single aspect of a mega promotional campaign, which is scheduled to be implemented within the coming months.