The Best Tourism Island

Kandy Esala Perahara - August 1st to 11th

The month of Esala (July), during which period this annual pageant is usually held, had been considered a month of celebrations and festivity, both among Indians and Sri Lankans. Even from the lifetime of the Buddha in the 6th century BC, the Esala festival was held to commemorate the Buddha's Conception, his Renunciation and the First Sermon. Esala is also considered to be the beginning of the raining season (Vassana) when the monks commence their Retreat. Also, this month is considered to be the period when ritual performances to the protective divinities are held, (eg Pattini puja) as recorded in the text 'Pattini-Halla'. Being considered a 'chaste' month, the period is held sacred for the availability of water, hence prosperity.

on Thursday, July 31, 2014 No Comments

“Sri Lanka Shines in Shanghai” Shopping Mall Activation Attracts Heavy Crowd

Sri Lanka Tourism implemented a shopping mall activation campaign from 04th -06th July 2014 in Shanghai – China under “Sri Lanka Shines in Shanghai” promotional campaign. Held at the Century Plaza on Nanjing Road, the three-day campaign themed "Sri Lanka Shines in Shanghai" has attracted a large number of travel enthusiasts and urban public to this event. The entrance to the Nanjing Lu Century Square was designed with a life size replica of the ancient Yapahuwa Entrance and the event arena was decorated with elephants and wildlife replicas which were the main attraction for drawing the crowds to the shopping Mall event held in Nanjing Lu square. With world-renowned Sri Lankan jewelry, textiles, seafood, black tea and other special commodities presented, for the crowds gathered at the century square. Moreover, handicrafts featured with Sri Lanka ethnic characteristics have dazzled a large number of urban visitors, who were impressed by superb artistry of these products while travel enthusiasts were more concerned about the local cultural performances and natural beauty in Sri Lanka and actively took part in games at site.

During the three day period thousands of people visited the shopping mall activation site and experienced the taste of Sri Lanka through Sri Lanka Shines in Shanghai promotional campaign. Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau in collaboration with Sri Lanka Inbound Tour operators Association and Sri Lankan Airlines offered special tour packages and complimentary air tickets to the winners at the shopping mall competitions. The lucky winners were selected during the games and competitions held on various topics on Sri Lanka to offer promotional tour packages to Sri Lanka. The Shopping Mall activation was able to gather heavy crowds to the Nanjing Lu Square each day and high level of enthusiasm and participation was seen from the public to experience Sri Lanka. All travel stalls and trade stalls offered information about the destination through promotional material and demonstrations etc.

on Thursday, July 17, 2014 No Comments

Kandy Esala Perahara - August 1st to 11th

on No Comments

“Sri Lanka Shines in Shanghai” Mega Promotion Campaign in Shanghai, China

The second phase of the joint mega promotional campaign ( Sri Lanka shines in Shanghai) in Shanghai will be held from 01st July – 6th July 2014.

The key government stakeholders with private sector organizations will be partnering with Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau to promote destination Sri Lanka in the Chinese market.

Programme

The Press launch - 1st July 2014 in Shanghai Pudong Shangri-la Hotel from 3.00 p.m.
Sri Lanka night - 04th July 2014 at Pudong Shangri-la Hotel from 6.00 p.m. onwards
B 2 B meetings for Travel & Trade - 04th July 2014 from 09.00 a.m. to 2.30 p.m. at Pudong Shangri-la Hotel.
Shopping mall activation - Nanjing-lu Century Square from 4th July – 06th July 2014 from 3.00 p.m. to 10 .00 p.m.

on Wednesday, July 2, 2014 No Comments

Mega Tourism Caravan 6 Day 1 - SRI LANKAN CULTURE AND TRADITIONS SHOWCASED IN MOSCOW

The grand Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Show- Mega Tourism Caravan 6 commenced its activities with a Cultural Show followed by a Banquet, fittingly named " Sri Lankan Night" at the Crystal Ballroom of the hotel " Lotte Plaza" in Moscow, on the night of 29 May 2014. Under the guidance of Ministry of Economic Development and supported by Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau the event is meticulously planned and executed under the close supervision of His Excellency Udayanga Weeratunga the Ambassador to Russian Federation. The 'Sri Lankan Night' at the Lotte Plaza was showcasing the 'Beauty and Traditions' of Sri Lanka became a tremendous success and gave the right impetus to other activities to follow in the Mega Tourism Caravan 6 show.

