Sri Lanka Tourism, Pro-Am Serendib to promote Sports Tourism | Page 2 | Daily News

Sri Lanka Tourism, Pro-Am Serendib to promote Sports Tourism

Tourism Development and Christian Religious Affairs Minister John Amaratunga.
Tourism Development and Christian Religious Affairs Minister John Amaratunga.

 Sri Lanka Tourism and Pro-Am Serendib is all set to bring the world’s number one multi-sport event brand IRONMAN to Sri Lanka.

The IRONMAN 70.3 Colombo - which is a qualifying round for tri-athletes to participate in the IRONMAN World Championship 2018 in South Africa. The event is scheduled to be held on February 25, with a 1.9km sea swim, 90km bike ride and a 21.2km run – all to be completed by a tri-athlete within an 8.5-hour period or a relay team.

The lRONMAN Triathlon Series of events is the largest participation sports platform in the world. Recognized for excellence through distinguished events, world-class athletes and quality products. IRONMAN has a history of over 37 years.

It is the #1 user based sports brand in the world (Global Triathlon Website) with over 260 events across 44 countries. However, there are none in the South Asian region and it is a great pride for Sri Lanka for being the only country in the region to host this prestigious event in 2018.

The brand being a multisport anchored on Sun, Sea and Sand as well as the road infrastructure for cycling with the need for precision in execution perfectly blends into the desired positioning of brand Sri Lanka for 2020.

“We are excited about this announcement as we are expanding our portfolio of races – especially in South Asia where the number of IRONMAN athletes are growing every year.” said Geoff Meyer - Asia Managing Director for IRONMAN. “We have been looking for the right partner to start our first event in South Asia and we are excited to work with Pro-Am Serendib , to organize a great race in Colombo.”

IRONMAN 70.3 Colombo will also position Sri Lanka as a ‘Hub for Active Sports Tourism’ in South Asia by 2020, endorsed by and associated with the prestigious IRONMAN Brand, the world's largest user based sports brand, paving the way for similar events by creating content for sport's tourism marketing, capacity for event infrastructure, competency in terms of event management and international marketing and confidence with user and stakeholder endorsements and strategic associations.

Pro-Am Serendib is hopeful that IRONMAN 70.3 Colombo will become an annual event while putting Sri Lanka on the global triathlon map. The company hopes to hold a number of activities to promote the sport of triathlon in Sri Lanka to eventually achieve at least 20% local representation at the event.

The goal is to make Sri Lanka the destination of choice for IRONMAN events in Asia as Philippines is currently the leading destination in Asia for IRONMAN events presently.

Pro-Am Serendib are looking towards tapping into the exponential growth of Sports Tourism as the world is ‘Sports Mad’ – Sport is considered a destination, while sporting facilities are considered tourist attractions with fans and spectators alike travelling specifically to attend sporting events.


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