Sri Lanka’s Maharaja Media Network signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Macau’s public broadcaster TDM – Teledifusão de Macau on Wednesday, aiming to boost tourist arrivals from China and Macau through media cooperation.
The agreement was signed on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union Administration Council Meeting currently being held in Macau. Maharaja Media was represented by Group Director Chevaan Daniel; TDM Macau by Lorman Lo Song Man, Chairman of the Executive Committee and Vice-Chairman of the Board. Suranga Jayalath, Group Director (Legal) of the Capital Maharaja Group, was also present.
“This partnership can play a vital role in further enhancing tourism into Sri Lanka from Macau and China. We hope that by communicating to this audience directly, we can showcase our island to those who might then want to visit beautiful Sri Lanka,” Daniel said. A key objective is to attract high-end Chinese tourists, with Macau positioned as a strategic gateway.
TDM operates five television channels — TDM Ou Mun, the Portuguese-language Canal Macau, TDM Info, TDM Sport and TDM Entertainment — plus the satellite channel Ou Mun-Macau, which reaches audiences across the Asia-Pacific region and parts of Africa. Under the agreement, Maharaja Media will showcase Sri Lanka’s beauty and cultural identity to audiences in China and Macau.
The MoU lands as Sri Lankan tourism faces softening near-term demand. May tourist arrivals reached 46,606 by mid-month, with India leading at 40 percent and China the second-largest source at 3,472 visitors. The partnership extends an earlier Sri Lanka-China BRI tourism cooperation track with Sichuan Province, and arrives the same day a separate Chinese envoy spoke against major-power rivalry in the Indian Ocean.
Reported by NewsFirst staff (May 13).
