Under the guidance of the Ministry of Tourism, Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority and the Department of Trade Commerce and Tourism of Central Provincial Council have organized a three-day special programme and several other events to celebrate the World Tourism Day 2020 in Kandy.

World Tourism Day was declared by the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) to promote sustainable, responsible and universally accessible tourism. It is commemorated worldwide on the 27th of September every year. 

This year’s World Tourism Day will be celebrated under the theme “Tourism and Rural Development”, focusing on fostering a people-centric, technology-driven and sustainable tourism sector from the grassroot level, to achieve overall economic development in the long run.

Tourism is an important driving force for pro-poor economic growth and poverty alleviation. It serves as a catalyst for job creation for youth, women, minorities, indigenous people and other marginalized groups, and as a stimulant of infrastructure and public service development in rural areas.

Therefore, this year’s World Tourism Day aims to incorporate key provisions of the Tourism Strategic Action Plan 2020-2022, by taking measures to upgrade community-based tourism products, improve strategic marketing of tourism products and enhance the capacities of tourism based-SMEs. Such initiatives are expected to encourage rural industries and communities to exploit opportunities available in tourism-based niche markets.

The official ceremony will commence at 9.00 a.m. on the 27th of September at the Kandy City Center, under the patronage of Hon. Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksha and Hon. Minister of Tourism Prasanna Ranathunga with the presence of other officials from Sri Lanka Tourism.

The highlights of World Tourism Day 2020 programme are as follows,

Main Celebration: 27th of September 2020 from 9.00 am to 12 noon at Kandy City Centre (KCC). This event is jointly organized by Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) and Central Provincial Council. 

Industrial Exhibition: 25th, 26th & 27th of September 2020 from 9.00 am to 10.00 pm at Kandy City Centre to exhibit all local tourism industries in Central Province. There will be 80 stalls organized by the Central Provincial Council.

Food Festival: 25th, 26th & 27th of September 2020 at Kandy City Centre, organized by the Central Provincial Council.

Kandy Cultural Event: 25th, 26th & 27th of September 2020 at Kandy City Center under the theme “Connecting Local Wisdom and Heritage for People-Centric Tourism Development" organized by the Central Provincial Council.

Culinary Exhibition with Tea Heritage & Spices: 25th September 2020 from 1.00 pm to 5.00 pm on the theme“Explore the Land of Diversity with Tea Heritage and Sri Lankan Spices” organized by the Central Provincial Council.

Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority and Department of Trade Commerce and Tourism of Central Provincial Council are also conducting a Training Programme targeting rural industry entrepreneurs, tourism supply chains and students in the Central Province. This aims to enhance the capacities of tourism-based SMEs, improve skills of tourism supply chains and encourage students and youth in the central province to engage in tourism-based industries to make use of opportunities available in the tourism sector. 

Other activities

1. Training for rural industry entrepreneurs, tourism supply chain and students in the Central Province jointly organized by SLTDA and Central Provincial Council.

• Pre-training on the 17th -19th September 2020 
• 2 sessions on parallel to the celebration (25th & 26th Sep. at KCC)
• Post sessions for School Children (October 15th -10th November – 3 programmes for 3 districts in CP)
• Post sessions for Industry Entrepreneurs, tourism supply chain (20 sessions) (venue will be nearest training Centre to the entrepreneurs)

2. Tourism Leaders’ Summit (TLS) 2020 - 27th September from 12 noon to 4.00 p.m at Kandy City Center on “A Way Forward for Sustainable Tourism Development: Knowledge, Innovation, Policy, Synergy”  organized by Department of Trade Commerce and Tourism of Central Provincial Council and University of Colombo.

3. International Tourism Research Conference (ITRC) – 27th of September 2020 from 12 noon to 4.00 p.m at Kandy City Center on “Crisis Management and Resilience Building for Sustainable Tourism Development” organized by Department of Trade Commerce and Tourism of Central Provincial Council and University of Colombo.

4. Inter-Provincial Networking session- on the 27th of September 2020 from 4.00 pm to 5.00 pm at Kandy City Center.

The Department of Trade Commerce and Tourism of Central Provincial Council will also organize the following competitions in light of the World Tourism Day celebration,    

• Inter-School Quiz / Poster / Video for Promotion of Central Province Tourism 
• Competition for selection of the “Best Tea Trails Hikes”.
• Competition for selection of “Best Tea Tourism Story”.
• Competition for selection of “Best Tourism Slogan” for the Central Province 
• Competition for selection of “Best Central Province Innovative Tour Package”