A promotional drive was conducted across key Chinese cities, led by Minister of Tourism Development and Christian Religious Affairs John Amaratunga. Covering Shanghai, Nanjing and Chengdu, Amaratunga held meetings with tourism stakeholders in each city.

This included a meeting with Shanghai Municipal Tourism Administration Chairperson Xu Weiwan, in which topics of discussion included increasing outbound traffic to Sri Lanka and improving connectivity from Shanghai to Colombo. Amaratunga invited Weiwan to visit Sri Lanka with a delegation of tourism officials and industry experts on a fact-finding tour.

He also met with the top management of the largest online travel agency in China, Ctrip, where he was assured that travellers would be encouraged to visit Sri Lanka through its platform.