The Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB) in partnership with the Embassy of Sri Lanka in Sweden arranged the participation of Sri Lankan Destination Management Companies (DMCs) at Tourest 2020 in Tallin, Estonia on 7-9 February. The three-day fair attracted more than 480 exhibitors from 32 countries and approximately 27,000 visitors. This year’s event was organized under the horizontal theme: sustainable tourism. Five Sri Lankan DMCs participated at the Sri Lanka pavilion to showcase Sri Lanka as an exotic tourist destination for Estonian travelers.
The Sri Lanka pavilion was declared open by Ambassador of Sri Lanka to Estonia with residence in Sweden Sudantha Ganegama Arachchi and Honorary Consul for Sri Lanka in Estonia Vallo Paal. During his remarks, Ambassador Ganegama Arachchi requested the representatives of the Sri Lankan travel trade to give more attention to Estonia in promoting Sri Lanka tourism as Estonians tend to travel more, seeking new travel destinations due to their rising per capita income. The annual growth rate of Estonian per capita income is about 8%. Approximately 3000 Estonian tourists visited Sri Lanka in 2019.
Ambassador Ganegama Arachchi together with Marketing Officer for the Baltic region of the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB) Jagath Perera had a meeting with Secretary General of Estonian Travel and Tourism Association Mariann Lugus to discuss how Sri Lanka toursim can be effectively promoted among Estonian travellers. She noted the importance of undertaking effective promotion campaigns to promote Sri Lanka as a destination offering attractive and diverse travel options. She further stated that, as Estonian travelers are more concerned about the impact of their travel on the environment, Sri Lanka travel industry needs to focus more on the sustainable aspects of tourism. She requested the SLTPB to organize familiarization tours for the travel agents and to launch a social media campaign in association with leading travel writers and bloggers to promote Sri Lanka.
