Lankan Mission holds tourism promotion workshop in Brussels

The Embassy of Sri Lanka in Brussels hosted a workshop titled “Welcome Back to Sri Lanka” for tourism promotion in the Belgian travel market at the Press Club in Brussels on 20 April 2023, with the participation of over 80 guests comprising tour operators, travel agents, travel bloggers, social media influencers, travel journalists, media professionals, and TV professionals.

Ambassador of Sri Lanka to Belgium Grace Asirwatham, addressing the travel professionals, said Sri Lanka was beaming once again as a magnificent holiday destination after an unprecedented economic crisis due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

While expounding on the measures taken in Sri Lanka to address the economic crisis, the Ambassador said that the year 2023 was a boom year for tourism, with a large number of tourists visiting Sri Lanka to experience a holiday of a lifetime to cherish, and requested that the travel professionals in Belgium promote Sri Lanka amongst their clients. 

Ambassador Asirwatham explained in detail the important reasons why Sri Lanka should be on their priority list of tourism destinations and summed up that, with its vivid diversity, Sri Lanka was a magical dreamland for any tourist who wanted to have a perfect holiday. 

Antwerp Honorary Consul of Sri Lanka Monique De Decker and Andrews Travels in Sri Lanka Managing Director Mahen Kariyawasan, described details on Sri Lanka’s unique tourism products, mainly the purest nature and landscape, historic and ancient sites, including 8 UNESCO heritage sites, beaches, adventure and sports, wildlife, wellness and Ayurveda, Sri Lankan cuisine, festivals, and shopping, as well as the quality tourism infrastructure facilities, including types of accommodation facilities, transport connectivity, advanced communication, and technology, etc. 

Johan Six, a Belgian travel industry professional, shared his experience in promoting Sri Lanka as a tourism destination in Belgium and emphasised that Sri Lanka was an authentic and natural holiday land to be explored by all.  

Representatives of Emirates, Qatar Airways, Etihad, and Turkish Airlines, which operate effective connecting flights to Sri Lanka from Belgium, also attended the workshop.

The workshop provided a splendid opportunity for participants to network while enjoying a Sri Lankan dinner.