Sri Lankan participation at MITT 2013 in Moscow, Russia

Having made a thundering impact in Saint Petersburg, the Mega Tourism Road Show has now gone to Moscow to continue the saga. Promotional events were conducted at two locations. Firstly, the promotional activities at the MITT 2013 Travel and Trade Exhibition held at the expo centre, Moscow and secondly, the cultural show Sri Lanka Night which was held at the concert hall of the Department of Main Administrative Services to the Diplomatic Corps.

To promote tourism industry of the country, the Embassy of Sri Lanka in Moscow participated in the annual MITT Travel and Trade Exhibition for the 10th consecutive time with the support of the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau. This year, Sri Lanka is being represented by 18 leading travel and tour companies of the country including giants in the industry such as Aitken Spence, Andrews Travel, Jetwing and John Keells.
MITT is the Russia’s leading and largest travel exhibition. With over 3,000 participating companies and 197 destinations, it is the key meeting place for the industry and an opportunity to catch up with colleagues and clients. In addition, it enables participants to increase awareness of their destination, gain a real feel for the Russian travel market and gauge demand for their services. 2013 marks MITT’s 20th anniversary. Held since 1994, the event has become the main industry forum for the travel professionals.
During 2012, tourist arrivals from Russia and CIS countries to Sri Lanka were 51,746, an increment of almost 64% from 2011 (2011 – 31,592). Active participation by Sri Lankan travel and tour companies at MITT in Moscow – Russia, UITT in Kiev – Ukraine and KITF in Almaty – Kazakhstan could be seen as the major reason for the noticeable increment in the tourist arrivals.    
The ‘Sri Lanka Night’ held in the evening added another feather in the cap of the tourism promotional campaign with the astonishing performance of maestro Channa Wickramasinghe’s dance troupe. Further, the cultural show was well attended and received especially by the members of the Diplomatic Corps with Sergei Lavrov, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation as the Chief Guest. The photo exhibition arranged by the Embassy, covering major tourist attractions of the country, also drew special attention from all present.