Germany expresses supports for new Govt. vision

Wednesday, 11 March 2015 00:20 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Members of Parliament of the German Government with German Ambassador to Sri Lanka Dr. Jürgen Morhard, Sri Lankan Ambassador to Germany Karunatileka Amaunugama and Sports and Tourism Minister Navin Dissanayake Representatives of the German Government extended their support to Sri Lanka’s new regime and expressed enthusiasm at the prospects of improved relations between the two nations during a reception of German officials hosted by the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB) together with the Sri Lankan High Commission in Germany. The event was attended by a delegation from the German Parliament led by German Ambassador to Sri Lanka Dr. Juergen Morhard. Speaking during the event, Dr. Morhard noted that such a renewed relationship between Sri Lanka and Germany would have particularly positive impact on Sri Lanka’s tourism business. Meanwhile, commenting on the recent opening of a Sri Lankan pavilion at the 50th annual ITB travel exhibition held in Berlin last week, Minister of Tourism and Sports, Navin Disasanayake welcomed Sri Lanka’s role as a sponsor and strategic partner to the event which the country has regularly participated in. Taking note of the close ties between Sri Lankan and German people in the past, Disasanayake went on to express hope that Sri Lanka would be made a strategic destination partner for ITB in future, an exhibition which drew the attendance of senior members of Sri Lanka Tourism for the first time in a decade. Also speaking during the event, SLTPB Chairman, Rohantha Athukorala stated that Sri Lanka must cross 125,000 arrivals over the 100,000 visitors who made the journey to the island last year, a target which his organisation’s new marketing strategy – ‘one island, thousand treasures’ – was helping to achieve based on the strong positive feedback received over the course of ITB fair. “We must become a top-of-mind destination for the global traveler who seeks diversity, authentic and compactness in a destination. This can only be achieved by a focused marketing campaign which we hope to continue in the German market,” Athukorala stated. Echoing his sentiments, Sri Lanka Association of Inbound Tour Operators (SLAITO) President Mahen Kariyawasam confirmed that the response of travel agents and business partners visiting the Sri Lankan pavilion at ITB 2015 was extremely positive and expressed confidence that arrivals targets for the year would be achieved.