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Friday Apr 19, 2024
Tuesday, 23 July 2019 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
Cinnamon Life was recognised by the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) for a PATA Gold Award for the significant cultural impact made together with the Chitrasena Kalayathanaya and in partnership with the John Keells Foundation for the Guru Gedara Festival.
Cinnamon Life will be presented with the Gold Award for Culture at the gala awards ceremony set to take place in Kazakhstan during the highly anticipated PATA Travel Mart 2019 in September this year. 
Taken up as a non-commercial venture under the social connect vertical of Cinnamon Life comprehensive sustainability approach – the Guru Gedara Festival was Sri Lanka’s first immersive traditional performing arts experience.
Realised through the collaboration with John Keells Foundation and the long-established Chitrasena Vajira Dance Foundation (CVDF), the four-day festival was held at the Chitrasena Kalayathanaya – Colombo from 30 August to 2 September 2018, and mirrored the ancient village concept of community spaces dedicated to the learning and teaching of various traditional performing arts.
“We are grateful for playing our part in the efforts to conserve and promote a founding pillar of Sri Lanka’s unique experiential tourism offering,” commented John Keells Group Head of CSR and Executive Vice President Nadija Tambiah.
“We understand that community engagement and community commitment is critical to the conservation and promotion of Sri Lanka’s culture. We are confident that this recognition, along with the results and awareness generated through the Guru Gedara Festival sets precedent for local tourism industry leaders to take action in preserving Sri Lanka’s cultural identity, uncompromising in the face of global tourism demands.”
Speaking on this award, CVDF Director and conceiver of the Guru Gedera Festival Heshma Wignaraja stated: “We are delighted that our partner Cinnamon Life has won this prestigious award from PATA, in recognition of their support for the traditional arts and artistes in Sri Lanka, and for their efforts to bring the Guru Gedera Festival to life. With this type of global recognition, we hope the Guru Gedera Festival will continue to be a vibrant platform to preserve and showcase our cultural identity to both our own countrymen and to visitors from abroad.” 
The PATA Awards 2019 attracted 198 entries from 78 organisations and individuals worldwide. An independent judging committee consisting of 15 senior executives from the global travel, tourism and hospitality sectors selected the winners.
In an official announcement released by PATA, PATA CEO Dr. Mario Hardy added: “I would like to extend our warmest congratulations to all the 2019 Grand and Gold Award winners, as well as all of this year’s participants for their submissions. I look forward to celebrating the accomplishment of this year’s winners who truly represent the values of the Association in working towards a more responsible travel and tourism industry in the Asia Pacific region.”
As most destinations experience a waning of links to cultural roots, it was imperative to support the revival of origins pertaining to performing arts and create deeper awareness. With the objective of preserving Sri Lanka’s cultural identity, and with the potential for local art forms to be upheld within the experiential tourism offering, the festival paid homage to over 30 masters (gurus) of indigenous arts across the island. An entire day of the festival was dedicated to teachers and students of traditional art forms across schools and universities in Sri Lanka, with the opportunity of a lifetime to engage with gurus for more in-depth knowledge and insight.
Through initiatives such as the Guru Gedara Festival, Cinnamon continues to promote Sri Lanka as a high-value tourism destination by fostering more local engagement in tourism development. Post-festival endorsements and patronage by participants are hinting at a promising revival of Sri Lanka’s traditional performing arts.
