Tour Operators in Moscow attends a Workshops on Sri Lankan Tourism
30 May 2014
Friday 30 May 2014 was the second successful day in the 7000 km journey of “Mega Tourism Caravan 6″ and the day’s tourism promotional activities were held in the Moscow city the capital of Russia. Before dwelling on the day’s activities a word about the beautiful Moscow city would be appropriate.
Moscow has a long history and derives its name from the river that runs through it, the Moskva. It began as a medieval city and developed into what was known as the Grand Duchy of Moscow, an administrative region ruled by a prince. ‘Grand Duchy’ is used to identify a state or territory ruled by a grand duke or duchess. The grand duchy preceded the formation of Russia as a nation. Modern Moscow the capital city of Russia has in its landscape a blend of historical and modern architecture; magnificent palaces, churches, and monuments surrounded by modern skyscrapers. The city is a major political, economic, cultural and scientific center in Russia and in Eastern Europe today. Whilst the Moscow city attracts millions of tourist from countries across the world according to Forbes 2013, it also has the largest number of billionaire residents in the world.
The day 2 activities of Mega Tourism Caravan 6 in the Moscow city comprised of a workshop conducted in the morning for tour operators and their agents at the Pushkin/Chekov conference hall of “Radisson Slavyanskaya” hotel and two “Shopping Mall Activation” in the afternoon and night at the Mega-Belya Dacha Mall.
Nestled by the banks of the Moscow River, the Radisson Slavyanskaya Hotel and Business Center in Moscow offers an ideal location, facilities and atmosphere for the promotion of tourism. Making full use of this scenic location the day’s activities began with the conduct of a workshop for the Tour operators and their agents. The workshop organized in collaboration with the reputed Tour Operators Biblio Globus, saw the participation of over one hundred and fifty representatives from the tourism industry in Russia. His Excellency Udayanga Weeratunga after welcoming the tour agents conducted a very informative and an educative presentation on Sri Lankan Tourism. Drawing from a wealth of knowledge he posses on the Sri Lankan Tourist Industry and speaking in fluent Russian, the ambassador elaborately covered important aspects such as history, climatic conditions, major tourist attractions, major cities, visa procedures and recent infrastructure development during the presentation.
At the conclusion of the presentation all the attendees were presented with many promotional materials and a Catalogue on Sri Lanka Tourism in Russian language containing information about Sri Lankan history, people, festivals, visa procedures, currency, Sri Lankan food, culture and heritage. This comprehensive catalogue is sure to provide valuable information to its readers on cities such as; Colombo, Anuradhapura, Sigiriya, Dambulla, Polonnaruwa, Kandy and the other townships in the hill country along with other relevant details on wildlife, beaches and star class hotels with the facilities provided.
The eye catching dancing performances of the Dancing Troupe directed by Chandana Wickramasinghe entertained the participants and received a well deserved appreciation for their flawless performances.
The Shopping Mall activations in the afternoon and evening too were a tremendous success where all those present were once again afforded a glimpse into Sri Lankan culture. Amongst many activities at the shopping mall the display of many a handicraft produced by the State owned Gift and Souvenir Boutique “Laksala” attracted a large number of visitors. Established under the National Skills Act of 1982 this renowned Gift and Souvenir Boutique operates through ten branches located island wide and offer the widest variety of all Sri Lankan products at a reasonable price. Most importantly, Laksala enables the numerous industries that supply goods to it to stay both profitable and in business.
Another major attraction during the shopping mall activation was the eye catching dancing performances of the Sri Lankan Dancing troupe. The ‘Perehara’ which travelled through the mall provided the spectators with a different kind of an experience. Distribution of booklets, leaflets, T shirts and gift packs too were carried out at the venue whilst the liquid tea service organized by the embassy served more than one thousand visitors who were present at the mall.
