Heads of foreign diplomatic missions based in Colombo began a three-day tourism development study tour of the Eastern Province on Friday, organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism, the Daily Mirror reported.
The delegation left the Colombo Hilton on Friday morning and travelled to the Anantaya Resort and Spa in Pasikuda, visiting the Pasikuda beach area before attending an afternoon exhibition of handicrafts made by small and medium-scale producers.
The ministry said the tour is intended to show the international community the Eastern Province’s cultural, social and economic character and its potential for tourism development, and that it would help promote the province internationally, strengthen international relations and support long-term sustainable tourism growth.
An itinerary that is not only tourism
Over the three days the diplomats are scheduled to meet political leaders, public representatives and government officials in the province and discuss future investment and regional development opportunities — framing that goes beyond tourism promotion.
Saturday’s programme makes the point plainly. The delegation is due at the Eravur Export Processing Zone, an industrial site, alongside the Seruwila Buddhist temple and the Koneswaram Hindu temple in Trincomalee. The two religious sites span the province’s communities; Seruwila’s Mangala Maha Seya held its 103rd Maha Perahera this month.
The group returns to Colombo on Sunday, 20 September.
Two of three districts
The published itinerary covers Batticaloa district, where Pasikuda and Eravur lie, and Trincomalee district. The Eastern Province’s third district, Ampara, does not appear in it. The Daily Mirror does not say whether it features elsewhere in the programme.
Not reported
The Daily Mirror does not say how many diplomats are taking part or which countries they represent — the central fact of a story about foreign missions. Nor does it name who leads the delegation on the ministry’s side, give the tour’s cost or say who is meeting it, or state whether the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority or the Tourism Promotion Bureau is involved.
It does not report which political leaders the diplomats will meet, what investment opportunities will be put to them, or whether any commitments are expected.
We found no other verified newsroom reporting this event at the time of writing, so every detail above rests on the Daily Mirror’s account alone.
