French tourism pledges support for Lanka

A FRAMEWORK for an MOU is to be signed between Tourism Minister Milinda Moragoda and Minister of Tourism and Consumer Affairs in France Luc Chaphel soon. This is subsequent to a recent visit to France by a Sri Lankan delegation.

Chaphel pledged his support in the areas of hotel classification, training of staff in hotel management and destination marketing.

France has recorded an average 35,000 tourists along with 300,000 rooming in 2004 and 2005.

Subsequent to the travel advisory in October 2006 arrivals dropped sharply.

Sri Lanka tourism is optimistic that with the change of the advisory and the recent visit to France by the Minister will provide a kick-start for winter arrivals in 2007/2008. Sri Lanka Tourist Board recently conducted an independent securing audit, which resulted the French Tourism operation to resume selling the destination.

The results of the audit was presented on the 11th September at UNESCO and followed by several of promotional activities.

Minister Moragoda was accompanied by Sri Lankan Ambassador in France Chitrangani Wagiswera, Chairman Sri Lanka Tourist Board, Renton de Alwis and Additional Director General Sri Lanka Tourist Board, Dileep Mudadeniya.

A separate event was organised to launch the World Tourism Day celebration by inviting leading women to the travel and tourism industry in France.

Ten French students studying tourism were invited to submit the projects they have worked on the degree programmes and it was presented to the panel of key women professionals.