The Sri Lanka tourism industry stands united with
the rest of the world against terrorism; as we mourn this horrific tragedy, we
must move forward with our enduring Sri Lankan resilience to restore the world’s
faith in our beautiful island home and our hospitality which is the heart of
the Sri Lankan way of life.
One week on from the deadliest terror attacks
perpetrated in the country since the end of the civil war, Sri Lanka Tourism
discusses measures taken to ensure the safety and security of tourists and
outlines strategic plans to rebuild tourism stakeholder confidence to ensure
the vital recovery of the tourism industry that supports one in 10 families in
Sri Lanka.
'Sri Lankan's are among the warmest and nurturing
people on earth, when guests arrive on our shore's they become family' said
Kishu Gomes, Chairman Sri Lanka Tourism. 'And when family is hurt the entire
community comes together to protect, nurture, mourn and grieve and heal together…this
is our way and it has been our way from the beginning of time.' He continued
‘the promise of Sri Lanka is a promise of hope, of family, of deep awareness,
of tolerance, of diversity, of sincere connection to humanity and nature and of
generosity; we will live the promise of our motherland and we ask anyone who
has ever visited us, relished our food, brewed our teas, cheered our cricket or
just marveled at the beauty of a full moon to become ambassadors of kindness
and compassion everywhere they go. We are overwhelmed by the outpouring of
love, support and solidarity from people everywhere and look forward to
welcoming the world back home to Sri Lanka'.
Chairman Kishu Gomes explained that It is important
to review emergency response protocol in the immediate aftermath of the
attacks; Sri Lanka Tourism was focused on organizing our response in emergency
care and assistance, providing access to clear and accurate information and
working with all national and local law enforcement agencies and foreign
missions to ensure the safety and security of tourists.
In the immediate aftermath of the attack's we rolled
out our emergency response protocol; trained teams were deployed to the
affected hotels, all hospitals and the airport to ensure that all tourists
directly affected by the attacks received the all the care, attention and
assistance they needed.
Tourists already in country and those scheduled to
arrive in the hours and days following the attacks were also an immediate
priority. In addition to the help desks at hotels, airports and tourist
information centers Sri Lanka Tourism set up an emergency hotline to ensure
tourists and their loved ones back home had access to accurate information and
the entire suite of emergency services; updated information continues to be
issued via local & global media, social media, and foreign missions on a
regular basis.
'Addressing security issues is a prerequisite for
the revival of tourism and we continue working closely with all relevant
authorities to support all foreign nationals in the country. Sri Lankan police
and Tri forces are working tirelessly to ensure the safety and security of all
tourists currently in Sri Lanka. This is absolutely our first priority' said
Gomes.
Custodians of a key industry
With one in every ten Sri Lankan families depending
on tourism for their livelihood both directly and indirectly, Sri Lanka Tourism
is focused on ensuring that the right groundwork is laid to drive an effective
and efficient recovery for this critical industry.
'We cannot allow ourselves to become paralyzed by
fear, nearly half a million families across the island depend on us for their
daily living; the impact on our economy must be mitigated. We are working to
regain the confidence of global travelers and operators by demonstrating that
Sri Lanka's response to the incident is effective while reassuring future
tourists that all appropriate steps are being taken by the Sri Lanka Government
to prevent any future incidents and ensure the continued safety and security
tourists within the country' said Gomes.
Several high-level cross industry working sessions
that included both the public and private sector stakeholders have been
conducted with the objective of outlining the strategic framework of the
recovery strategy accompanied by a phased out action plan with the clear
objective of minimizing the financial impact of cancellations and to maintain
and rebuild the country brand and manage the long term impact of this tragic
incident.
A task force is in place and having worked
diligently over the course of the last week we are confident that a clear and
actionable process is in place, resources allocated and global expertise
procured to support the industry in its recovery.
Demonstrating resilience
We are grateful and humbled by the resilience and
generosity of all the tourists who have chosen to continue with their holiday
in Sri Lanka and we are privileged to continue to welcome hundreds of new
tourists every day since the attack. We must ensure wider global tourism communities
have renewed confidence in our destination by persevering and so to this end
all planned promotion activity will continue to ensure that our critical
tourism industry is protected.
Sri Lanka Tourism will continue with its presence
ATM in Dubai from 28th April to 1st May 2019. The Sri Lanka delegation will
begin on day one of the event by observing two minutes silence in honor of the
innocent victims and a book of condolence placed at the Sri Lanka pavilion for
visitors to sign and write messages of sympathy to the victims and their
families. Our purpose throughout this event is very clear - Sri Lanka will not
be beaten by terror. We will take this opportunity to demonstrate to the global
media, tour operators, airlines and the world that Sri Lanka is committed to
security.
Similarly, Sri Lanka Tourism will address the
tourism community at the prestigious 5th UNWTO World Forum on Gastronomy
Tourism in San Sabastian, Spain from 1-2nd of May, where the focus this year is
on job creation and entrepreneurship as a means to advance tourism´s
contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In this regard, Sri
Lanka Tourism will seek means to create favorable frameworks to stimulate jobs
and entrepreneurship along the gastronomy tourism value chain as well as
develop knowledge on more relevant skills for gastronomy tourism.
Sri Lanka Convention Bureau will also be present at
IMEX in Frankfurt from the 21st to the 23rd of May. IMEX is a worldwide Exhibition for Incentive
Travel, Meetings and Events, incorporating Meetings made in Germany. The show
is patronized by nearly 160 countries representing national and regional
tourist offices, major hotel groups, airlines, destination management
companies, service providers, trade associations and more. Over 3962 hosted
buyers from more than 86 world markets visit IMEX. The MICE sector is a major
growth driver for the Sri Lanka market.
The only tourism and travel fair in Sri Lanka,
Sancharaka Udawa, will be held on 7 and 8 June. This unique exhibition, now in
its ninth edition is open to all businesses within the local tourism ecosystem
and is organised by Sri Lanka Association of Tour Operators (SLAITO) in
collaboration with the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB). The main
objective of the exhibition is to create a platform for small and medium
service providers in the industry to network and build vital links with tour
operators and enter the wider tourism industry.
The 14th edition of
The Lanka Challenge which flagged off on the 20th of April successfully
concluded on the 27th of April at Suriya Resort Waikkaka. This event was
organized by Large Minority in association with Connaissance de Ceylan and
sponsored by the Ministry of Tourism and SriLankan Airlines. This unique rally
saw 53 International participants ride in 20 tuk tuks across a 1000km route
that track through Sri Lanka. The participants came from Britain, Australia,
Germany, New Zealand, Singapore, Ireland, Denmark and Switzerland, and give the
world a wonderfully immersive experience of our island's natural beauty,
authentic charm and welcoming spirit.For more details about exploring the beautiful island nation of Sri Lanka, visit http://www.srilanka.travel
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