As part of a series of events being organized by the Embassy of Sri Lanka in Cairo to commemorate the 76th Anniversary of Sri Lanka's Independence and in accordance with the economic diplomacy initiative, a Sri Lanka Tourism promotional event was organized in Tunis, the capital of Tunisia on 08th February 2024 in collaboration with the Honorary Consulate of Sri Lanka in Tunisia. The objective of this promotional event was to enhance awareness about Sri Lanka among the key players in the Tunisian travel and tourism market and to project Sri Lanka as a new travel destination among the potential outbound tourists of Tunisia.
The event was held at the “LE FORUM” business conference centre in Tunis city and was inaugurated by the Honorary Consul of Sri Lanka to Tunisia, Hichem Trabelsi and Second Secretary (Commercial) of the Embassy of Sri Lanka, Kasun Balasooriya. The event was participated by more than 40 Tunisian outbound tour operators and 12 media personalities representing various media platforms in Tunisia.
The Honorary Consul of Sri Lanka to Tunisia, Hichem Trabelsi, in his opening remarks, while stating the tourism industry has great potential to enhance the relationship between Tunisia and Sri Lanka, outlined the plans being initiated to promote Sri Lanka tourism in Tunisia in the upcoming years. The second Secretary Kasun Balasooriya, highlighted the surge in tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka in recent months while elaborating on the potentials of the industry in the forthcoming years. Adding more to the speech he briefed the invitees on how the Mission in Cairo assist in achieving the expected targets of the tourism industry. The audience enjoyed the video presentation on the fascinating sceneries of the tourist attractions of Sri Lanka and they were also briefed on Sri Lanka tourism through a comprehensive presentation made by the Second Secretary. Based on the queries and suggestions during the Q&A session the Sri Lanka Embassy in Cairo has agreed to seek the possibility of organizing a FAM tour to Sri Lanka for selected Tunisian tour operators.
There was a raffle draw and Mr. Med Sadok Siala won the prize of a free return air ticket to Sri Lanka sponsored by Turkish Airlines. Mr. Can Cayirci, Regional Sales & Marketing Manager of Turkish Airlines handed over the token ticket to the winner. The networking session Mr. Trabelsi, Honorary Consul and Mr. Balasooriya, Second Secretary had with the Tunisian tour operators, was quite fruitful in addressing their concerns about engaging with Sri Lanka counterparts.