Sri Lankan Embassy in Vienna promotes Ceylon tea and tourism in Austria and Hungary
Daily FT: The Embassy of Sri Lanka in Austria organised two Sri Lanka destination promotion events at the famous Lugner City Shopping Centre and Europe Westfield Shopping City Sud in Vienna on 15 and 16 March respectively.
These two events were organised in parallel to Sri Lanka’s participation at two key European travel and trade fairs, namely, Ferien Messe Wien 2024 in Austria and SIRHA Budapest International Trade Fair in Hungary by the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau and the Sri Lanka Tea Board.
The two promotional events were an immense success in showcasing Sri Lanka as a tourism destination to the Austrian public. Lugner City owner and Austrian celebrity Richard Lugner took part in the ceremonial opening of the event at Lugner City. During the opening ceremony, Sri Lankan traditional dance performances by the Pradeep Wickramasinghe Performing Arts dance troupe captivated the audience. The invitees and the public had the opportunity to witness Sri Lankan rhythms, including drums and Kandyan dance.
The Wheel of Fortune which entailed questions on Sri Lanka also turned out to be very attractive to the public. It helped participants to familiarise themselves with Sri Lanka as a tourist destination. The winners received several giveaways with Sri Lanka branded promotional items as well as Seven Region Ceylon Tea packs. The grand prize of the raffle draw was a package for a 5-night/6-day stay in Sri Lanka including local transportation, offered by the prestigious Aitken Spence hotel chain. Additionally, three vouchers were awarded for three-day all-inclusive beginners training course packages at the De Silva Watersports Centre, Sri Lanka’s largest water sports centre that offers kite surfing, windsurfing, and stand-up paddle, among others.
The events were also helpful in further promoting Ceylon Tea which was served with Sri Lankan Hawaiian cookies and chocolate cream biscuits to a large number of visitors. Ceylon Tea was also promoted at the SIRHA Budapest International Trade Fair held in Budapest from 5 to 7 March. Ceylon Tea Pavilions were organised by the Sri Lanka Tea Board together with the participation of Stassen Exports Ltd. and Mlesna (Ceylon) Tea.
Visitors and potential travellers gathered at the high-end malls in Vienna and at the two fairs in Austria and in Hungary had an excellent opportunity to better understand the huge diversity Sri Lanka offers as an exotic tourist destination. They also provided the local public an opportunity to get a glimpse of the wide-ranging tourist attractions in Sri Lanka.
OSL take:
Sri Lankan authorities have gotten the country’s missions overseas to promote Sri Lanka’s trade and tourism industries. Local authorities, both in the tourism and export sectors, have pushed for the holding of promotional campaigns in key foreign markets as well as explore new markets. It is in such a backdrop that Sri Lanka’s tea and tourism industries have been promoted by the country’s mission in Vienna in Austria. With the steady growth in the two industries along with the country’s overall economic expansion, there are a host of new business/investment opportunities covering these two industries. The steady growth in tourist arrivals as well as the benefits offered to Sri Lanka’s tea industry by trade concessions enjoyed by Sri Lanka indicate the growth and business potential in the country’s tourism and tea industries. Foreign businesses/investors could therefore explore the expanding business/investment opportunities in these two industries.