World Travel Market (WTM), the leading global event of the travel and tourism trade, kicked off from 3-6 November at the Excel Exhibition Hall in London, promoting international travel throughout the world.

Having foreseen the unique opportunity to promote Sri Lanka as a renowned destination in world travel, Under the guidance of Ministry of Economic Development, the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB) has taken steps to participate in the event, along with 58 partners of the tourism industry.

The official opening ceremony of Sri Lanka Pavilion took place on 3 November with the participation of the Deputy High Commissioner of Sri Lanka High Commission in London Chamaree Rodrigo, Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau Managing Director Rumy Jauffer and industry members who represented Sri Lanka at WTM.

A total number of 58 industry partners along with Sri Lanka Tourism are participating at WTM this year, highlighting many unique travel and hospitality products in an area of 250 sq metres. Out of the total participants, eight companies from the SME sector have been given the opportunity to participate at a reduced rate by Sri Lanka Tourism.

The Sri Lankan stall this year received much praise from all the participants and visitors for its unique and innovative design. It features a wildlife theme with local elephant family replicas at the entrance, which is a Sri Lankan wildlife attraction. A boulevard banner depicting Sri Lankan elephants and whales was a main attraction at the entrance to the Asia Hall. The Sri Lankan stall design was prepared with the SLTPB in-house design advice.

Under the guidance of Minister of Economic Development Basil Rajapaksa, the Sri Lanka tourism industry is poised to reach new heights with mega promotional campaigns launched globally while the industry has witnessed rapid growth in recent times. Sri Lanka has become a highly sought-after travel destination among UK tourists within the past few years. The arrival figures up to September 2014 from the UK stood at 107,330 tourists compared to the annual total of last year of 137,416.

Sri Lanka Tourism recently branded and launched 450 taxis in three of the UK’s biggest cities: Manchester, Birmingham and London. The first fleets of 300 taxis of this campaign were launched on 4 August in London. The ‘Sri Lanka –A Journey Awaits’ tagline promotes the key tourism attractions of Sri Lanka on taxis with a massive fleet of cabs in each city displaying taxi super sides, back seat covers and taxi receipts with stunning visual imagery of Sri Lanka’s prominent tourism attractions. The campaign is active in the UK at the moment.

During the four days of the fair, Sri Lanka Tourism has arranged to give away three precious blue sapphire gems for lucky draw winners at the media briefing and for the trade visitors to the booth, signifying and recreating the famous blue sapphire gem of the royal wedding ring of Princess Diana, sourced from Sri Lanka for this purpose. The Sri Lanka stall showcased traditional Sri Lankan dancing enriched with customs as an attractive feature, providing a very good opportunity for visitors to get a glimpse into the country’s culturally-rich traditions. In addition, a program to promote Ceylon Tea is being held during the exhibition, providing an opportunity to visitors to enjoy a cup of pure Ceylon Tea.
Sri Lanka Tourism has been participating in this event for many years with the local travel industry. The main objective of this year’s representation is to provide the local travel industry an opportunity to meet, interact and network with travel and tourism industry partners from the UK and around the world to gain immediate competitive advantage for the Sri Lanka travel industry and stay abreast with the latest developments in the travel industry.

The travel fair provided small and medium hotels and travel agents (SME sector) a valuable opportunity to participate at WTM at a concessionary rate this year as well. WTM attracts more than 30,000 visitors, 5,000 trade partners (exhibitors) and over 3,000 journalists from around the world each year. More than 1,000 travel agents, including over 200 tour operators, attend this travel fair, creating much opportunity for the booming tourism industry of Sri Lanka. With the achievements in the tourism industry so far, SLTPB is looking forward to exceed the expected target by end 2016 and WTM is a milestone in this journey.

Source : http://www.ft.lk/2014/11/05/sri-lanka-tourism-on-full-show-at-wtm-london/