Tuesday, 10 September 2013 00:04
-
- {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
A Travel Agent and Media seminar was held at the Ga Joen Hotel in Tokyo recently for a large gathering of travel agents, media personnel and travel writers in Tokyo.
The seminar was organised by the Embassy of Sri Lanka in Tokyo in collaboration with the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau.
Over 75 travel agents, media personnel and travel writers participated at the seminar at which presentations were conducted on Sri Lanka being one of the safest destinations in the world today. Presentations were also conducted to inform the participants of the 10th Anniversary of the Sri Lanka Festival to be held at the Yoyogi Park in Tokyo from 21 to 22 September 2013.
Ambassador Admiral Wasantha Karannagoda in addressing the gathering at the seminar informed them of the excellent bilateral ties shared by both countries and the cultural affinity that has grown stronger with each passing year. The Ambassador also highlighted Japanese assistance to develop infrastructure and promote tourism. Many Japanese travellers are now aware that Sri Lanka is an attractive destination and the strong tourism campaign in Japan conducted by the Embassy of Sri Lanka and the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau has brought about very positive results. Ambassador Admiral Karannagoda invited all participants to visit Sri Lanka and also to start promoting the country as a key destination. Ambassador Karannagoda announced the media fellowships that were offered by the Embassy for the best publicity given by any media institution for the promotion of the upcoming Sri Lanka Festival in Tokyo. These media fellowships offer a one-week stay at luxury hotels in Sri Lanka for the winners.
Familiarisation Tours to Sri Lanka for media personnel and travel writers were offered at the seminar with a selection of 15 personnel from the print media and 5 personnel from the electronic media, by a lucky draw at the end of the seminar. In addition, Sri Lankan Airlines offered a return air ticket on economy class to a lucky draw winner at the seminar.
These tours will comprise of visits to important cultural and heritage sites and cities in Sri Lanka with familiarisation briefings in Sri Lanka on the potential of promoting Sri Lanka as a destination for the Japanese traveller. These familiarisation tours will be conducted in collaboration with the Embassy of Sri Lanka in Tokyo, the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau and Sri Lankan Airlines.
