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Thursday, 2 July 2015 00:44 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
The Sri Lanka Tourism team with the coveted award in Beijing, China
Sri Lanka beat 200 stalls from 58 other countries to win the ‘Best Tourism Pavilion’ award at the Beijing International Travel Fair 2015.
Speaking to Chinese media shortly after accepting the award, Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB) Chairman Rohantha Athukorala thanked the Chinese Government for its support for Sri Lanka’s tourism industry and for selecting the country to be involved in its 21st Century Maritime Silk Road during the upcoming Xi’an Silk Road International Tourism Expo 2015 to be staged in September this year.
A total of 100 travel industry professionals from 46 companies were reported to have represented Sri Lanka at the fair which took place at the China National Conference Centre, in close proximity to the iconic Bird’s Nest Olympic Stadium and The Cube of Olympic fame.
Asked by a Beijing Daily how Sri Lanka must be remembered by the people of China, Athukorala responded “Sri Lanka – One Island, Thousand Treasures,” to applause from the participants of the awards ceremony.
Commenting on SLTPB’s strategy moving forward, Athukorala said: “Sri Lanka will further strengthen via the Rs. 240 million communication budget that we will invest in the focus market China with the ‘push strategy’ including the launch of the ‘Sri Lankan specialist’ training and validation program across the top 20,000 travel agents across China, which will be endorsed by a top Chinese celebrity. On the ‘pull strategy’ by being on WECHAT, Beijing TV and movie-based marketing, Sri Lanka Tourism will create a new trend of creating brand equity in the potential traveller’s mind.”
The country is targeting 2.5 million arrivals by 2016 and is currently registering a growth of 79%, for which the Chinese outbound tourist market, which is said to have reached 156 million travellers and is valued at $ 15 billion, will play an important role.
