Sri Lanka to hold CeyEndurance to promote sports tourism sector
Sri Lanka is to launch a new triathlon series, CeyEndurance, which is expected to fill the gap left by the popular global IRONMAN series and attract international athletes that in turn would ormote the sports tourism sector in the country.
“…international events such as these portray the country in many positive perceptions, aiding in renewing and opening up the country to new sports and tourism segments,” Divinsan Pvt Ltd Managing Director Dinesh Fernando has been quoted as saying at the launch of CeyEndurance at the Shangri-La Hotel in Colombo recently.
“In 2018 and 2019 IRONMAN attracted over 500 international participants each from 50 countries to Sri Lanka, some visiting the island for the first time,” he has said.
According to the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotions Bureau (SLTPB), another 2,300 spectators, mostly family and friends of the foreign athletes, had visited Sri Lanka during the events in 2018 and 2019, and the events in total contributed around US$ 3 million to tourism revenue annually.
“Sri Lanka is now known for triathlons, which we have to capitalize on and promote CeyEndurance to international markets,” Fernando has noted.
CeyEndurance is the first home-grown triathlon series targeting international markets.
“…IRONMAN has left a huge vacuum in Sri Lanka for athletes. Sometimes international brands don’t fit into our scenario so we designed an event accordingly to Sri Lanka and invited international participants,” he has said.
According to local media reports, the CeyEndurance triathlon series for 2020 will comprise of three local and two international events happening throughout the year.
The first international event is to be held on March 22 at Galle face, Colombo while the rest of the events are to take place in May, August and November across Sri Lanka.
“Sri Lanka has diverse geographies, so we must take this opportunity to promote the country,” Fernando has added.
OSL take:
Sri Lanka’s tourism industry is one of the key economic sectors in the country that has shown buoyant growth in the past few years. Despite suffering a setback following the Easter Sunday attacks last April, Sri Lanka’s tourism industry has shown an impressive return to normalcy. Sri Lanka continues to make it to the top in many lists of must visit destinations compiled by many globally renowned travel publications. Sports tourism in Sri Lanka like eco and adventure tourism are now on the increase. Given the continuous growth recorded by Sri Lanka’s tourism industry, foreign investments to the industry are also on the increase. Foreign businesses/investors could therefore confidently explore business opportunities in Sri Lanka’s tourism industry.
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/20200113/Z_3 |