Tourism industry upbeat at ITB Berlin

BERLIN: Over 100 travel and tourism industry members participated this year at the world's largest travel fair held in Berlin.

Tourism Minister Milinda Moragoda led the Sri Lanka team at the ITB and met with key tour operators from Germany, France, UK and the rest of Sri Lanka's generating markets on an intensive one on one meeting schedule.

Together with Deputy Minister Faizer Musthapha and Tourist Board Chairman Renton de Alwis, the Minister called on Sri Lanka's friends and the industry participants

to rally round to work together to overcome issues faced by Sri Lanka. While in Berlin, the tourism minister also met with several members of the German Parliament and the German media to explain the ground realities in Sri Lanka.

The ITB, Berlin is a travel event where all of the world's travel and tourism industry meets once a year to transact business, discuss industry issues to map the future of the industry and strengthen relationships.

This year, over 180 countries participated within an exhibition area covering 26 large halls. Sri Lanka Tourism together with SriLankan airlines presented an attractive show in a pavilion type booth featuring the 'Beyond Beaches: Nature, Culture, Adventure' theme, featuring a dance troupe as well.

Hiran Cooray, President of the Hotels Association of Sri Lanka speaking at the interaction the Minister had with the industry at the ITB said " We see positive approaches, setting in place where the whole industry is now brought together with a consultative approach. On our part, we shall also work on bringing a single voice for the industry through an apex body.

With such positivity and resolve we are sure that we can move to achieve what Sri Lanka as a tourist destination deserves.

Nilmin Nanayakkara, Vice President of the Sri Lanka Inbound Tour Operators Association, said that although things started slow, we see that business is picking up now.

Tour operators in Europe are happy that they are being heard and that Sri Lanka Tourism is responding to their calls to work together to promote Sri Lanka." Sri Lanka Tourist Board's new member and President of the Association of Small and Medium Enterprises in Tourism, Mervyn Fernandopulle called on the airlines and other partners to sell Sri Lanka strongly and said that "we must get our partners in the airlines to look at Sri Lanka as a destination, so we could provide better access to our customers".

At the Sri Lanka media conference held in Berlin, Minister Moragoda addressed 110 media persons and said that "Sri Lanka Tourism will do its utmost to ensure that Sri Lanka is strongly positioned in the hearts and minds of our consumers and will expand the current tactical promotional campaign, to make this happen for the upcoming summer and winter seasons.

The message we have for our partners is that they must always examine the ground realities in Sri Lanka for themselves.

Our exotic offer stands and your friends and partners in tourism in Sri Lanka will do their utmost to make your clients have a good time at the destination."

Deputy Minister Musthapha was happy that the industry has benefited from the incentives provided for their participation at the ITB and said that he was "happy to see the upbeat mood among the stakeholders which augurs well for Sri Lanka Tourism. Interest shown by our partners clearly demonstrate that Sri Lanka can sell even within the current scenario of negative travel advisories."

"There is a need to ensure that we look at all sectors of tourism when promoting the country.

We must put our negatives behind and focus on presenting the positives as strongly as possible. Having been through it all what Sri Lanka needs to do is to work towards solving our negative issues soonest, so we can promote our most exotic offer to the world with even more confidence", said Wansa Hettiarachchi, a regular ITB participant tour operator representing Sri Lanka Tourism.

Tourist Board Chairman Renton de Alwis together with colleagues Dileep Muddadeniya and Channa Jayasinghe said that they were happy to be of support to the industry at the ITB and called on all stakeholders to work together to seek the single objective of making Sri Lanka a most sough after destination.

"We must always be positive and stay positive, for together we can wade through any situation. We must make Sri Lanka win working as the Sri Lanka Tourism Team", de Alwis said.

The ITB was held from March 7 -12 and with three days dedicated for buyers and sellers and two days for consumers.