The Pekoe Trail, the first walking and hiking trail within the Serendipity Trails concept of discovering Sri Lanka on foot won an international award from the British Writers’ Association at the World Travel Market event recently.
Minister of Tourism Harin Fernando who received this award said that this is a unique tourism ‘masterpiece’ that was created for nature lovers. “It’s a 300 km stretch and we want tourists to cover the entire route. The best thing to do is to visit the site several times.”
“It validates our efforts to revive the tourism industry in our country, after a few challenging years, by innovating and celebrating authentic travel, in a way that resonates with and attracts travellers keen to explore and discover the real Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka has high potential for nature based, wellness tourism and transformative travel, and The Pekoe Trail is spearheading new immersive experiences in this segment.’’
The Pekoe Trail has won this award beating four other major projects nominated under the wider- world category. Sri Lanka Tourism has also partnered with the British Guild this year to host the International Tourism Awards segment exposing new tourism branding Sri Lanka -you’ll come back for more to an audience of 300 high-profile media who attended the event in London.
“Sri Lanka Tourism extends gratitude to the founder of the Pekoe trail Miguel Cunat, European Union and the U.S. Agency for International Development for funding the project and thank journalists Petra Shepherd and Jessica Vincent for nominating Sri Lanka for this award and for featuring wonderful stories about the trail, and to all the other numerous travel writers and journalists that have written so many wonderful things about the trail and Sri Lanka.
Heritage Trails Advisor Miguel Cunat said that they were very pleased to receive this award and it is another international accolade they received.
“This trail was Asia’s best kept secret due to its composition of a mosaic of forests, tea fields, mountains and valleys and charming villages with this award Pekoe has gone international.”
Development of The Pekoe Trail is backed by the European Union (EU) as part of their EUR 5.7 million investment to support Sri Lanka’s national tourism strategy, with additional support of $787,000 from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).
New breed of entrepreneurs
“Due to this trial a new breed of entrepreneurs have emerged and are making a living from it.”
The Tourism Resilience Project is assisting them on behalf of the EU to develop a signature experience for Sri Lanka that is globally competitive.
“Ten stages of the Pekoe Trail are now ready for visitors which includes three stages near Kandy, five near Ella and two near Nuwara Eliya (Each stage is approximately 12-15 km).
Other stages passing through the Bogawantalawa Valley, Uda Pussellawa and Kotmale are under development and will be ready for visitors from December 2023.
Most of the stages begin and end in small towns or tea estate villages, ensuring that the trail, while representing a new experience, will also create opportunities for jobs and new locally owned enterprises in rural communities, spurring Socioeconomic development in the Central Highlands of Sri Lanka.
The route is designed as a thread that connects the many interesting and significant points of interests, elements, and stories of the Sri Lankan Tea Country. The trail will bring to life popular mythology, the living heritage of Ceylon Tea, a different cultural experience while also discovering new stories and narratives to help revitalise destination value.
“Digital tools such as an interactive website, trail app and podcasts are leveraged to optimise visitor experiences.”
