Tourism

Thailand Road Show trots Colombo streets

M F Jabir

The glamorous Thai business fiesta, Amazing Thailand Road Show would take stage in Taj Samudra Hotel Colombo today. Premier Thai travel agents, hotels, entertainment and theme parks and airlines will join their counterparts in Sri Lanka in the glittering evening in Colombo. "Amazing Thailand" Road Show is organized by the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), Royal Thai Embassy in Colombo and Thai Tourism Industry.

The show is being held in Colombo for the third time. Last year, dignitaries from the trade community, hotels and airlines in Sri Lanka participated in the Thai Trade fiesta, reaffirming the relationship the two countries share. At this year's event, a larger Sri Lankan contingent was expected.

It was in early June that Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra arrived for a two-day State visit to Sri Lanka. Shinawatra and President Mahinda Rajapaksa met for talks that emphasized "enhancing defense and security relations" between the two countries. This also marked the strengthening of relationship between Thailand and Sri Lanka. Governor of Tourism Authority of Thailand Suraphon Svetasreni would also attain the event on June 24, 2013 along with Poldej Worachat, Ambassador of Thailand to Sri Lanka and the Tourism Authority of Thailand team.

"Over the years, we have seen great interest from Sri Lankan travellers in Thailand. We have seen a steady growth in the number of tourist arrivals showcasing tremendous potential for tourism development between the two countries because of the similarity of the cultural aspects. Last year, we saw Sri Lanka as the second fastest growing market from South Asia, with a total of 73,338 tourist arrivals up by 36.73%.

We hope to see these numbers rise and wish that by the end of this year, we would have crossed yet another milestone. We would like to make the Sri Lankan market aware of different products available in Thailand through presentations.

For example for family, Thailand's amazing entertainment parks and shopping opportunities, for youth we have soft adventure, and for religious folk our historic pristine Buddhist circuits," said Suladda Sarutilavan, Assistant Director, TAT.

A TAT official said, "Through this gathering, we shall be pleased to share with you the newer regions, segment of travellers and activities we wish to highlight, thus giving travellers a whole new range of options to choose from.

We, at the Tourism Authority of Thailand, have been striving hard to offer the best to travellers. Year- on- year we come up with new attractions and this year too we have something unique and new to give to our travellers. Getting to Thailand was never so easy. With direct flights from Sri Lankan Airlines, Cathay Pacific and Thai Airways, there are various options available for travellers who wish to come to Thailand.

With these increased number of flight options, we hope that this year we will be able to see a surge in the number of tourist arrivals to Thailand from Sri Lanka. While we are looking at targeting more and more families to come and enjoy the delights of Thailand, we are also looking at targeting the niche segment of travellers.

Thailand has always been a country that honeymooners love to come to. Given the picturesque beaches, the activities, food and the overall charm of the country, it's delightful to see love blossom amongst the newly-weds. We hope this love continues and more and more couples come to Thailand for celebrating their moment of love.

We have thus decided to make things easier not only for couples but even the trade community. We have launched a website, "Honeymooning in Thailand" which will help people identify the hotels, destinations, activities and things to do when in Thailand for honeymoons."

SLTPB at BITE 2013

Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB), along with 25 local travels agents and Hotels, has successfully participated in BITE 2013 (Beijing International Travel Expo), the largest international travel exhibition in China.

The BITE 2013 was held at Beijing International Exhibition Centre, Beijing. This is the 10th consecutive year that SLTPB participates in BITE 2013. Meanwhile, with the ambition of making the Sri Lankan stall more attractive, the SLTPB also took steps to take a dancing group along with the delegation to entertain the participants.

The Sri Lankan stall at the BITE 2013, was a real eye catcher in the event. Its atmosphere, with traditional dancing performances was exceptional among the other stalls and the Sri Lankan stall was one of the most taken photographs in the event.

The Sri Lankan travel agents participated in this event are expected to meet 1,000 of their counterparts, representing over 81 countries of the world. The Sri Lankan stall at the BITE was opened by Ranjith Uyangoda, the ambassador of Sri Lanka to the People's Republic of China. Chen Hong, Vice Mayor, Beijing, Guo Jin Long, Party Secretary, Communist Party of China, Wimal K. Arunampalam and the Minister Councilor, Sri Lanka Embassy in Beijing also participated in this event. The BITE 2013 will go on until June 23 and during the course of the event, the SLTPB took steps to arrange Business Meetings, Exclusive Media Interviews and destination promotion presentations.

Also, in cooperation with the Sri Lankan Embassy at Beijing, the SLTPB has encouraged Sri Lankan businessmen to participate in this event.