Estonian TV crew gets a taste of Sri Lanka for the first time
Sri Lanka Tourism, under its Scandinavian market promotions hosted a Media FAM with 4 Media personnel from Kanal2 TV from Estonia. The Tour started off on the 28th of February and ended on the 8th of March 2023. The purpose of hosting this tour was to receive more high end tourist arrivals from Estonia, as well as the other Scandinavian markets including Lithuania and Latvia. Subsequently, this tour was hosted in collaboration with the Sri Lanka Embassy in Sweden who contributed to make this tour a success. The FAM Tour covered all the main tourist attractions in Sri Lanka including Wild Life, Ayurveda, Boutique hotels, and also cultural attractions. All these attractions were filmed and the destination will be promoted on air via Kanal2 TV on the 18th of March 2023, through the TV show ‘’ Kaugele Siit’’ (far from here). The first episode of this programme is scheduled to be telecast for 45 minutes. This travel programme has 420,000 followers as their audience. Kanal2 TV was also the official Media partner for the Winter Olympics 2018.
The visitors were quite impressed with the 8-day tour which they had, enjoying every moment of their tour. They were equally mesmerized with the warm hospitality which they received from the Sri Lankans, which they are mostly renowned for. They enjoyed the traditional Sri Lankan cuisine, and the variety of dishes which they tasted. Nevertheless, they had the opportunity of exploring every attraction of the paradise island to convey the message to their fellow Estonians, that Sri Lanka is a unique travel destination which has everything in store for the enthusiastic traveler. They also had a cooking demonstration by courtesy of Siddhalepa Ayurveda Resorts & Spas Wadduwa, and also a Yoga treat at the same venue. Visiting the Turtle Hatchery at Kosgoda , the Elephant orphanage at Pinnawala, going through a safari at Eco park was also another amazing experience which they had during their stay. They had another unforgettable moment by having the chance to attend a local wedding ceremony which included all the traditional customs and rituals which they watched in awe to the end. They also filmed the ceremony to air on their TV programme. The cultural show which was held in Kandy was also another opportunity which they had for the first time. The Estonians were mostly interested in their Yoga experience and the traditional cuisine. While expressing their positive comments and enthusiasm in visiting and having all these experiences, they specifically complimented on the warm and hospitable welcome which they received from Sri Lankans wherever they went.
Estonia, which comes under the Eastern – Central Europe Region, can be a major tourism market given the necessary promotions. Up to December 2022, 978 tourist arrivals from Estonia were recorded according to statistics, which could be increased even further through frequent destination promotions and creating awareness of what Sri Lanka has to offer as a top tourism destination.
In making this tour a success, and in providing the best of hospitality, several leading hotels contributed in providing accommodation and other facilities to the Estonian Media crew, including Siddhalepa Ayurveda Resorts & Spas, RIU Hotels, The Theva Residency Boutique Hotel, Hotel Sigiriya & Occidental Paradise Dambulla, Karpaha Sands, and Jetwing Travels which contributed with transportation.
