Expanding its FAM Tour campaigns towards the Middle Eastern region, Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau, in collaboration with the Sri Lanka embassy in Egypt organized a familiarization tour for 8 Egyptian travel agents from October 20 to 26th. They were highly fascinated with their experience in Sri Lanka along with its scenic beauty, cultural splendor and also experienced the tantalizing taste of traditional Sri Lankan cuisine.
This tour was highly recommended by the Sri Lanka embassy in Egypt, seeing the potential of attracting Middle Eastern travelers to the destination and its capacity as a possible source market. The purpose of the tour was to create awareness about the rising potential in Sri Lanka Tourism which will increase the urge of Egypt travel agents in organizing more tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka. The tour covered main tourist attractions, such as, Minneriya, Sigiriya, Kandy, Nuwara Eliya, Ella and Beruwela . Complimentary service facilities for the tour were provided by the Mahaweli Reach Hotel Kandy, Anantara Hotel, Kalutara & Aitken Spence Travels. The scenic Nuwaraeliya and the Kosgoda turtle hatchery were two of the main attractions which the visitors were fascinated with.
Proceeding further, B2B sessions were held successfully after the tour with 8 Egyptian tour operators on October 25 at the Movenpick Hotel, Colombo and 50 members from the industry travel trade were given the opportunity to participate in these sessions. Both local and Egyptian travel agents were able to share their ideas and enquire about possible connectivity between the two destinations. Though Egypt at the moment is not a main source market, it can be highlighted as one of the potential markets which will be able to draw a large number of tourists to Sri Lanka, given the relevant promotion.
In addition, a discussion session was also organized for Egyptian tour operators with the Minister of Tourism Harin Fernando. Ambassador for Egypt in Sri Lanka was also invited to this discussion session. Chairman of SLTPB & the Managing Director of SLTPB participated in this event with officials of SLTPB. Important details, such as strategies on how to promote Sri Lankan tourism in Egypt and the holiday options which can be highlighted for Egyptian travelers, were further discussed. Total tourist arrivals from Egypt were recorded as 1810 up to September 2022, which can be further increased by creating more awareness about the destination among Egyptian travelers. (SLTPB)
Source: https://island.lk/sri-lanka-tourism-eyes-egypt-as-possible-source-market/
