Now, Colombo University Is Set To Celebrate UN World Tourism Day, A Significant Milestone For Sri Lanka’s Tourism Industry, Here Is All You Need To Know

The University of Colombo is preparing to celebrate the United Nations World Tourism Day (UNWTD) in 2025 in grand style. Scheduled to be held from August to October, the event targets to bring together diverse players in the tourism sector, and includes government, academia, sector players, and youth, under the theme “Tourism and Sustainable Transformation.” This national effort will help raise awareness, spark innovation and youth engagement, and hope for sustainability. The mega event which will take place on September 27-October1, 2025 at One Galle Face and the BMICH in Colombo, will serve as a testament to a collaborate drive to enhance the country’s tourism industry.

Sustainable Tourism: A Call to Action

UN World Tourism Day 2025 shouldn’t simply be about saying that tourism matters; it should begin to galvanize a nationwide movement to focus different sectors of society on tourism’s big challenges. The event is taking place under the theme “Tourism and Sustainable Transformation”, which reflects a global concern about environmental and socio-economic threats as well as opportunities related to tourism, particularly in fully touristic destinations across the world. This observance will promote greater awareness on the potential impact of tourism on the contribution of the sector to sustainable development among public and private sector decision makers and the public, while mobilizing all stakeholders to work together in making tourism a catalyst for positive change.

The summit will be a learning and innovation opportunity, inspiring all stakeholders to reflect about their usual paths and search for creative and sustainable ways to do tourism. Involving government agencies, international experts and academia the initiative is also planned to focus on how Sri Lanka can become a premier destination for sustainable tourism that benefits its people while protecting its rich natural and cultural heritage.

The Inter School Tourism Competition: Engaging the Youth in the Future of Tourism

One of the highlights is the inter-school tourism competition aimed at promoting interest in the tourism sector at the grassroots level. Involving students from Grade 9 onwards, it is a competition to create the Junior Tourism Club in all the schools in Sri Lanka. These clubs will provide students with a promoter hands-on experience, practical training and mentorship under the guidance of industry leaders and will prepare up and coming talent for early success in the hospitality and tourism arenas. By combining theory learning and hands-on experience, students will also learn about different aspects of tourism including those pertaining to hospitality, eco-tourism, and cultural promotion.

Competition will be segregated into various categories such as culinary, housekeeping, food and beverage service and destination promotion to exhibit the skills and creativity among students. The finals of this competition will be held on 25 and 26 September 2025 in One Galle Face, Colombo. it will also be an extraordinary opportunity for students to meet real people working in the industry who will encourage them to consider a career in tourism.

Participation of young people in tourism is key for future of the industry. Engaging them at an early stage of their education, the effort will create a new generation of tourism professionals that are well-adapted to sustainability measures and able to spearhead the sector into the future.

The Tourism Travel Mart: A Platform for Industry Interaction

Concurrently with the inter-school competition, the Tourism Travel Mart will provide a vibrant platform for B2B and B2C interactions. The event will gather together all representatives of tourism field: hotel chains, tour operators, eco-tourism organizations, and cultural organizations. The travel mart will enable businesses to present their services, products, and innovations to encourage networking, collaboration and discovering new market opportunities.

This will enable businesses to meet with the public and other businesses and forge new partnerships that will create new tourism products, enhance the visitor experience and develop new marketing opportunities. Furthermore, make it possible for tourists to discover a variety of tourism services and products from eco-friendly accommodations to culturally engaging travel experiences.

The Travel Mart is also an integral part of the Sri Lanka tourism industry in portraying their progress and achievements. Through showcasing sustainable actions, new tourism products and trends, the event promotes Sri Lanka as a destination committed towards tourism innovations, inspiring local and international enthusiasm in its tourism products and services.

The Tourism Job Fair And Career Guidance Expo: The Link to Connecting Talent with Opportunities

Another key feature of the celebration is the Tourism Job Fair and Career Guidance Expo scheduled to take place at One Galle Face on September 26, 2025. The event will be a connection for the youth and a link to the tourism sector in order to let young people see the opportunities there are in tourism and hospitality. Students and recent graduates will meet with potential employers, participate in workshops and have on-site interviews with hiring managers.

The job fair will also offer advice on the different career prospects in the tourism sector such as hotel managment, tour guiding and event planning. Through workshops and expert-led seminars, attendees will learn the skills and qualifications needed to move ahead in this area. The expo will also educate and motivate young people to be able to choose wisely when it comes to their future career path by exposing them to mind-changing experiences in the professions within the industry.

As tourism develops and expands, programs such as the job fair will help to ensure the industry has access to a group of talented individuals who have received a high caliber education that can help advance it. Through its youth empowerment program in tourism, the country is investing in the long-term future of its hospitality and tourism industries.

International Tourism Research Conference & Leaders’ Summit: A World Conversation on the Future of Tourism

Two focal events at BMICH will be the International Tourism Research Conference (ITRC) and the International Tourism Leaders’ Summit (ITLS) scheduled for September 30 and October 1, 2025, drawing some of the best brains and thought leaders from around the world. These conferences will prove an excellent opportunity to to discuss the burning topics of tourism, such as sustainability, technology and innovation.

Leading professors, scholars and industry people from more than20 countries will meet at Colombo to disseminate research, share experience, and discuss the future of tourism. Academic papers and case studies will be presented at the ITRC and the ITLS will concentrate on strategic leadership and policy planning for tourism. The discussion that flows from these events and their outputs will influence the trajectory of tourism in Sri Lanka and beyond and will be of value to government, industry and academe.

Conclusion – Social and Economic Breakthrough for Sri Lanka Tourism Industry

It is undoubtedly, an epoch-making moment for the tourism industry of Sri Lanka when the University of Colombo, supported by our partners in government, the private sector and academia, celebrate UN World Tourism Day 2025. This event is set to change the future of tourism in Sri Lanka and change the way Sri Lanka will become a global leader by creating awareness among the youth by a sustainable development imitative.

Projects such as these, including the inter school competition, Tourism Travel Mart, Career Guidance Expo and International Tourism Research Conference, are laying the foundation for a more equitable, sustainable and cutting edge tourism sector in Sri Lanka. These events will do more than just raise awareness about the significance of sustainable tourism and its potential; they will help the next generation of tourism professionals succeed.

As we watch Sri Lanka continue to recover and grow its tourism that was heavily damaged by these tragedies, the success of these initiatives that emerge from this will become a blue-print for countries of the world and proof that when tourism is presented and consumed with new ideas and innovation yet with sustainability as it’s goal, it works as a powerful catalyst to create the good in the world.

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