Sri Lanka eyes high-spending Swiss tourists

Ambassador Kumararatne and Jagath Perera, Marketing Officer in charge of the Swiss Market at Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau, present  tokens of appreciation to Mayor of Lugano Marco Borradori and Lugano Exhibition chief organizer Marco Peon

• Takes part in Swiss International Holiday Exhibition ‘iViaggiatori’
•  Swiss Air chartered flights twice a week to facilitate Swiss tourists 

Sri Lanka expects to lure in high spending Swiss tourists as the country recently took part in the Swiss International Holiday Exhibition known as ‘iViaggiatori’. 
iViaggiatori is the prestigious tourism event that takes place annually  in the Italian speaking canton in Switzerland, and is recognized as one of the prominent tourism trade fairs in Europe. 

The Sri Lanka pavilion  at iViaggiatori  was inaugurated by Marco Borradori - Mayor of Lugano, Marco Peon - chief Organizer of Lugano Exhibition and Ambassdor R.D.S. Kumararatne, Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the World Trade Organization on November 1.

The Sri Lanka Mission in Geneva in collaborating with the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau organized Sri Lanka’s participation at the holiday exhibition which was held from November 1st to 4th at the Lugano Exhibition Centre in Switzerland. 

Switzerland is a well-developed economy with a GDP of CHF 668 billion and a per capita of CHF 79,000, the second highest in the world. The households’ disposal income is estimated to be CHF 400 billion with an average saving rate of 14 percent. Swiss tourists are considered high spenders in leisure travel.

The joint effort made by the Sri Lanka Mission in Geneva and the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau is considered timely as Sri Lanka is gradually becoming a popular destination for Swiss tourists. 

This is further facilitated with the introduction of Swiss Air chartered flights (Edelweiss Air) twice a week starting from 03rd November this year for Zurich-Colombo-Zurich sectors.  

Sri Lanka’s recognition as the number one popular tourist destination for 2019 by Lonely Planet will complement Sri Lanka’s promotional efforts in the Swiss market.
 The Swiss International Holiday Exhibition attracts around 20,000 participants from among travel agents, tour operators, tourism-related professionals. 

This annual exhibition was started in 2003, and the exhibition area has expanded over 30 percent with the increasing number of exhibitors from all-over the world.  
The 2018 edition was attended by over 250 exhibitors from the countries such as Italy, Switzerland, Sri Lanka, India, Spain, Cyprus, Canada, Germany, Tanzania, Croatia, Ethiopia, Costa Rica, Chile, Austria, Maldives, Lithuania, Greece, South Africa, Indonesia, Uganda, and Mongolia.

 This year, altogether six companies represented Sri Lanka’s tourism business sector in this exhibition namely, Karusan Travels, A. Baur & Company Travel (Pvt) Ltd., Lets travel, Ayu in the Wild Holidays, Coral Sands Hotel Ltd., and The choice - Gem & Jewellery. 

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