With the slogan ’Open for Change’, the world’s leading travel trade show “Internationale TourismusBörse” (ITB) returned to Berlin, Germany after a break of three years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This year’s ITB was held from 07 to 09 March 2023 in Berlin and Sri Lanka, which has been taking part in ITB since 1968, was represented at ITB 2023 by a delegation of more than 64 Sri Lankan travel and tour operators, leading hoteliers, and officials of the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau. ITB 2023 offered opportunities to explore new opportunities in Germany and Europe, traditionally key markets for Sri Lanka tourism.
Speaking at press conference held on the sidelines of ITB, Minister of Tourism and Lands Harin Fernando reiterated Sri Lanka’s return to normalcy after a period of unrest in 2022, which sometimes received exaggerated media coverage. The Minister invited the media to visit Sri Lanka and discover aspects which make Sri Lanka such an attractive tourism destination including the warm and hospitable nature of the people, natural beauty of the country, wildlife, diverse climatic conditions, wellness tourism offerings, among others. The Sri Lanka Pavilion at ITB showcased the diverse range of Sri Lanka’s tourism attractions through video and photographic displays and served Ceylon tea to many interested visitors. The Pavilion was inaugurated by Harin Fernando in the presence of Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to Germany Varuni Muthukumarana, Chairman of Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau Chalaka Gajabahu,Vice President of Sri Lanka Association for Inbound Tour Operators (SLAITO) Nalin Jayasundara, President of the Hotels Association of Sri Lanka (THASL) M. Shanthikumar, and Head of Worldwide Services of Sri Lankan Airlines Dimuthu Tennakoon.
A wide range of panel discussions, seminars and lectures at ITB 2023 was devoted to raising awareness for social responsibility in tourism. The Equality in Tourism Award, presented for the first time on International Women’s Day at ITB Berlin 2023, aiming to draw global attention to gender equality in tourism went to the tour operator Travel Excellence from Costa Rica, followed by Adventure Women from the USA and Etur from Ecuador.Sri Lanka, uniquely placed to promote itself as an environmentally and socially responsible destination, has established a Sustainability Tourism Unit which is aimed at supporting sustainable practices in Sri Lanka’s tourism sector. German initiatives to support socially responsible tourism in Sri Lanka include a Sustainable Tourism Initiative for the Sri Lankan tourism sector to improve their sustainability performance. Under this initiative launched by the Delegation of German Industry and Commerce in Sri Lanka, several major tourism industry companies in Sri Lanka have committed to promote sustainable tourism that aims to retain the economic and social advantages of tourism development while reduce and mitigate any undesirable impacts on the natural, historic, cultural, or social environment.
The ITB attracted 5,500 exhibitors from 161 countries and 90,127 attendees from more than 180 countries. The high number of international exhibitors and the diversity of displays marked a resurgence of travel industry following the end of the pandemic restrictions. ITB-2023 was conducted as an exclusively B2B event for the first time. The exhibition also attracted considerable media attention, with around 3,000 media members and 333 travel bloggers and high-profile international political figures at the event.
Sri Lanka’s participation at ITB-2023 was facilitated by the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB) with the coordination of the Embassy of Sri Lanka in Berlin. The next session of ITB will be held from 5 -7 March 2024 in Berlin.
Embassy of Sri Lanka
Berlin
04 April 2023
