Sri Lanka Tourism Expo 2025 brings together youth, SMEs and international experts

SRI Lanka Tourism Expo will officially inaugurate tomorrow, (27) at One Galle Face with the Colombo Travel Mart, organised for the third consecutive time in partnership with SLAITO.

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Culinary professionals

This business-to-business and business-to-consumer exhibition will feature around 75 stalls, showcasing everything from hotels and inbound tour operators to ecotourism providers and cultural tourism experiences. It will serve as a networking platform where local businesses can engage with foreign buyers, forging partnerships that boost inbound tourism. The opening ceremony will be graced by Tourism Deputy Minister Prof. Ruwan Ranasinge, High Commissioner of New Zealand to Sri Lanka David Pine, SLTDA and SLTPB Chairman Buddhika Hewawasam, SLITHM and SLCB Chairman Dheera Hettiarachi, and UNWTO officials highlighting both local leadership and international support.

Sri Lanka is set to celebrate World Tourism Day 2025 with one of the most ambitious and wide-ranging series of events the industry has seen in recent years. Organised under the global UNWTO theme of "Tourism and Sustainable Transformation", the program reflects the country's determination to place its youth, SMEs, and academic excellence at the centre of tourism's future. From competitions in the provinces to international conferences at BMICH, this year's Expo marks not just a celebration but a reimagining of Sri Lanka's role in global tourism. The initiative is jointly organised under the leadership of Tourism, Foreign Affairs and Foreign Employment Minister Vijitha Herath by the Tourism Ministry, the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA), the Sri Lanka Institute of Tourism & Hotel Management (SLITHM), the Sri Lanka Association of Inbound Tour Operators (SLAITO), the Tourist Hotels Association of Sri Lanka (THASL), as well as the Alumni Association of Tourism Economics & Hospitality Management (AATEHM) and the Sustainable Tourism Unit (STU) of the University of Colombo.