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| Sunday, 25 May 2003 |
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Destination Sri Lanka...gateway to South Asia 2003 The first-ever Tourism Mart and Exhibition in Sri Lanka, 'Destination Sri Lanka... gateway to South Asia' was held at the New BMICH Convention Centre from May 17 to 22, 2003. The exhibition consisted of more than 100 booths, which included foreign participation from countries in the SAARC Region, namely India, Maldives, Pakistan and Nepal. Over 10,000 visitors attended the Mart. Organised by the Sri Lanka Convention Bureau together with Ministry of Tourism, Sri Lanka Tourist Board, SriLankan Airlines, Hoteliers and the Travel and Tourism Industry of Sri Lanka, the objective of the Mart was to create a platform for the Travel and Tourism Industry of Sri Lanka to conduct business with Potential Tourism Buyers, while showcasing the infrastructural facilities available for Tourists in Sri Lanka. Over 85 buyers from 20 countries participated at the Mart, many of them travelling to South Asia for the very first time. Organised along the lines of International Travel Marts, an appointment scheduling was done for the first time in Sri Lanka in order for the buyers and exhibitors to meet and schedule appointments. The scheduling session is unique to South Asia, where every buyer and Exhibitors are aware of their planned meetings. One of the main highlights was the Workshop in which the SAARC countries represented at the Mart conducted presentations on tourism opportunities in their respective countries. This enabled to create a platform to promote South Asia as a combined Tourism Product to rest of the World. Secretary, Tourism, Dr. P. Ramanujam, commenced that this was the first time that a Tourism Mart of international standards was held in Sri Lanka and that they were very happy with the overseas participation and hoped many more would participate in 'Destination Sri Lanka... gateway to South Asia' next year. This will be an annual event. The organising committee of the Mart comprised Ministry of Tourism, Tourist Board, Sri Lanka Convention Bureau, SriLankan Airlines and the Travel and Tourism Associations of Sri Lanka. The Sri Lanka Convention Bureau was the overall coordinator and was the main secretariat. |
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