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Tuesday, December 22, 2009 |
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| Minister of Tourism Promotion Faizer Mustapha being presented with the first Sri Lanka Day Tours brochure by CEO of Eco Team Anuruddha Bandara. Also present ane Dileepa Manawadu (Marketing Manager - Eco Team) and Ruvinda Bernard (Junior Tour Executive - Sri Lanka Day Tours) |
Eco Team introduces
Sri Lanka Day Tours
Sri Lanka Day Tours is the newest venture introduced by Eco Team, the largest eco and adventure tourism provider in the island, with the objective of enhancing the tourism product value of Sri Lanka.
This is an assortment of short excursion programmes designed and operated by Eco Team, which covers a range of adventure/nature and eco activities in the island.
Eco Team believes that Sri Lanka Day Tours will fill the existing gap in the market for a wider portfolio of short excursions. This offers a range of short duration tours (mostly one day) for tourists who arrive to the country for holidaying or on business trips.
The programme will allow tourists to experience the exceptionally diverse range of eco/adventure tourism activities in Sri Lanka such as white water rafting, rainforest explorations, lake/river and deep sea fishing, whale and dolphin watching, caving, kite surfing, river safaris, diving and snorkelling, canoeing and trekking, rock climbing, wildlife safaris and cycling tours, to name a few.
All programmes will be facilitated by trained and hand-picked teams from Eco Team, supported by communities in the relevant locations.
"It is indeed encouraging to note that the industry is gearing up to the challenge to meet Sri Lanka's tourism goals. Sri Lanka Day Tours is a comprehensive set of programmes, and I believe it would add colour and vigour to Sri Lanka Tourism," Minister of Tourism Promotion Faizer Mustapha stated.
The Government declared a target of attracting 2.5 million tourists to the country by 2016. Commenting on this rather ambitious target to develop the tourism industry, Eco Team CEO Anuruddha Bandara stated: "We applaud such enthusiasm and optimism. Encouraged by all the renewed vigour, we have ventured out to present a new product to Sri Lanka with Sri Lanka Day Tours. This will also largely contribute to community tourism development, as most of these tours depend on community based expertise, in the delivery process."
Presented in a 14-page, full-colour brochure and supported by a dedicated website, Sri Lanka Day Tours programmes would be channelled through the country's hotel industry and tour operators from all major cities in the country and they will be rewarded with attractive incentives.
This unique venture will allow them to offer readymade excursions, chosen from a diverse range of locations and activities to their clients. It would also help them to add colour to their clients' holiday plan.
Eco Team revolutionised the eco/adventure/nature-based tourism industry in the country by being the first service provider to Sri Lankan tour operators, enabling them to go out to the markets as professional, specialised niche operators. |
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Q&A with Eco Team, ATTA’s First Sri Lankan Adventure Travel Member |
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Assistant Editor’s Note: We are pleased to announce the Adventure Travel Trade Association’s first member from Sri Lanka, Eco Team. Below is a brief Q&A with Dileepa Manawadu, the Eco Team Marketing Manager, discussing this move and the larger strategic Eco Team has been experiencing relative to the adventure travel industry.
Can you give us some background on Eco Team and how it fits into the adventure travel market in Sri Lanka?
Being one of the first companies in Sri Lanka to operate an Adventure Base camp in Beli Hul Oya in Sri Lanka, Eco Team has shifted from soft adventure to hardcore adventure sports within a short span of time. We have seen an increased interest from travelers in indulging in holidays that are more enduring both physically and mentally.The new portfolio includes wildlife safaris and camping, white water rafting, canoe river safaris, mountain biking, rock-climbing, caving, rain forest exploration, trekking/hiking, and kite surfing, to name a few.
Why did Eco Team seek out ATTA membership?
“Having won the Presidential Tourism Awards for 2009 in Eco-tourism category, we have been inspired to raise the bar for ourselves. In order to do this, it was important we make the correct affiliations with world-class expertise in our segment. This is why we approached the ATTA,“ said Dileepa Manawadu, Eco Team Marketing Manager.
Anuruddha Bandara, CEO/Managing Director of Eco Team added, “Having returned from the Adventure Travel World Summit concluded recently in Scotland, I am convinced that the membership will help Eco Team and in turn Sri Lanka to become a world ‘Hot Spot’ for adventure travel in the years to come.”
What specifically about the ATTA drew you as a member, and what areas are you most hoping to be able to advance through ATTA membership?
Sri Lanka is relatively young for adventure tourism. Having identified the potential for adventure tourism due to our greatly varied terrain within just 65,000 square km of land, we want to tell the world about the possibilities here. At the same time, we expect that our interactions with the rest of the adventure travel industry, facilitated through ATTA, will help us improve our products. Also, we hope to be able to draw attention to the larger national tourism industry by reaching more people, so we would like help promoting Sri Lanka as a adventure travel destination.
What trends do you see taking place in Sri Lanka Tourism and where do most of your traveler’s originate from?
There is certainly an increased interest in Sri Lanka as a destination in general. Moreover, the interest in Eco/Adventure/Nature based tourism experiences are seeing an upward trend. Most of our travelers are from the UK & the European continent, but India as well as the Middle Eastern regions have shown growth recently.
What does Sri Lanka offer that no other destination does? What message or image would you like to convey about Sri Lanka to global tour operators and travelers?
As mentioned before, we are a small country in terms of land area. Were you to travel by air, you could reach any destination in between 30 minutes to 1 hour. However, we are one of the top Bio-Diversity Hot Spots in the world. This diversity is supported by an equally unique level of diversity in terrain for adventure sports by water or land. The country has a green cover of over 20%. W There are ruins of ancient kingdoms in our recorded history of 2500 years, and Blend this with a cultural element, one would have a wholesome experience in Sri Lanka
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| Customer comments |
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... it was a very special request that my son, Ruedi and daughter, Tania wanted to go snorkelling, and so I informed Ruvinda. He took about an hour and then got back to me with the whole plan worked out for that day. We set out from the Resort at 8:30 a.m. and drove down to the place where we could hire the snorkelling gear – had some trials for the suitable sets and then we were off to the site for snorkelling. Everyone enjoyed themselves and you could see from the pictures that I am attaching.
I want to express my sincere thanks to Ruvinda (Sri Lanka Day Tours) and also his company and other team members for all the efforts put in to make our stay a very memorable one. I would also like to say a very special thanks to Sunil, the driver who took us around without ever grumbling or showing any sort of disgust or tiredness.
Should be ever come back to Colombo, or should there be friends of our visiting, I will always remember to give Ruvinda’s (Sri Lanka Day Tours) contact number for all their requirements.
A very big THANK YOU Ruvinda (Sri Lanka Day Tours) once again from Vance, Noelene, Tania, Ruedi and not forgetting Max (German visitor) who is now back in Germany...
Client Name :- Noelene & Family
Date :- 19th December 2009
Location :- Bentota ~ Snorkeling
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