Sri Lanka Tourism named premier partner at World Travel Market London 2019
Sri Lankan Tourism has been reportedly been named as a premier partner at the World Travel Market (WTM) London 2019 while the country’s tourism industry continues to bounce back following the Easter Sunday attacks.
According to local media reports, the partnership will herald global coverage for the destination, which has also teamed with former Sri Lankan cricketer captain Kumar Sangakkara to continue the country’s tourism recovery.
As a spokesman for Sri Lanka Tourism and the first non-British player to be elected to the presidency of London’s Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) at Lord’s, Sangakkara is to promote the destination’s key tourist attractions, which are being marketed under the ‘So Sri Lanka’ brand.
The partnership deal with WTM London is expected to result in thousands of international travel trade professionals and buyers seeing the new So Sri Lanka branding, and hundreds of journalists and influencers will hear about the country’s culture, scenery and heritage.
The Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB) will share its exhibition space at WTM London (at stand AS200) with 67 travel trade partners, including hotels, travel agencies, resorts and operators.
Sri Lanka’s Minister of Tourism Development, Wildlife and Christian Religious Affairs, John Amaratunga has been quoted as saying, “The government has done everything possible to regain the popularity for the destination by building confidence carrying out various aggressive promotional campaigns. We are fortunate to have the world unitedly supporting us and rallying around to help the tourism industry, this has helped spread economic benefits far-reaching to many other important economic sectors too; and also to local communities who need it most.”
Meanwhile, WTM London’s senior director, Simon Press has said, “It has been so heartening to see [Sri Lanka] recover from the appalling events last Easter, and it looks set to have a busy winter season. Being WTM London’s premier partner means Sri Lanka can entice trade buyers and media from across the globe, which will help visitor numbers return to or even surpass the levels seen in 2018 – boosting the country’s economy and helping to provide jobs for thousands of workers.”
OSL take:
Sri Lanka being named as the premier partner at WTM 2019 is indicative of the level of recognition enjoyed by the country in the global travel market. Sri Lanka’s tourism industry has shown an impressive return to normalcy following the setback suffered in the aftermath of the Easter Sunday attacks in April. Tourist arrivals to the country are on the increase along with investments to the industry. Sri Lanka also maintains the top slot as the destination of the year in several key global travel publications. All these are indicative of the expanding business/investment opportunities in Sri Lanka’s tourism industry.
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/20191101/Z_1 |