World Tourism Day falls today:

'Men don't get it'

Promotion of Gender equality, this year's theme:

by Rosanne Koelmeyer Anderson

Ayubowan Sri Lanka! Today is World Tourism Day. Travel and tourism is one of the largest industries in the world and Sri Lanka has been a tourist hub from time immemorial.

Over 870 million travelled in 2005 to Sri Lanka and by 2010 the figures are expected to exceed one billion. Tourism today is a basic human right. If one desires, has the means and the time one can opt to travel. Tourism is all about people's dreams, it is a lifestyle industry; the sun, sea sand and style.

This makes the people who work in tourism very special and somewhat different types of service providers, dream sellers. We should not plan our strategies to survive, but plan strategies to thrive. Our vision for Sri Lanka is to be the foremost island in tourism in Asia, to delight our customers and develop loyalty to destination Sri Lanka.

We need to act local but think global to reap the benefits of our own resources says Tourist Board Chairman, Renton de Alwis in an interview with Sunday Observer.

Tourism is a high yielding industry today and the trend of new customers is gradually changing. Tourist come to Sri Lanka to seek inner peace, they are more concentrated on family based values.

The Tourist Board is also thinking on the lines of commencing care giver programmes in order to give job seekers to the Middle East an option of employment. For the aged population, especially from UK, who come to spend six months of the year in Sri Lanka, the Care Service Industry shows promise.

We need to incorporate 'our ethos and lifestyles'. Instead of drinking wine introducing our own arishtayas and Gotukola - the ayurvedic goodness of local herbal drinks or 'Kottu rotti' to the beat of 'Sa ri ga ma pa' are good examples of going one step further, he added.

As Sri Lanka gears up for celebrations of World Tourism Day at Bentota on September 27 at Taj Exotica, Bentota all provinces join in the celebrations.

More interestingly the UNWTO Women Tourism Leaders Summit which will kick off in Sri Lanka on a very catchy theme 'Men don't get it", a Pow wow event by professional women; architects, those in governance, advertising, fashion, hotel business, tour operators, media, arts and culture, social work and so on.

The highlights of the summit will be transmitted globally through leading trans national channels and Sri Lanka Rupavahini will give live coverage of the event in Bentota.

The webcast of the summit by the UNWTO will link international resource persons in order to facilitate contributions via satellite. Delegates in tourism, ministers of tourism, Heads of UN organizations, academics and professionals are expected to participate at the Summit sessions while around hundred Sri Lankan achievers are also anticipated to participate.

Mr de Alwis explained that each year the General Assembly, on recommendation of the UNWTO's Executive Council sets a theme to raise awareness among the international community of the importance of tourism, its social, cultural , political and economic values and the benefits of providing a platform to create public awareness.

This year's theme is in keeping with the UN's third Millennium Development Goal: promotion of gender equality, empowerment of women and the elimination of gender disparity in education, making women in tourism the focus of this year's summit.

Sri Lanka will also be recognised as a pioneer Earth Lung destination and Minister Milinda Moragoda will be making this proclamation at the World Tourism Climate Change Summit to be held from October 1-3 in Davos, Switzerland.

Sri Lanka has started a programme under the Responsible Tourism Partnership Programme 'Tree for life' where a visitor could plant a tree or visit the website at wwwresponsibletourismsrilanka.org for details and later create a million seed link.

Rotary International in Sri Lanka will take this project on, the Tourist Board Chairman added.

"We are on the threshold of a new era in travel and tourism in Sri Lanka. This is a great opportunity for the country to re launch its image as an ideal vacation destination. We are just coming out of a bad time and we see a golden age for tourism ahead of us" opined Malraj Kiriella, Director/International Affairs and Research, of the Sri Lanka Tourist Board, the organizers of the event.

Thus, celebrations of a global event on a grand scale will take home the message of tourism. Many activities have been lined up for the event, he said.Among the many activities planned in Bentota are the UNWTO online Photographic Competition, the international press conference, the issue of a special postage stamp, launching of Sri Lanka as a 'Green Lung Destination' and the launch of the UNWTO WPP world kids programme.

On September 26 a canoe competition, a mini marathon, a fun run and a biking event will usher the celebrations while on September 27 morning the festivities will continue with a contest to judge the best sand castle in the 'Building Sand Castles' competition.

The official ceremony will be on September 27 from 5.30 to 6.30 pm at the Picnic Area, Bentota after which the delegates will be treated to an evening of entertainment showcasing Sri Lanka?s rich culture.

'Sinhala Aluth Avurudu' which is scheduled for September 28 will be a simulation of the April festival and also a feature on the series of programmes lined up to entertain and educate the visitors on Sri Lanka and its culture, giving them a true feel of Sri Lanka.

To celebrate the event in the Western Province there will be a Women's Handicraft and Poster competition at the Sri Lanka Foundation Institute, Colombo; in Uva, in Badulla and Moneragala, 1000 students will participate in two school seminars on Tourism; in the North Central province there will be a traditional cultural show and in Anuradhapura a training programme for Area Tour Guides.

The activities in the Central province will include a seminar on Tourism for school teachers, training of women trekkers at Kadugannawa and a workshop for young women on preparation of traditional food. In the North Western province the seminar will be for school children.

The Sabaragamuwa Tourism Ministry will hold an interactive programme for Informal Tourist facilitators at Ratnapura and inaugurate the Duwili Ella Tourism Development Project. In Negombo the Hoteliers Association will be conduct Clean and Green Campaign on the Negombo Beach.

As we celebrate World Tourism Day today let us give the world a message that the small but Lassana Sri Lanka, known to the those of yesteryear as Serendib, Ceylon, Resplendent Isle, Pearl of the Indian Ocean what they may have called it is and will continue to be a sure top ranking tourist destination as its richness and beauty continues to evoke the visitor; its beaches, wild life, art and cultural pageants, the ancient ruins and the hospitality of course which goes without saying, a booming tourist attraction of yesterday, today and tomorrow.

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