The Sri Lanka Pavilion at the international tourism exhibition ITB 2019 – Berlin was inaugurated on 6th March 2019 with the participation of Hon. John Amaratunga, Minister of Tourism Development, Wildlife and Christian Religious Affairs.
Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to Germany Eng. Karunasena Hettiarachchi, Kishu Gomes – Chairman of the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau, Ambassador Markus Potzel - Commissioner for South Asia at the Federal Foreign Office, Ms. M.E.M Weninger, Consul General of Sri Lanka to Frankfurt, Mr. Nihal Samarasinha, Honorary Consul of Sri Lanka to the German States of Rhineland-Palatinate, Mr. Claus Holtmann, Honorary Consul of Sri Lanka for the Southern Part of the German State of Lower Saxony, as well as several other business leaders from the international and Sri Lankan tourism industry attended the event.
Addressing the participants, Hon. John Amaratunga highlighted the importance of ITB for the tourism industry of Sri Lanka and invited the German counterparts to work closely with Sri Lanka tourism industry to promote destination Sri Lanka among its international visitors.
During his welcome speech, Ambassador Hettiarachchi noted the increasing number of German travelers to Sri Lanka and highlighted the Government’s strategic vision in making Sri Lanka a key tourist destination in the coming year.
Ambassador Potzel from the Federal Foreign Office noted the growing image of Sri Lanka in Germany as one of the best tourism destinations in the world and congratulated tourism industry stakeholders of Sri Lanka on their achievements.
With the intension of achieving the ambitious targets for year 2019, a press conference was organized on the sidelines of the exhibition, which attracted a large number of leading media organizations and journalists from around the world. Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau unveiled a unique documentary film depicting Sri Lanka through its natural wonders at the press conference. The film which has captured Sri Lanka from the perspective of its rich and diverse wildlife was well received by the participants.
With a large number of representatives from the tourism industry, the Sri Lanka Pavilion which promotes its brand name ‘So Sri Lanka’ was one of the major attractions of the ITB 2019- the largest exhibition of the tourism industry worldwide where more than 10 000 exhibitors from 184 regions and nations exhibited the trends and developments in the tourism industry. According to SLTPB Chairman Kishu Gomes the Sri Lanka Pavilion, with all its attractions and facilities has been designed to stand out from the rest, depicting the island’s unique offerings for its international visitors.