(COLOMBO, LANKAPUVATH) –The Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau, in collaboration with the Embassy of Sri Lanka in Tel Aviv, organized and coordinated the participation of Sri Lanka in the 24th International Mediterranean Tourism Market (IMTM 2018), which was held from 6 to 7 February 2018 at the Tel Aviv Convention Center in Tel Aviv, Israel.
The IMTM is the largest annual professional official exhibition for the tourism market in Israel, which promotes and focuses both domestic and foreign tourism as well as strengthen cooperation among tourism bodies in Israel and elsewhere in the world. Sri Lanka has been participating in the above market regularly.
The Sri Lankan pavilion was jointly declared open with the cutting of a ribbon by Ambassador Periyasamy Pillai Selvaraj and Hon. Yariv Levin, Minister of Tourism of Israel in the presence of Mr. Ajantha Rathnayake, Assistant Director of the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau, Embassy Officials, Sri Lankan Tour Companies and the Israeli visitors.
The main objective of the participation of Sri Lanka was to create awareness and portray the beauty of the paradise island amongst Israeli tourists.
Sri Lanka was represented by leading tour companies such as Aitken Spence Travels (Pvt) Ltd, Deluxe Vacations (Pvt) Ltd, Amaya Resorts & Spas, Hayleys Tours (Pvt) Ltd, Nawamini Travels (Pvt) Ltd, Saffron Island Destination Management (Pvt) Ltd, World Travel Centre Colombo (Pvt) Ltd and NKAR Travels & Tours (Pvt) Ltd.
The Sri Lankan booth attracted many visitors and Ceylon Tea was served to the visitors to taste a cup of “Ceylon Tea”. In addition, a documentary film on Sri Lanka’s beauty was continuously displayed on both days.
Sri Lanka is a popular destination for Israeli tourists, especially for surfing, and their numbers are increasing.
According to the IMTM organizers, 50 countries participated in the exhibition and approximately 25,500 visitors visited the exhibition center.
