Sri Lanka wins Best Eco Destination award at World Tourism Expo in China

Sri Lanka Tourism has won the coveted ‘Best Eco Tourism Destination’ award at the World Tourism Expo in Shanghai China.

The awards were received by the Sri Lankan Counsel General in Shanghai, Poornima Gunesekera and the Market Head for Sri Lanka at Sri Lanka Tourism Chinthaka Liyanarachchi.

The World Tourism Expo, which takes place annually in Shanghai and is co-hosted by the Shanghai Municipal Tourism and VNU Exhibition Europe, attracts around 45,000 top travel and tourism professionals from around the world with over 600 exhibits.

Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau Chairman Rohantha Athukorala said: “Sri Lanka must become a top 20 tourist destination within the next five years given the national focus on the industry and the strong demand generation that will come into being in the near future.

Chinese tourist arrivals have increased by 81.8% as at the end of April 2015 but I am very keen to see these numbers reflected in the formal sector occupancy of Sri Lanka.”