Sri Lanka woos Brazilian travel agencies, tourists

The Embassy of Sri Lanka in Brazil in collaboration with the Brazilian Association for Travel Agencies (ABAV-DF), organised an event to promote Sri Lanka as a destination for Brazilian and South American tourists, on 9 June, at the Embassy premises in Brasilia.

This is the first-of-its-kind event organised by the Embassy with the participation of a large number of travel industry representatives since the opening of the Mission in 2002 in Brasilia.

Welcoming participants, the Ambassador of Sri Lanka to Brazil Sumith Dassanayake explained the importance of the contribution made by the tourism industry to the economy of the island nation.

Ambassador Dassanayake appealed to the Brazilian tour operators to promote Sri Lanka as a destination amongst Brazilians and South Americans stating that the number of tourist arrivals from the region were not satisfactory. “Even though over 100,000 Brazilians had visited Asia region in 2018, only approximately 2,800 Brazilians visited Sri Lanka,” the Ambassador added.

Brazilian Association for Travel Agencies President Levi Jeronimo stated that Sri Lanka is a ‘must visit’ destination that provides diverse activities and attractions in close proximity with value for money.

Secretary of Tourism of Brasilia Vanessa Mendonça informed that her organisation would extend its fullest cooperation to the Embassy to promote Sri Lanka tourism in Brazil. Minister Counsellor (Commercial) of the Embassy Seevali Wijewantha made a presentation on travel opportunities in Sri Lanka titled, ‘Sri Lanka – Seu próximo destino de viagem’ (Sri Lanka – Your next travel destination). M/s. Jetwing Travels Ltd. General Manager Daminda Dinesh and M/s Aitken Spence Travels Ltd. Portugal Resident Sales Representative Nelson Cortez attended the event virtually and promoted the tourism packages their companies offered.

60 guests representing the Brazilian travel industry and media participated at the event.