• ‘Raid Amazones’,the largest tourism program held in the country after the Covid pandemic, begins in Sigiriya….
• ‘Raid Amazones’ is a tournament that conveys the message to the world that Sri Lanka is a safe destination….

Minister of Tourism Prasanna Ranathunga stated that selecting Sri Lanka for ‘Raid Amazones’ adventure program conveys a message to the world that Sri Lanka is a safe destination.

The Minister mentioned this while participating in ‘Raid Amazones’ adventure program commenced at Sigiriya today (16).

600 athletes will participate in ‘Raid Amazones’, the largest tourism event in the country after COVID – 19 pandemic. The first round of two-stage tournament will be held from the 14^th to the 22^nd and the second round will be held from the 28^th to the 6^th of April. The tournament will be held in Kaudulla, Medirigiriya, Wewala, Kandalama, Sigiriya and Mahawilgamuwa areas.

253 competitors and 63 staff will participate in the first round while 216 competitors and 63 staff  will participate in the second round. The staff crew includes six doctors, supplying staff, rescue swimmers, photographers and videographers.

Raid Amazone is a popular annual adventure sports series that originated in France which includes running, rowing, mountain biking, walking across a rough road with a map and a compass, and archery. Sri Lankan Airlines acts as the host airline for this year's tournament and Sigiriya is the theme icon. A special uniform has been designed for this purpose highlighting the unique features of Sigiriya Fortress. Sri Lankan Airlines has decorated a special aircraft to bring foreign athletes to Sri Lanka to participate in the tournament.

Addressing the inauguration ceremony, Minister of Tourism, Prasanna Ranathunga further stated that,“selecting Sri Lanka for this program brings a message to the world that Sri Lanka is a safe destination for the tourists. Such programs pave the way for opportunities to attract a global audience and also to attract tourists beyond Europe.

Certain crises in the country have affected the tourism industry. However, we have already taken necessary steps to resolve these crises and restore the country. So, there will be no issue for the tourism industry. At the same time, we have decided to give priority to providing fuel for the tourist vehicles. There are requests to exempt tourism zones from power cuts. And the government has already taken actions for that also.

We opened up the country according to the health guidelines when our tourism industry has been collapsed with the Easter Sunday attack and after COVID – 19 pandemic. We were able to bring the country to a position where 100,000 tourists visit the country per month, within a few months of the opening.

We recently visited France. At that time Sri Lankan Airlines joined hands with us to take this tournament to Sri Lanka. The athletes are selected for this tournament through a program. During that program, there was a huge publicity about Sri Lanka. If we did such a promotion it would cost a lot of money. There will be income flows since they select Sri Lankan Airlines. Also, we focus on attracting tourists from the Middle East and India in future because of the current conflict between Russia and Ukraine. We also hope to promote countries like Australia, New Zealand and Canada.”