Sri Lanka Tourism holds 'Visit Kandy 2011':

Tourism and trade exhibition successful

'Visit Kandy 2011' Tourism Promotional and Trade Exhibition was opened by the Chief Minister Sarath Ekanayake last week at the Kandy City Centre premises. The inaugural ceremony was attended by North Central Province Chief Minister Berty Premalal Dissanayake, Mayor of Kandy Municipal Council, officials representing the Central Province Development Authority and many representatives from travel and tourism industry in Sri Lanka. This four day event held from November 10 to 13 showcased the unique tourist attractions of Kandy city highlighting various aspects such as culture, history, events, nature etc.

This year, the tourism sector has achieved a landmark in securing over 598,006 arrivals to the country by September.

To enhance the performance of the tourism sector in the upcoming years as well, Sri Lanka Tourism has decided to bring together all tourism stakeholders to one platform by conducting the 'Visit Kandy 2011' tourism promotional and trade exhibition in Kandy.

Highlighting the importance of the city of Kandy as a hub of Sri Lankan tourism industry, Sri Lanka Tourism conducted this tourism promotional and trade exhibition in Kandy with the intention of further strengthening the Sri Lankan landmark in the global tourism sector.

The Kandyan exceptionalism in the Sri Lankan Tourism sector derives from the unique and rich historical and cultural aspects attached to the city and its surroundings. The UNESCO heritage city of Kandy, Sri Dalada Maligawa or The Temple of Tooth, The Kandy Perahera, Kandy Lake, Bahirawa Kanda, The Botanical Gardens of Peradeniya and the UNESCO heritage old buildings had been the utmost tourist attractions from the times of colonizers.

Having all the above features at hand, Sri Lanka Tourism, along with the Economic Development Ministry, the Central Province Chief Minister's Office and other government institutions, showcased the Kandyan signature to the world by Visit Sri Lanka 2011. The outstanding cooperation of more than 75 leading hotels, restaurants and other tourism-related institutions in this event equipped the government to carry out this exhibition smoothly, by public-private cooperation.

During the exhibition, the visitors were entertained by mesmerizing Kandyan cultural performances, displays and many other events focused on Sri Lanka Tourism's vision to promote the destination among the international travellers.

Visit Kandy - 2011 is a public-private partnership programme of Sri Lanka Tourism to promote the city of Kandy as a global tourist attraction. It was organized by the Economic Development Ministry and Central Province Chief and Tourism Ministries.