Yesterday was Earth Day.... Most have forgotten the initiative
launched by Sri Lanka Tourism in November 2007, the time I was its head ...
Towards a Carbon Clean Sri Lanka: A Tourism Earth Lung. Let this serve as reminder not of me but of the initiative.
Although the international tourism community hailed this
initiative, the industry leaders here felt that it was not the way forward for
promoting Sri Lanka. I still hold that this is the way forward for our tourism
and for our nation, if we are to have a unique thrust and positioning for our tourism while ensuring the conservation of the resources that support it ....
This one minute video clip is what we used to set the stage
for every tourism presentation for Sri Lanka at the time and moved many audiences.
The position we held was that tourism had to lead the effort to make Sri Lanka a
carbon clean destination, pulling along all other sectors.
Thank you! Alston Koch. He was appointed Sri Lanka’s Tourism
Ambassador and came up with this beautiful song to present and position this
initiative on behalf of his land of birth. I urge all tourism leaders in Sri Lanka to rethink the strategies
they adopt now, (promoting different aspects of our lovely destination without
a holistic approach to saving our most unique resources) to position her as a
small but unique earth lung that must be protected and presented meaningfully with
much care and emotion.
This song was positioning Sri Lanka’s global role and
importance. This is how it was received when it was first launched :
"The British State Minister of Tourism, Babara Follet, after a performance of Alston Koch said this was one of the best songs she heard this year. Chairman, World Travel Market, Fiona Jeffery, said the song was emotional.
"This song has highly inspiring words that would help to carry the Earth Lung initiative across the world," she said. "This undoubtedly is the Sri Lanka gift to the world," she added."
I’ll let you be the judge of that need and the substance of that call. Enjoy !
"The British State Minister of Tourism, Babara Follet, after a performance of Alston Koch said this was one of the best songs she heard this year. Chairman, World Travel Market, Fiona Jeffery, said the song was emotional.
"This song has highly inspiring words that would help to carry the Earth Lung initiative across the world," she said. "This undoubtedly is the Sri Lanka gift to the world," she added."
I’ll let you be the judge of that need and the substance of that call. Enjoy !
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QN3y22VRWhk
At these links below are news stories and other resources about how the international tourism community responded to the initiative at time:
http://www.wildasia.org/main.cfm/RTI/post/2445
http://www.dailynews.lk/2008/11/13/bus07.asp
Pic credit: Sri Lanka Tourism
Shared Google Image
At these links below are news stories and other resources about how the international tourism community responded to the initiative at time:
http://www.wildasia.org/main.cfm/RTI/post/2445
http://www.dailynews.lk/2008/11/13/bus07.asp
Pic credit: Sri Lanka Tourism
Shared Google Image
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