The presence of over 200 guests at the 'Sri Lankan Night' comprising members of the diplomatic corps, leading travel and tour operators in Moscow, prominent businessmen in the tourism and tea trade, leading print and electronic media representatives and the members of the Sri Lankan community added glamour and quality to the evening.

The photo exhibition which greeted the guests on their arrival added a lot of colour to the event too with over 120 photos displayed on visits of His Excellency Mahinda Rajapaksa, President of Sri Lanka to the Russian Federation, Ukraine and Republic of Kazakhstan. The photos on display also included photos of major tourist destinations in Sri Lanka such as Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa, Dambulla, Kandy, Sigiriya, Pinnawela and Nuwara Eliya along with scenic and pristine beaches on both Western and Eastern coasts, Hotels, Sri Lankan cuisine, traditional dancing and wild life. One of the highlights of the evening was the Sri Lankan Cultural Show presented by the Dance Guild of maestro Chandana Wickremasinghe encapsulating rich Sri Lankan culture through traditional dancing, drum fusions, mask dancing and a medley of folk songs.

on Monday, June 2, 2014 No Comments

Poson Festival – June 12th

Marking the birth of Buddhism in Sri Lanka, Poson poya day is much celebrated event and dates back in 3rd Century BC when king Devanampiyatissa was converted to Buddhism by Arahat Maha Mahinda, the son of King Asoka, the Emperor of India, after which Buddhism was declared the State religion.

The entire country celebrates this significant milestone, but it all culminates at Mihintale, known as the cradle of Buddhism in Sri Lanka, for it is believed to be there that the conversion took place. In fact it is in the Ambasthale Dagoba, the temple in Mihintale, accessible by 1840 steps, that it is in believed that the historic encounter took place.

On Poson poya day, many devotees make their way to temple to spend reflective hours in meditation while there are also several sil campaigns, Dan Sal, Poson devotional songs and pandols among others.

on Monday, May 19, 2014 No Comments

World Youth Conference

World Conference on Youth 2014 will take place from 6th to 10th May, 2014 at BMICH in Colombo with the participation of nearly 1500 young citizens representing all the nations, countries and backgrounds of the world. Held under the theme 'mainstreaming Youth in the Post-2015 Development Agenda' the conference seeks to create an platform that enables young people to review the progress on the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals.

on Sunday, May 4, 2014 No Comments

Sri Pada ("Adam's Peak") Annual Pilgrimage Season

Hatton Adam’s Peak or Sri Pada is an important pilgrim site. The devotees of many religions climb the mountain to invoke blessings. Buddhist believes the impression on the summit is the footprint of the Buddha. Sripada is the 4th highest mountain in Sri Lanka and it takes 4-5 hours to reach the peak by foot. The mountain is also named as Samanala Kanda or Butterfly Mountain. The area is rich in biodiversity and surrounded by the Peak Wilderness Sanctuary. The pilgrimage season starts on Unduwap Poya.

The season begins in December and ends in April.

on Thursday, April 24, 2014 No Comments

Sri Lanka Tourism Celebrates ‘Avurudu’ With Foreign Visitors

Under the theme of “Sri Lanka Hospitality 2013”, Sri Lanka Tourism celebrated Sinhala and Hindu New year (Avurudu) at Negombo beach (Opposite Hotel Camelot) today. The celebration was rich with Sinhala and Hindu ‘Avurudu’ rituals, which are exclusively found in Sri Lanka.

