Melbourne Rebels and Rugby Victoria boost sports tourism in SL

 From left: Rugby Victoria President Neil Hay, Melbourne Rebels CEO Baden Stephenson, Sri Lankan Consul General in Melbourne Sandith Samarasinghe, Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau Chairman Chalaka Gajabahu, Melbourne Rebels General Manager Nick Stiles, CR and FC President Tikiri Ellepola and Hagoal Rugby Academy Founder Dilroy Fernando – Pix by Ruwan Walpola

Melbourne Rebels jersey presented by Melbourne Rebels CEO Baden Stephenson (right) to Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau Chairman Chalaka Gajabahu while Sri Lankan Consul General in Melbourne Sandith Samarasinghe and Melbourne Rebels General Manager Nick Stiles looks on

Session match of SL Navy and SL Air force

• Key initiative through collaboration between SL Consul General Office in Melbourne and Agoal Rugby supported by Tourism and Sports Ministries 

By Althaf Nawaz

In a bid to boost tourism, the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB), in collaboration with the Sri Lankan Consul General Office in Melbourne, the Ministry of Sports and Agoal Rugby, organised an exclusive rugby tournament in order to promote Sri Lanka as a Sports Tourism destination. The tournament was held at the CR&FC grounds yesterday. 

The newly executed concept of promoting sports tourism will be beneficial to the country. It will also give an opportunity to sportsmen/women to enhance their knowledge and skills, which will enable them to reach great heights.  

In this major drive, initially, SLTPB has opted to extend an opportunity to young Sri Lankan Rugby lasses to showcase their talent. Sri Lanka Tourism has always been a keen supporter of Sports tourism, and this initiative no doubt will play a pivotal role in highlighting the “Pearl of the Indian Ocean” as an ideal destination to hold sports events with its diversity to conduct any event. 

Along with the above-named stakeholders, Sri Lankan Airlines came on board as the main airline partner for this occasion, supported by Carson & Cumberbatch PLC and Cinnamon Hotel and Resorts as the hospitality partners.

The overall purpose of this tournament was to assess the standards of local women's rugby players and offer overseas training/scholarships to two selected players.

The Women’s Rugby Tournament took place yesterday with the participation of four teams – SL Army SC, SL Air Force SC, CR & FC and SL Navy SC. Moreover, a special training program was also arranged for several Girls and Boys schools from Colombo last evening at the same venue.

Sri Lanka Consul General in Melbourne Sandith Samarasinghe, who also headed the Sabaragamuwa Rugby Football Association for quite some time, expressed that the main initiative of promoting women’s rugby took place in Melbourne, Australia.

“The Consulate in Melbourne started communicating with the Melbourne Rebels CEO Baden Stephenson and also Neil Hay, the President of Rugby Victoria. They held fruitful discussions in order to promote Women’s Rugby which ultimately was the stepping stone for this project. This also enabled getting Sri Lankan female rugby players to join Rugby clubs in Australia, and give them some exposure to international Rugby. During Tourism Minister Harin Fernando’s visit to Australia, he started conversations with both Melbourne and Victoria Rugby officials, based on the main initiative of promoting Sri Lanka as an ideal travel destination and also as a sports tourism destination,’’ said Samarasinghe.

“This partnership which has been established is going ahead and these officials have shown a keen interest in promoting Sri Lanka as a sports tourism destination. An entire series of international events are lined up in the long run, including the Women’s Cricket World Cup, as well as the Women’s Rugby World Cup. 

“Therefore, Sri Lanka should capitalise on that since this is a great opportunity to take Sri Lanka’s name across the world. This is all about promoting Sri Lanka and about promoting sports tourism. All these initiatives are taken on the vision and leadership given by President Ranil Wickramasinghe. Our main goal is to place Sri Lanka as a top-level tourism destination across the world and also as a Sports Tourism destination,” he further added. 

Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau Chairman Chalaka Gajabahu said: “Under the guidance of Minister Harin Fernando and Consular General Sandeep two months back, we managed to tie up a relationship with Melbourne Rebels and Rugby Victoria. Our focus is to develop tourism with sports. “We as a country have a strong history and are imbibed with all facilities. We are not an artificial nation but are blessed with everything. In our campaign, we always say we have a product like an all-in-one capsule. Whether it is wellness, sports, adventure or marine tourism, we have all that to offer. That's why we have come out with a 360-degree global communication campaign to drive the Sri Lankan market forward. With 22 million warm hearts, we welcome everyone to come to this tiny nation and enjoy their stay here.”

Minister Harin Fernando has been the livewire behind this initiative and is the driving force behind all these initiatives that have taken place. Several discussions on promoting the sport and creating another opportunity to promote Tourism took place, and there is a positive output. SLTPB Chairman Chalaka Gajabahu and Sandith Samarasinghe accompanied the Minister during the Australian visit for this promotional event.

A delegation from Australia arrived in Sri Lanka on 17 August, which included Melbourne Rebels CEO Baden Stephenson, Rugby Victoria President Neil Hay and ex-Wallabies player and coach and Melbourne Rebels General Manager Nick Stiles. Their main ambition was to promote Women’s Rugby in Sri Lanka, and in schools, in order to create a talented next generation of players, as well as to give them exposure and coordinate with foreign professionals.

An exclusive lineup of events is included in the Tourism calendar this year to highlight Sri Lanka as a world-renowned tourist destination, as well as a nation that has a keen interest in sports.