Lanka's Travel Mart to become region's premier event
SLTB Chairman Udaya Nanayakkara
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Sri Lanka-Gateway to South Asia Travel Mart, which will be held from
June 3 to 5, will be the meeting point of over 100 exhibiting companies
from South Asia. The exhibitors will comprise tourism and MICE tourism
sectors.
Sri Lanka Travel Mart now entering its third consecutive year, is
growing to be the region's finest travel event.
Sri Lanka Tourist Board (SLTB) Chairman Udaya Nanayakkara said that
the objective of the travel mart is to showcase in particular, the
unique lifestyle this island offers as a diversified product to the
global tourism market. Going "Beyond Beaches to Nature, Culture and
Adventure" a concerted effort is being made to promote every segment of
tourism.
Nanayakkara said that the focus of Sri Lanka-Gateway to South Asia
has been on promoting niche market products such as villas, boutique
hotels and heritage hotels.
"The broad aim of this travel mart is to showcase the whole of South
Asia as a key tourism region and Sri Lanka as the gateway to this very
exciting region which has divers attractions to offer, much of it as yet
unexplored and relatively unknown to visitors.
IFC assistance adds muscle to industry recovery
Meanwhile, the International Finance Corporation of the World Bank
Group's private sector financing arm announced this week that it will
provide upto $150 million as loans to companies that can help rebuild
commercial tourism ventures in tsunami affected countries in South Asia
and South East Asia.
IFC will clear loan requests on a priority basis and provide
long-term funding to help hotel and resort operators rebuild properties
that were affected by the tsunami well in time for the next peak tourist
season.
This is a good opportunity for companies in the region who would like
to receive accelerated long-term loan financing to help rebuild hotel
properties in the affected areas in the Maldives, Sri Lanka, and
Thailand, where the tsunami caused significant damage to popular tourist
resorts.
The loans will be granted on commercial terms and are aimed at
established hotel companies that require substantial amounts of capital
for reconstruction or refinancing.
Typically, the firms should be committed to sound social and
environmental policies, with a positive track record in operations and a
portfolio of properties catering to different segments of the market. |