Minister of Tourism Developments, Christian Religious Affairs and Lands Hon. John Amaratunga along with Mr. Remo Eder, Senior Board Member of the Milan Chamber and the Chairman & CEO of Antares Hotels Milano ceremonially inaugurated Sri Lanka pavilion at BIT 2017 (Borsa Internazionale del Turismo) on Sunday (02nd April) at Fiera Milanocity. Sri Lanka’s Ambassador in Rome, H.E. Daya Pelpola, Consul General in Milan, Pradeepa Saram, Managing Director of Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau(SLTB), Mr. Suthesh Balasubramaniam, Minister Counsellor (Commercial) of the Embassy, Somasena Mahadiulwewa and Industry stakeholders joined in the opening ceremony.
The International Travel Fair, popularly known as BIT is an event that brings together trade operators from all over the world, a large audience of visitors, travel lovers, television reporters and press. 2017 BIT which took place from Sunday 2nd to 4th April 2017, has been split into four main segments: Leisure, Luxury, MICE and Destination Sport, attracting more than 1.500 buyers from Italy and abroad, 2.000 participating companies and 60,000 visitors.
Twenty-two Travel & tour agents and hoteliers from Sri Lanka participated in this year’s Travel Fair and a fifteen-member Milan based dance troupe performed traditional dances at the Sri Lanka pavilion providing an opportunity for the visitors to get a glimpse into the culturally rich traditions of Sri Lanka. In addition to this, a program to promote Ceylon Tea was held at the fair, enabling visitors to enjoy a cup of pure Ceylon Tea.
Another key highlight was the road shows arranged in the lead up to BIT. The SLTPB unveiled its calendar of the Italy roadshow for 2017 by having business-to-business trade events in Milan, Turin and Verona bringing Sri Lanka’s pride and identity as a popular tourist destination.
Consulate General of Sri Lanka
Milan, Italy
