COLOMBO, Sept. 10 (Xinhua) -- A group of police officers from the Sri Lanka Police Force have left for Beijing to study Mandarin in order to enhance their communication skills with Chinese tourists and nationals visiting or being employed in the island country, local media reported on Monday.

A senior police official said that officers were selected from police stations across the island and the group was sent overseas as part of a larger general training for police officers.

The group, which left last Thursday, will return back to Sri Lanka at the end of September.

The police said that a knowledge of basic Mandarin could immensely help local police deal with Chinese nationals in the country.

Officials added that with China being an important market for Sri Lanka tourism, the country was bracing for a large influx of Chinese visitors and therefore it was important that officials with the Tourist Police had a basic knowledge of Mandarin.

China is presently the second largest market for Sri Lanka tourism. This year alone, over 190,000 Chinese tourists have visited in Sri Lanka.