High-profile Belgium delegation arrives in Sri Lanka for familiarisation visit
A delegation from the Association of Belgian Travel Organisers (ABTO) arrived in Sri Lanka recently, following the invitation of Tourism Development, Wildlife and Christian Religious Affairs Minister John Amaratunga, in support of Sri Lanka Tourism recovery efforts.
Upon their arrival they were given a warm welcome amidst a distinguished gathering and also had the opportunity of witnessing a cultural performance.
The delegation consisted of six members headed by ABTO Board President Luc Coussement (TUI), ABTO Secretary General Ilse Meyers, ABTO Vice President Jean – Luc Hans (BT Tours), ABTO member Dirk Rykaseys (Imagine Travel) and ‘The Travel Magazine’ Senior Journalist Yves Edgard Slabbinck.
As the tourism committee members of the association, they were also able to take part on a familiarisation tour organised by the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB), covering areas such as Sigiriya, Kandy and Galle to get a better understanding of the destination and the natural and cultural resources it has to offer.
A press conference was also held in this regard, under the patronage of Amaratunga, with the participation of Tourism Development, Wildlife and Christian Religious Affairs Ministry Secretary S. Hettiarachchi, Coussement, Hans, SLTPB Chairman Kishu Gomes and SLTPB Managing Director Charmarie Maelge.
The visitors were highly impressed with the strategies Sri Lanka has taken to revive its tourism sector. Important initiatives such as capitalising on new opportunities for Sri Lanka Tourism in Belgium and of campaigns to be rolled out next year to encourage more Belgian tourists were discussed during the press briefing.
Speaking at the occasion, Amaratunga mentioned that Belgium was one of the first European countries, which relaxed the travel advisory after the East Sunday attacks, also mentioning that the visa fee exemption to nationals of 50 countries, including Belgium, is an encouragement to visit Sri Lanka.
Gomes in his speech mentioned, “Though Belgium is currently generating only 14,000 tourists to Sri Lanka, there is a huge potential in this market with 11 million visits taken annually by Belgium nationals.”
Adding further, he said, “So far the recovery of tourism has been at a satisfactory level and hopefully we could target more than 2.5 million tourists for 2020, with the implementation of aggressive marketing campaigns.”
Coussement, who was very much pleased with the warm hospitality extended to him and the delegation by Sri Lanka Tourism expressed, “We came on a mission to discover how Sri Lanka has evolved after the tragic tragedy of April – a mission to learn about how the country is bouncing up again. How safe, how ready and how authentic the destination is. The country, the cultural aspects, the authenticity, safety, everything is there. And most importantly, to the travellers themselves, our customers, the message that we are taking back, is positive.”