Ayurvie Weligama, a Theme Resorts & Spa’s property, welcomed the first familiarization tour of the tourism restart. The German delegation compromising of Ms. Claudia Wagner, Managing Director & Mr. Uwe Endres, Head of Ayurveda - Fitreisen Group, Mr. Markus Hegemann, Managing Director - NEUE WEGE Bewusst Reisen and journalists Hans-Jorg Baston & Nathalie Gütermann arrived early morning on the 22^nd of January at Bandaranayke International Airport. Upon arrival, they were transferred to Weligama in a Bio-Secure bubble and had their PCR tests done at the hotel prior to check in as per the Health Guidelines.

During their tour to Sri Lanka, the high-level delegation will visit Ayurveda hotels and attractions in a bid to promote Ayurveda in Sri Lanka to the German market as well as provide confidence to all future travelers.

Before the pandemic, the wellness tourism was the fastest growing market segment worldwide with 6.5 per cent annually, more than twice as fast as tourism overall (3.2 per cent), based on Euromonitor data. In Sri Lanka, the Ayurvedic Tourism sector is largely dominated by the German Market. The sector consists of around 60 Authentic Ayurveda retreats which adds up to 1100 rooms. This segment shows huge growth potential in the coming months with Sri Lanka’s main competitor India currently closed to international tourists. In addition, on average the minimum stay of an Ayurveda client is around 14 days where they will stay in one retreat to receive a Panchakarma treatment. This is ideal for the new normal as it complies perfectly with the Tourist Guidelines.

This tour is organized and planned by the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau with initial accommodation sponsored by Ayurvie Weligama by Theme Resorts & Spas and the transport sponsored by Connaissance De Ceylan.

Theme Resorts & Spa’s would like to thank the Minister of Tourism and Chairperson Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau and her team for organising this.