Sri Lanka elevates luxury tourism at ILTM 2024

Sri Lanka Tourism displayed its potential of taking on major source markets as France by promoting Sri Lanka as a key holiday destination equipped with everything that a traveller needs. This initiative was taken at International Luxury Travel Mart (ILTM) 2024, in Cannes, France, which is one of the world’s leading luxury travel events. 
The event took place from December 02–05, marking the largest edition of the event up to date, with a record of over 85,000 scheduled meetings. Over 2350 brands from 105 countries participated, alongside an extensive programme of networking events. 
Sri Lanka Tourism also participated, showcasing its unparalleled luxury travel offerings alongside 12 industry partners, promoting exclusive luxury segments. 
ILTM 2024 started on December 02, 2024, with a grand opening ceremony, including a forum, with globally recognised industry experts, who addressed an audience of more than 3000 participants, featuring inspirational presentations for the global luxury and travel community.  
After a lapse of four years, Sri Lanka Tourism participated in this event for the fourth consecutive year. As France is an important source market for Sri Lanka, the Sri Lankan travel industry partners did their best to showcase their promotional material in order to lure the participants to consider about their next holiday destination. The promotional material, themes and attractive locations of Sri Lanka attracted the visitors and were very much impressed with what the destination had to offer. 

ILTM Cannes also hosted over 100 of the world’s most influential travel editors, which was a significant part of the event, from all publications and platforms that are the voice of luxury travel to their high-net-worth readers and communities around the world. Several of these travel advisors and exhibitors praised the event and made their positive comments regarding the occasion.
The creative design of the Sri Lanka stand stood out from the rest and many visitors were seen interested in the colourful cultural performances done by the traditional dance troupes. It was a dynamic yet an interesting experience for all those who participated in the event to know about the different cultures, traditions and tourist locations of each country. 
Sri Lanka’s participation also included B2B meetings with the foreign industry stakeholders and discussions about encouraging more French tourists to visit Sri Lanka and build more business partnerships. 
Viranga Bandara, Assistant Director handling the French market, represented the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB). The participation was successful as a lot of visitors expressed their interest in visiting Sri Lanka.  The Sri Lanka delegation consisted of 12 industry stakeholders such as ArTravele Sri Lanka, Ayu in the Wild Holidays (Pvt.) Ltd, Anantara Peace Haven Tangalle Resort, Travel Design by CDC (Pvt.) Ltd, Sri Lanka in Style, Atypique Lanka (Pvt.) Ltd, The Fabulous Getaway, Boutiques in Sri Lanka, Authenticities, Galle Face Hotel, Cuurate and Sri Lanka Tailor Made.          
Alongside the initiatives taken by the new   government to develop the tourism sector along with its increasing tourist arrivals, this was an ideal opportunity to express Sri Lanka’s latest promotional activities, projects and initiatives planned in the long run. The participants seemed to be much impressed with the unique boutique and luxury products offered by Sri Lanka, apart from its culture, history, spectacular locations and authentic cuisine.  
The four-day event offered a dynamic mix of exclusive pre-scheduled business appointments, insightful educational sessions and impactful networking opportunities, all of which showcased Sri Lanka’s unique charm and potential as a premier destination for luxury travellers.
ILTM 2024 has proven to be an invaluable platform for exposure, connecting the country with global luxury travel professionals and reinforcing Sri Lanka’s position on the world tourism map. Given the necessary exposure, the French market can be a very crucial one to Sri Lanka to increase the current growth of tourist arrivals.  
The SLTPB participated in ILTM 2024 in collaboration with the Sri Lankan Embassy in France, adding to the impactful presence of Sri Lanka at ILTM 2024. Up to December 11, 2024, 84,009 tourist arrivals from France have been recorded and ranked the sixth place among the top 20 source markets for Sri Lanka.