Monday, 13 October 2014 00:02
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A unique familiarisation tour for 57 of the key French travel agents, flown courtesy of SriLankan Airlines
Whilst driving the efforts to position Sri Lanka as the foremost tourist destination in Asia, Cinnamon Hotels & Resorts are presently hosting 57 of the best French travel agents in Sri Lanka who are participating in an exciting event titled the ‘Treasure Hunt’. The event is taking place from 12 to 17 October 2014.
This mega familiarisation tour, organised by Cinnamon Hotels & Resorts in partnership with Sri Lankan Airlines, will see the travel agents explore several locations of the island in order to experience the best of Sri Lanka and thereby promote the destination in the French market.
The Treasure Hunt entails a series of clues relating to the popular cultural and tourist sites in the island. The travel agents who have been split into teams, are visiting these destinations in Sri Lanka, to learn more about the sites while participating in the competition as well.
The sites include Polonnaruwa, Sigiriya, Kandy, Minneriya and Galle. With nearly 500 applicants who wished to participate in this event, only 57 travel agents were selected based on their contribution in bringing French tourists to Sri Lanka.
“France has been one of the prime routes for SriLankan Airlines, in Europe throughout the years. This mega familiarisation tour will be yet another opportunity to further strengthen our ties with France, with the arrival of the 57 travel agents to experience first-hand, the diverse attractions Sri Lanka has to offer,” said SriLankan Airlines CEO Kapila Chandrasena.
Further explaining about their interest in events of this nature, Kapila commented that, “SriLankan Airlines regularly supports events of an adventurous and recreational nature that promotes tourism to the country such as the Lanka Challenge, Colombo Marathon and The SriLankan Golf Classic to name a few. Therefore we gladly support initiatives by our tourism partners like Cinnamon Hotels & Resorts as it is in our mutual interests to host events that serve as a catalyst for tourism growth into Sri Lanka, given the stability we now enjoy with the dawn of peace. We should capitalise on these achievements and take advantage of the upbeat economy that is set to take off to greater heights.”
Their tour itinerary includes stays at the best properties of Cinnamon Hotels & Resorts, namely Cinnamon Lodge Habarana, which is at the epicentre of the Cultural Triangle, Cinnamon Citadel Kandy which encompasses them with culture and Cinnamon Bey Beruwala which will give them the opportunity to experience pristine beaches in the southern coast.
The treasure hunt consists of excursions and activities such as trekking, boat rides and cycling, designed to enable the travel agents to interact with the local communities to ensure that they experience the true essence of Sri Lanka.
“France is the fifth largest contributing market for Sri Lanka and there has been nearly a 30% increase in tourist arrivals when compared to last year with 57,881 tourist arrivals recorded up to date. It is anticipated that there will be 90,000 tourist arrivals this year and the goal of obtaining 100,000 tourist arrivals by 2016 will be surpassed. We encourage destination promotional events such as these which will continue to gain interest for the country, from key target markets such as France,” said Cinnamon Hotels & Resorts Head of Brand Marketing Dileep Mudadeniya.
The Treasure Hunt mega familiarisation tour comes as just another of the many diverse initiatives and events Cinnamon Hotels & Resorts have embarked on this past year in their efforts to revolutionise Sri Lanka’s tourism industry.
With aims of claiming a significant portion of the French tourist market through this B2B promotion, Cinnamon Hotels & Resorts continues to strive to engage many more destination building initiatives and gain presence in many other key markets.
The French partners for the Treasure Hunt mega familiarisation tour are Presence Assistance Tourisme the travel insurance provider along with I’echotouristique and la Quotidienne.fr. The contingent is flown courtesy of the National Carrier – SriLankan Airlines whilst all tour arrangements are being facilitated by Walkers Tours as the official transport provider.
