Sri Lanka Tourism marked an important milestone by hosting the prestigious British Guild of Travel Writers (BGTW) Media Convention from 13th - 23rd May 2025, with the aim of enhancing destination exposure with the top UK travel media and to generate high-level publicity for the Sri Lanka in the UK market.
The group consisted of 34 accredited professional journalists representing the BGTW Association, and they were discovering Sri Lanka’s unique tourism experiences in three different themes named Heritage & Culture, Adventure and Nature and The Road Less Travelled. The main focus of the convention is to showcase Sri Lanka’s sustainable tourism products, authentic experiences, inclusive and immersive travel, off-the-beaten-path explorations, and unique tourism hospitality services offered by the destination, enabling them to envisage the country in an entirely different lens.
The media group travelled for 10 days around the country including North and East, Central Highlands, Cultural Triangle, Southern and western coast covering range of diverse experiences such as cave meditation, religious philosophy, wildlife and nature, jungle treks, authentic Sri Lankan cuisine, arts and crafts, adventure, people and ethnic harmony, high quality hospitality services and learning deep rooted cultural traditions engaging in a spectrum of curated activities in one single platter.
The BGTW media group’s visit in Sri Lanka concluded with a high note, and they were treated to a Gala Dinner on 23rd May at Cinnamon Life-City of Dreams, where they had the opportunity of networking with key industry stakeholders, professionals, and key resource personnel in the tourism sector. The event was held amidst a large number of distinguished guests, including Buddhika Hewawasam, Chairman, Sri Lanka Tourism, Dileep Mudadeniya, Chairman, Tourism Advisory Committee, M. Shanthikumar, Chairman of THASL, Chris Coe, Chairman, British Guild of Travel Writers, Hiran Cooray, Chairman, Jetwing Hotels, Dinesh Perera, Managing Director, Blue Lanka Tours, Dushan Wickramasuriya, (Director Marketing SLTPB) and Sarangi Thilakasena, (Deputy Director Marketing SLTPB).
The British media openly expressed their gratitude for Sri Lanka being mesmerized with Sri Lankan experience and hospitality throughout the entire tour. They emphasized how this tour has transformed their perspective of the country from a sun, sand, and sea destination to a vibrant and diverse travelers' paradise. Their assured that their publicity will reflect these different layers and angles experienced in Sri Lanka which would definitely lure more and more UK travelers to visit this enchanting destination in Asia.
Mr. Dushan Wickramasuriya, Director Marketing SLTPB, made the welcoming speech at the Gala Dinner reception and remarked, ‘that Sri Lanka Tourism sincerely hopes that the media group will spread the good word about the destination and its experiences in the UK and across the globe’. ‘A toast was raised on behalf of the BGTW, followed by a speech by Mr. Buddhika Hewawasam, Chairman, Sri Lanka Tourism, who stole the spotlight with his keynote speech, highlighting on Tourism Promotions and way forward of Tourism Industry of Sri Lanka. He remarked “Your voices are what is being heard by the world, and I know for sure, you will bring about the best part of Sri Lanka to your avid readers’.
Tokens of appreciation were handed over to all the key partners at this event, who have supported this endeavor from the industry. ‘Hiran Cooray, Chairman, Jetwing Hotels Sri Lanka, was complimented as the main hospitality partner and ‘Dinesh Perera, Blue Lanka Tours received the token of appreciation as the main logistical partner for their valuable contributions made for this media convention.
Special recognitions were also handed over to the key resource personnel from different fields in Sri Lanka who made voluntary contributions to showcase unique experiences of the country for this media group and to highlight different new traveller dimensions of Sri Lanka in niche tourism segments. Dr. Sinharaja Thammita Delgoda, ‘ Miguel Cunat’, Saroja Dharmadasa, ‘.Janaka De Silva, Shalini Gamage, Sagara De Silva, Mr. Gamunu Ratnayake and Harith Soyza were awarded with special tokens of appreciation in this regard by M Shantikumar, Chairman, THASL, and Dushan Wickramasuriya, Director Marketing, SLTPB.
Chris Coe, Chairman of the BGTW, was ceremonially escorted into the event clad in traditional Kandyan dress, becoming the cynosure of all attendees. In his speech, Mr. Coe described Sri Lanka as “a Stunning Island offering exquisite travel experiences,” going into lengths & depths to describe their experiences of this tour and emphasizing the high potential Sri Lanka has to showcase itself as a unique and immersive travel destination in the world.
He was handed over with a plaque as a souvenir by Buddhika Hewawasam, Chairman, Sri Lanka Tourism as a mark of respect for their visit to Sri Lanka.
Juliet Coombe, Senior Travel Editor of the BGTW made the closing remarks immensely praising Sri Lanka’s potential and hospitality and being grateful for Sri Lanka Tourism for hosting the BGTW Convention 2025.
The tokens of appreciation to all members of the journalist group was handed over at the end of the event, and a special video titled ‘Voices of a Memorable Journey’ was displayed, voicing the compelling narratives of the journalists who participated in the tours. A group photograph was also taken with the Chairman Sri Lanka Tourism and all Tourism officials with the BGTW Media group.
The event concluded with a high note, leaving everlasting memories of Sri Lanka for the BGTW members to spread across their audiences and many untold stories to share and lasting impressions to cherish about this country, enabling them to generate more compelling narratives to showcase the destination and its unique appeal, leading to high growth of potential travelers to visit Sri Lanka in the future.
Pix by M. A. Pushpakumara
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