In parallel to the live virtual tours commenced on 04 November 2020, as a collaborative effort with Sri Lanka Tourism, the Embassy of Sri Lanka in Cairo joined hands with the Nile TV International to encourage Egyptian travelers to engage with the “brand” Sri Lanka virtually, and to have a positive experience that would keep Sri Lanka as their “must travel’’ destination once its borders are open for visitors. Chairperson of Sri Lanka Tourism Kimarli Fernando participated in an interview titled “Exclusive with Taghreed Hussein” by Nile TV International in Egypt on 09 November 2020, giving coverage to the live streaming virtual tour programme; ‘Go on a Couch Safari’.
The excerpts of virtual tours, the specific tourist attractions of Sri Lanka were showcased during the programme, while carrying important information regarding such destinations with a brief portrayal of the objectives of the live streaming program. Ms. Kimarli Fernando stated that Sri Lanka being a compact island which has everything to offer, especially on post COVID scenario, focusing more on nature based tourism, where tourists will be able to do camping, trekking, hiking, biking and the wellness tourism including Ayurveda. Ms. Fernanado also expressed her keen interest to work with the Egyptian Government and Egypt Tourism Authority to jointly promote the citizens to visit each other and in such a moment where the recently started Egyptair Cargo flights to Sri Lanka would be an initial step towards establishing regular flights between Egypt and Sri Lanka.
During the interview, she further highlighted the Wedding Tourism and the MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions) as potential segments to promote despite the COVID situation and foreign investments are still coming for tourism in Sri Lanka and some foreign projects are still continuing. Ms. Fernando explained on an online travel app which is incorporated with the Immigration application and being upgraded to the next version considering the various requirements due to COVID-19 pandemic