Under the guidance of Hon. Basil Rajapaksa, the Minister of Economic Development, Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB) has already taken steps to provide exposure of the unique Sri Lankan culture and rituals to the world and thereby to convey the message that Sri Lanka is a very positive destination. The ‘Avurudu’ celebrations were also done with this purpose.

on Tuesday, April 22, 2014 No Comments

Sri Lanka Attracts High End French Tourist Group

The growing demand from incentive Travelers in the MICE tourism segment had increased quite sharply over the past years who are traveling mainly for the purpose business and investment. Sri Lanka Tourism has identified MICE segment as a key driver of tourism growth and a contributor for overall economic development of Sri Lanka. As a result of the Wonder of Asia promotional campaign initiated by Ministry of Economic Development and Sri Lanka Tourism in Europe, Sri Lankan Travel agents have been receiving many up market incentive groups to Sri Lanka during the recent past. One of Sri Lanka’s leading travel agents Connaisance De Ceylon received a group of 130 pax incentive group from Toulouse – France on 26th March which is latest addition to the group incentive travelers visiting the country.

The group consisted of high end tourists from France representing different segments and mainly looking for investment opportunities in Sri Lanka. Due to the new infrastructure developments in the country especially in the areas of domestic air travel, the group took flight using MI 17 helicopters of Heli Tours. A fleet of 06 helicopters carried the incentive group for sightseeing tour from Kandy to down south. The Helitours Pvt Ltd unveiled its newest fleet of helicopters recently which are highly sophisticated for tourist travel.

on Tuesday, April 1, 2014 No Comments

Sri Lanka Tourism in Full Show at ITB Germany 2014

Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau participated for the 48th edition of the world's largest travel trade show, International Travel Brochure (ITB) 2014 at Messe Berlin fairground from 03rd to 09th March 2014 in Berlin-Germany. Representing Sri Lanka, 120 representatives from top 60 travel and tourism agencies and hotel sector took part in this event, making this event to be the one with the largest number of participants ever from Sri Lanka. At the ITB 2014 travel trade show 10,147 tourism companies from 189 countries represented on a display area covering 160,000 square meters. The Sri Lanka delegation to Berlin is led by the Director General of Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority, Dr. D.S. Jayaweera and The Ambassador of Sri Lanka in Germany, H.E. Mr. Sarath Kongahage with the officials from both institutes.

Sri Lanka Tourism Stall

Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB), under the leadership of Hon. Basil Rajapaksa the Minister of Economic Development, has identified Germany as a key market among the traditional tourist markets of Sri Lanka, actions were taken to set up an attractive stall in the ITB, inclusive of all the tourism products related to the market of Germany. Accordingly this year Sri Lanka Tourism stall was specifically designed in order to showcase major attractions favored by German travelers. The tourism stall has given much focus on promoting Sri Lankan Ayurvedic products, Sri Lankan wildlife, beaches and heritage to the German tourists. The Sri Lanka stand was ceremoniously opened on 05th March with the participation of key industry stakeholders of Sri Lanka.

on Sunday, March 23, 2014 No Comments

Korea – Sri Lanka Travel & Tourism Club Launched

The Korea-Sri Lanka Travel & Tourism Club was launched at the Millennium Hilton Hotel in Seoul on 14th February 2014. The club was created to enhance the cultural and economic relationship between Sri Lanka and South Korea. One of its main goals is to promote tourism, a core area of growth for Sri Lanka-Korea relations.

The chief guest of the event, Hon. Basil Rajapaksa, Minister of Economic Development met with more than 100 Korean and Sri Lankan members of the club who were present at the launch ceremony. Minister of Environment and Renewable Energy Hon. Susil Premajayatha also attended the event.

During the event, Minister Rajapaksa further expressed his sincere appreciation to the organizers and members of the tourism club for leading the launch, promoting tourism and cultural relations between Sri Lanka and South Korea and initiating the campaign to increase awareness of Sri Lanka as a popular destination for Korean tourists. Sri Lanka is already being vigorously promoted in Korea’s main markets, particularly through a series of promotional campaigns that will be presented throughout the year. This club will provide the additional boost for the tourism campaigns.

During his welcome speech, Ambassador Tissa Wijeratne stated the need to maintain steady channels of communication between Korean agencies and tourism organizations and Sri Lanka; this would aim to promote the travel and trade industry and heighten the relations between the two countries.