Sri Lanka wins Best Folklore Performance Award at Seoul International Tourism Industry Fair

The Embassy of Sri Lanka in Republic of Korea in association with the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB) organised Sri Lanka’s pavilion at the Seoul International Tourism Industry Fair (SITIF) in the COEX exhibition centre in Seoul from 6 to 9 June. 

All the major tourist destinations in Asia, Middle East, Europe, and Africa made their presence at the fair, which attracted more than 100,000 visitors. 

Embassy of Sri Lanka in the Republic of Korea Chargé d’ Affaires Jagath Abeywarna and SITIF Chairman Shin Joong-Mok along with the representatives from the SLTPB and the Sri Lanka Travel Trade ceremonially opened Sri Lanka’s pavilion on 6 June. Sri Lanka’s pavilion portrayed tourism themes of the island, which earned high praise from visitors. The visitors to the pavilion enjoyed Ceylon tea and Sri Lankan traditional dancing performances.

The SLTPB won the ‘Best Folklore Performance Award’ at the SITIF for outstanding performances by the Olaboduwa Dancing Academy. The dancing team also had a chance to perform at the SITIF’s official luncheon on 7 June.

In parallel to SITIF, Sri Lankan travel companies successfully held B2B meeting Sessions on 4 June in Busan, the second biggest city in the Republic of Korea, and Seoul on 10 June with the participation of more than 80 Korean tour operators and media, followed by a dinner reception.

Delivering the opening remarks at the B2B Session in Seoul, Chargé d’ Affaires Abeywarna stated that the situation of the country has returned to normalcy after the Easter Sunday attacks in Sri Lanka, and many countries in the world have relaxed their travel restrictions issued on Sri Lanka. Subsequently, Abeywarna requested travel trade and media interlocutors to encourage Korean tourists to visit Sri Lanka.