Colombo International Shopping Festival to be held during first week of October

Thursday, 28 September 2017 00:44 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The first ever Colombo International Shopping Festival will begin on 1 October, a move which is aimed at helping make Sri Lanka a retail hub.

The festival is an initiative of the Sri Lanka Retailers’ Association (SLRA) of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, under the patronage of the Ministry of Tourism Development and Christian Religious Affairs, and in collaboration with the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau which will be held until the end of November, culminating with a shopping weekend.

A joint national and global promotion is underway between the Sri Lanka Retailers’ Association (SLRA) and the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB) to launch the first ever shopping festival in Sri Lanka. The global advertising campaign will be initiated along with SriLankan Airlines, the Sri Lanka Export Development Board (SLEDB), Sri Lanka Tea Board, the Hotels Association of Sri Lanka (THASL), the Travel Agents Association of Sri Lanka (TAASL) and Sri Lanka Association of Inbound Tour Operators (SLAITO).

The festival (CISF) initially will inter-alia focus on the tourist segments from India, Pakistan, the Maldives and Bangladesh with an advertising campaign launched in those countries by Sri Lanka Tourism.

SLRA aims to make the Colombo International Shopping Festival an annual event similar to those held in Dubai, Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore. The Sri Lankan Government allocated funding in the National Budget 2017 to organise the shopping festival based on representations made by SLRA.

SLRA, with a strong membership of leading organised retailers and over 2,000 retail outlets, will offer value bargains and discounts during the shopping festival season in island-wide outlets in collaboration with credit card companies MasterCard, Visa and AMEX along with banks and other financial institutions.

SLRA invites all retailers including non-member retailers and other parties to join this pioneering national endeavour to launch the first ever Sri Lankan shopping festival.

For more inquiries contact Leonard Perera, the Founder Convener and Head of Business of SLRA on 0727354880.