Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday expressed displeasure on Indians holding weddings overseas and stressed that such celebrations must be held within the country to ensure the money stays within. Speaking to Indian media he frowned upon the trends created by “big families” in having destination weddings. He asserted that citizens must give preference to India and locally-made products only.
Sri Lanka has been and continues to be a popular option among Indians to hold destination weddings. The local tourism sector strategically focuses on this segment, to increase tourist arrivals and earnings, specially from the Indian market.
Should Premier Modi’s ‘India only’ policy get extended to the neighbouring giant’s wedding market, countries, such as Sri Lanka would see its MICE tourism take a hit.
According to local event managers, India is a high-potential market for Sri Lanka for destination weddings as it is a more financially feasible option when compared with destinations in Europe.
India continues to be the largest tourist traffic generator for Sri Lanka given its close proximity, and cultural similarities.
For the first 10 months of the year ending October, Sri Lanka welcomed a total of 228, 532 Indian tourists, accounting for 20 percent of the total tourist arrivals.
Source: Daily Mirror
