ExCel: Sri Lanka will use the 43rd edition of the World Travel Market (WTM) which opens at the ExCeL Exhibition Centre here on Monday as a launch pad to again emphasise that Sri Lanka is a safe destination to travel to and offers more than what other countries offer, said Chairman, Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau, Chalaka Gajabahu.
He said that due to the economic crisis and violence that followed, some European countries still have ‘light’ travel advisories against travelling to Sri Lanka.
“We will use WTM, the world’s most influential travel and tourism event to clear this stigma and the global press conference to be hosted by Sri Lanka on Tuesday will be a golden opportunity for this in front of an audience of a large segment of international media.”
“We will also use WTM as a platform to fortify our connections with international travel agents, not only from London but from Europe as well,” he said.
Sri Lanka has been participating in the WTM every year since its launch and it has helped to increase the number of tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka from the UK and Europe.”
This year, encouraged by the rapid bounce back of tourism in Sri Lanka, 72 companies from Sri Lanka will participate in the event and the opening ceremony of the Sri Lanka stand will be at 10.30 am with Minister of Tourism Harin Fernando, Sri Lankan High Commissioner in UK, Saroja Sirisena and industry stakeholders participating.
The Minister will also attend the ‘ministers’ summit’, a high-profile annual event on day one on the theme, “Transforming Tourism Through Youth and Education.”
The UNWTO forecasts continued growth in international tourist arrivals in the coming years, leading to a surge in employment opportunities in the sector.
By 2030, the tourism sector would provide employment for over 300 million people worldwide – but a skilled and knowledgeable workforce is vital, requiring the sector to invest and close existing gaps in education and training.
According to the WTTC, travel and tourism employs a higher proportion of young workers compared to other sectors, and jobs for young people have been rebounding quickly after the pandemic.
Its figures show that travel and tourism’s share of youth employment has grown from 6.5% in 2010 to 8.2% in 2021.
