In the wake of the recent relaxation of the German Travel Advisory, Ernst Hinsken, Member of the German Bundestag and Federal Government’s Commissioner for tourism, visited Sri Lanka this week. Accompanied by the German Ambassador in Sri Lanka Jurgen Weerth, Mr. Hinsken met with Minister of Tourism Milinda Moragoda for extensive discussions on how the German Government could assist Sri Lanka to realise the full potential of the growing German outbound market.


He emphasised on the recent relaxation of the travel advisory and said that “Germans need not fear visiting your beautiful country, where the people are smiling and the beaches and other natural attractions offer wonderful holiday opportunities.” He also added that “although many German first time visitors place safety and security concerns high in selecting a destination, tour operators who know Sri Lanka well and repeat visitors will continue to support the destination, to build confidence.”


In his discussions he said that, the German Government could not ignore the fact that no foreign visitor has ever been harmed in Sri Lanka and that the country had a human resource base dependent on tourism that deserved support. He pledged his support to ensure that the voice of Sri Lanka Tourism will be heard at the Bundestag.


Minister Moragoda informed the Tourism Commissioner of the traditional relationship Sri Lankan tourism entrepreneurs had with Germany and of the various German investments in tourism in Sri Lanka and urged that these ties needed to be further strengthened. On a request made by Minister Moragoda, Mr. Hinskin agreed to look into possibilities of assisting the MICE industry with training opportunities and on opportunities to promote Sri Lanka strongly in Germany.