Lessons

FAM TRIPS

Creating new avenues that are aimed at broadening the commercial scope for generating travel markets, Cinnamon Hotels & Resorts launched ‘Treasure Hunt 2015’ at the annual International French Travel Mart (IFTM) which took place in Paris from 29 September - 2 October this year. The shortlisted travel agents who are to embark on a unique journey to Sri Lanka on a week-long tour, as part of ‘The Treasure Hunt’, were also announced during the event.

‘The Treasure Hunt’, a mega familiarization tour targeting an elite group of French Travel agents, is presented by Cinnamon Hotels & Resorts as a part of advancing Sri Lanka’s position in the growing landscape of global tourism and hospitality. Designed specifically to promote and re-introduce the country to a specific travel audience, the tour will assist in increasing the number of French travellers to Sri Lanka in the future.

With improving economic, political and social conditions, Sri Lanka is once again becoming the preferred destination for travel agents and long haul travellers from across the globe.  And although there have been several technological advancements in the travel and tourism industry today, the key role that the travel agents and tour operators play is still of vital importance.

‘The Treasure Hunt’ targets the travel agents in France and has been a tremendous success in the past. With close to 4000 travel agent outlets across the country, the role that these agencies play in convincing, encouraging and or discouraging a potential client remain very critical. And so, we felt that it would be fitting to have a mega familiarization tour such as this to create more awareness and give them a first-hand experience of the destination,” said Dileep Mudadeniya, Head of Brand Marketing at Cinnamon Hotels & Resorts.This mega familiarization tour by Cinnamon would host a group of 60 travel agents in all expenses paid trip to Sri Lanka, where they will be given the opportunity to visit the main tourist destinations of the island while participating in a competitive ‘Treasure Hunt’. During the tour, participants will be assigned teams and will engage in finding treasures based on clues given to them by the organizers.

This event adds an element of excitement, as it is not the average familiarization tour where agents are taken to view sites and given tours outlining the products and services offered by a destination. The Treasure Hunt presents an interesting perspective both creatively and interactively providing more value in promoting Sri Lanka as a premier tourist destination.