Lanka wins third best exhibitor award at ITB

Sri Lanka Ambassador Sarath Kongahage(fifth from left)and Rumy Jauffer (centre) opposite the Sri Lanka pavillion Rumy Jauffer and the team with the award

Defeating many countries in the region Asia, Australia and Oceania, Sri Lanka won the third best exhibitor award at the International Tourism Fair in Germany.

The criteria for the award were design, activities, services and information materials.

The pavilion of Sri Lanka was highlighted with the phrase, ‘Smiling people and traditional manners’.

The Award was received by Managing Director of Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau, Rumy Jauffer.

Sri Lanka ambassador Sarath Kongahage was also present. Sri Lanka has been taking part in the International Tourism Börse (ITB), the world’s leading travel trade show, since 1968. The Fair is being held annually in the first week of March. The ITB is one of the two most important Tourism Fairs that Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau participates in annually. The participation of Sri Lanka at the ITB 2013 was facilitated by the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau with the support of the Embassy of Sri Lanka in Berlin.

The Sri Lanka pavilion at the ITB 2013 was inaugurated with the performance of ‘pooja dance’ by Sri Lankan students living in Berlin, followed by the traditional lighting of the oil lamp. Ambassador Kongahage said that Indonesia, being participant for the 45th time this year, became the partner country at ITB 2013 and Sri Lanka has more claims to be the partner country and the Government of Sri Lanka with the assistance of tour operators and hoteliers and other organisations related to tourism industry in Sri Lanka should try to make Sri Lanka a partner country in the near future, which will help Sri Lanka to target more tourist arrivals from the European region.

Managing Director of the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau, Rumy Jauffer, thanked Ambassador Kongahage and his staff for the eye-catching pavilion and their contribution to make the participation of Sri Lanka at the ITB 2013 a success. He also mentioned that 64 tour operators and hoteliers from Sri Lanka participated at the ITB 2013, breaking records.

A press conference was held by Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau and the Embassy of Sri Lanka together with Sri Lankan Airlines. The best journalist, award was won by Phillip Laage, whose article about Sinharaja rainforest which appeared in 37 newspapers in Germany. Three awards were given to the best Tour Operators based on the tourist arrival data from each company. The first place went to Meiers Weltreisen and Detours of Go Vacation Sri Lanka. The second best tour operator award went to TUI Group of Aitken Spence Travels. The third best tour operator award went to Thomas Cook of John Keells Holdings.

Brochures on eight different topics in German language and many other information material were distributed at the Fair.

Traditional food was served at different events at the Sri Lanka pavilion and at the press conference. Ceylon tea was served throughout at the ITB 2013.

Visitors had the opportunity to win a cat’s eye moonstone pendent clustered with ruby, valued at $ 850 which was sponsored by ZAM Gem of Sri Lanka.