Sri Lanka yesterday welcomed the first set of participants of the popular Raid Amazones, the annual adventure trail originating from France that features female athletes competing in numerous challenges including riding, running, orienteering, mountain biking, canoeing, archery and others.
This is Raid Amazones third visit to the country and first major adventure-tourism oriented event post-pandemic giving a much needed boost to Sri Lanka.
This year’s event will take place at Sigiriya in two groups of over 250 each due to a record number of participants. The first leg takes place from 14 March over nine days and the second leg will commence on 28 March.
Raid Amazones will invest up to EUR 500,000 in Sri Lanka for this event, and over Rs. 3 billion worth of advertising visibility is estimated for the destination across Europe through this partnership. SriLankan Airlines noted that this would be one of the biggest marketing campaigns to position Sri Lanka.
The organisers have lined up several stunning areas to create an attractive backdrop to the events. Over 600 visitors will come to Sri Lanka for the event, and over 100 participants will bring their families and stay longer after the event, which will contribute further towards tourism in Sri Lanka.
The first set of visitors received a warm welcome from SriLankan Airlines after they arrived from Paris via UL 564 flight operated by an all-female crew led by Captain Chamika Rupasingha and Cabin Manager Anju Jayasinghe.
SriLankan announced the event at a press conference in Colombo on International Women’s Day. Further, the airline has branded an aircraft with Raid Amazones 2022 themed livery to bring Sri Lanka into the limelight as an adventure and sports tourism destination on a global scale.