Sri Lanka Tourism showcased its splendour in the Mediterranean by participating at the IMTM (International Mediterranean Tourism Market) travel fair held 06 - 07 February 2018 at the Tel Aviv Convention & Exhibitions Centre, Israel.Ambassador for Sri Lanka in Israel H E P Selvaraj and the Sri Lankan Embassy in Israel gave their full support in making this attempt a success.
The 2018 fair was the 24th edition of IMTM, established in 1994.
This year, the Sri Lankan delegation included 8 travel companies - Deluxe Vacations (PVT)Ltd, Amaya Resorts & Spas, Hayleys Tours (Pvt) Ltd, Nawamini Travels (Pvt) Ltd, Saffron Island Destination Management (Pvt) Ltd, World Travel Centre Colombo (Pvt) Ltd, Aitken Spence Travels (Pvt) Ltd, and NKAR Travels &Tours Pvt.Ltd.
The Sri Lankan Pavilion drew the attention of the visitors with its creativity and attractiveness to showcase the wide array of tourist attractions which Sri Lanka has to offer - nature, wildlife, cultural festivals, heritage, ancient cities and monuments, authentic and mouth-watering Sri Lankan cuisine including herbs and spices which are quite similar to those used in the Mediterranean, also the famous Ceylon Tea.
The objectives in participating were - to create awareness on tourism products of Sri Lanka in Israel, promoting Sri Lanka Tourism in Israel, popularizing Sri Lanka tea among Israelis, and to provide opportunities for the Sri Lankan trade to have one to one meetings with Israeli tour operators, and developing business contacts.
Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB) has identified the Middle East as an important source market for Sri Lanka tourism.
Israel is the third largest tourist generating market for Sri Lanka from the Middle East. In 2017, IMTM attracted over 1,550 exhibitors from over 52 countries with 28,000 visitors. In 2018, over 50 countries from Europe, Asia Pacific and Latin America attended the event. The ORTRA Ltd and Israel Travel News Ltd were the main organizers of the IMTM, sponsored by the Israel Ministry of Tourism.
IMTM 2018 exhibitors included conference centres, national & regional tourist offices, spa & golf resorts, hotels, car rental companies, cruise lines, ground agents, airlines, destination management companies, tour operators, trade publications, trade associations and technology providers.
In 2018, Sri Lanka targets 15,000 tourist arrivals from Israel, and hopes to encourage high spenders from the Middle East to visit Sri Lanka and enjoy a holiday worth their expenditure.
Another target is to increase the arrivals of travel journalists, tour operators and bloggers to Sri Lanka, to mark Sri Lanka’s name on the global map further, as a safe an enjoyable destination for travellers.