NewswireToday - /newswire/ - Dubai, UAE, United Arab Emirates, 05/04/2008 - Deputy Minister to spearhead tourism promotion drive at Middle East event.

His Excellency Faizer Mustafa, Deputy Minister of Tourism for Sri Lanka will lead the island nation’s tourism promotion drive at the forthcoming Arabian Travel Market scheduled to take place from 6th to 9th May at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre.

Heading a team of over 100 travel trade professionals including public and private sector officials, HE Mustafa will be meeting key officials from the regions travel trade industry to underline Sri Lanka’s potential as a tourist destination; address a press conference to announce new promotions, as well as new routes to the island nation; chair a strategic meeting of key stakeholders involved in the promotion of the destination worldwide; and host a dinner for the travel trade and media at a prominent city hotel.

“Sri Lanka has made encouraging growth in the first quarter of the year and the highest performing region has been the Middle East, which registered an increase of 80.6% in comparison with 2007,” remarked HE Mustafa.

He noted that the Middle East countries offer tremendous potential for growth and can develop into a major travel origin market for Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB) has organized a stand at the event to accommodate 46 co-participants from Sri Lanka that will be exhibiting under the SLTPB umbrella to present a strong and unified image of the island nation to the regional and international travel community who will be present in large numbers at ATM.

“We are confident that our participation at this year’s event will provide the Sri Lankan team with the opportunity to conduct business with travel trade visitors and buyers and directly address the target groups,” remarked Dileep Mudadeniya, Managing Director of SLTPB.

“We have created a stand that will provide an ideal platform for networking with travel professionals and customers alike, and we are positive that many valuable leads will be followed up and converted into new business for Sri Lanka,” Mr. Mudadeniya stressed.

ATM is the most established and largest travel trade event of its kind in the Middle East region. The high quality and varied travel sector representation guarantees that ATM is an extremely important exhibition for those wishing to enter or do business with the region or those wishing to meet existing customers.

In order to stand out and make an audio visual impact at the event, SLTPB will be flying in a special dance troupe from Sri Lanka. Visitors will also have the opportunity to sample Sri Lankan hospitality on stand which will provide alluring glimpses of the island nation.

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