Sri Lanka wins ‘Most Popular Destination Award’ for 2nd consecutive year at GITF Travel Fair in Guangzhou

The Consulate General of Sri Lanka in Guangzhou in partnership with the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau participated in the Guangzhou International Travel Fair (GITF) from 23-25 February in Guangzhou. 19 travel and tour agents from Sri Lanka participated in the travel fair and a seven member dance troupe from the Rivega Dance Studio performed traditional dances at the Sri Lanka pavilion.

The GITF is South China’s leading travel expo drawing affluent travel enthusiasts every year from mainland China. The volume of visitors to this event has been increasing annually and this has enabled Sri Lanka to gain greater exposure and visibility for its unique destination brand.

One of the highlights for Sri Lanka was winning the ‘Most Popular Tourism Destination Award’ at the Awards night. This isthe second consecutive year Sri Lanka has won this award and is testament to the country’s growing popularity among Chinese travel enthusiasts. China has been Sri Lanka’s second largest source market for tourism since 2014.

The Consulate General also organised two tourism roadshows and B2B networking exchanges on the sidelines of the GITF at the Westin Hotel in Guangzhou on 21 February and the Crowne Plaza hotel in Shenzhen on 27 February to encourage further travel to Sri Lanka. Participants included travel experts and travel suppliers, travel agents, influential bloggers in Guangdong province and the media. Both tourism roadshows were actively supported by the provincial government’s tourism authorities in Guangzhou and Shenzhen, notably with their presence.