Sri Lanka to host Miss World Tourism pageant this month

The 2023 Miss World Tourism pageant is planned to be held in Sri Lanka from July 20 – July 30.

According to the organizers, this is the first time this pageant is being held in the island nation.

The pageant events will not limit to just the capital city of Colombo but will spread across several regions such as Negombo, Kandy, Nuwara Eliya, Ella, Yala and Weligama.

A press conference in this regard was held in Colombo recently.

According to the organizers, representatives from around 40 countries are expected to participate and they hope the beauty of Sri Lanka will be promoted globally through these contestants not only in English but also in their mother tongues as well.

It was stated here that the contestants will come to Sri Lanka at their own expense and no prize money will be given. They added that they will only host the contestants’ stay.

Speaking as the chief guest of the event, State Minister of Tourism – Diana Gamage said that Sri Lanka is a tourist destination and by the end of 2022, 800,000 tourists had visited the island, bringing in an income of USD 800 million.

As of 2018, 1.9 million tourists had visited the country, which generated an income of 7.7 billion dollars. Therefore, it is necessary to secure at least 5-6 billion dollars through tourism next year, she noted, adding that Sri Lanka should try to attract at least 2 million tourists each year.