The Embassy of Sri Lanka in Ankara, Türkiye in collaboration with the Association of Travel Agencies in Türkiye (TÜRSAB) conducted a Sri Lanka Destination Promotional event for registered travel agencies in Türkiye recently. The event was held at the Headquarters of TÜRSAB in Istanbul.
Jazeera Airways and Aitken Spence Travels from Sri Lanka were co-collaborators of the event considering the immense contribution that they have made on their own to kick start destination promotion.
Participants of the event consisted of Board Members and Specialized Sector Presidents of TÜRSAB, Honorary Consul of Sri Lanka (designate) in Istanbul, over 75 registered travel agencies and, representatives of the Turkish media.
The event was inaugurated with opening remarks by the Vice President of TÜRSAB, Davut Günaydın followed by lighting of the traditional oil lamp by the participants to signify the unique culture of Sri Lanka. PowerPoint presentations were made by Ambassador of Sri Lanka to Türkiye Hasanthi Urugodawatte Dissanayake, General Manager of Aitken Spence Travels Kanishka Mahagedara, Managing Director of Aitken Spence Travels Nalin Jayasundara and Jazeera Airways Country Manager for Türkiye Arda Icil during the event.
In his opening remarks, the Vice President of TÜRSAB emphasized that the relations between the two countries will continue to increase through promotion of inbound and outbound tourism.
Delivering her speech, the Ambassador of Sri Lanka thanked the Vice President of TÜRSAB and its Executive Board Members for collaborating with the Embassy to make the event a success. Her presentation highlighted natural and cultural diversity, touristic destinations, and unique products of Sri Lanka.
A reception was held after the event and it was followed by a Press Briefing which was an ideal platform to keep the Turkish media informed of the progress of the Sri Lanka Tourism has made in terms of tourist arrivals, increased airline connectivity and new tourism experiences offered. The Press Briefing was co-hosted by the Ambassador of Sri Lanka to Türkiye, Vice President of TÜRSAB, Managing Director of Aitken Spence Travels and Jazeera Airways Country Manager.
Prior to the event, the Ambassador had a meeting with the Vice President of TÜRSAB and his team. During the meeting it was informed that TÜRSAB has over 15,000 members and it recognizes Sri Lanka as the latest destination to promote among potential Turkish tourists. At the discussion, the possibility of sending at least 100,000 tourists in 2024 from Türkiye was discussed. The Ambassador agreed to provide all required support to achieve such a target, noting that in 2023, tourism arrivals from Türkiye have doubled when compared to 2022. There is indeed higher potential to attract tourists, the Ambassador added. She further noted that the commencement of Turkish Airlines direct flights to Sri Lanka since November 2023 with 04 flights per week contributed to the increase of inbound as well as outbound tourism between the two countries.
Embassy of Sri Lanka
Ankara
15 March 2024
