SriLankan Airlines, the official airline partner of ‘Raid Amazones 2023’, in anticipation of welcoming aboard the athletes & officials, adorned one of its aircraft with customized livery. Aircraft features an artistic representation of the Kandy Esala Perahera.
SriLankan Airlines had set the stage to usher in Raid Amazones, the only itinerant women’s adventure race in the world, to Sri Lanka for the second year in a row as the Presenting Partner. Raid Amazones had hit the fabled streets of the hill capital, Kandy, between 19 – 29, March 2023, with the participation of over 250 female athletes. SriLankan Airlines had stepped up its efforts toward restoring the country’s tourism industry, in part by drawing major international events that helped showcase the island’s appeal to diverse travel interests in the global arena.
Raid Amazones was a coveted annual destination adventure event originating from France, which featured female athletes competing their way through a range of challenges such as orienteering, mountain biking, canoeing, riding, running, and archery. Sri Lanka had been chosen over rival destinations by the event’s founders due to the unparalleled warmth of its people and support on the ground to pull off a successful event. Their decision had also been attributed to the airline’s tireless marketing efforts to secure the popular trail on successive occasions for Sri Lanka in its hour of need for international tourism support.
During the 21st edition of the trail, the participants had been able to connect with a potpourri of natural and historical highlights as they had trekked through the Kandyan plateau in Central Sri Lanka. Their journey had begun from the moment they had stepped onboard SriLankan Airlines to fly from Paris to Colombo, on an aircraft with custom livery dedicated to Raid Amazones 2023. Named as a UNESCO world heritage site, Kandy, the iconic setting of Raid Amazones 2023, had been renowned for two of the most recognizable cultural symbols that defined Sri Lanka. The first one had been the Temple of the Tooth Relic of the Buddha, which, as the name suggested, had housed the Tooth Relic of the Gauthama Buddha, and had been considered the epitome of Kandyan architecture. The second had been the ‘Kandy Esala Perahera,’ which had adorned the livery of the aircraft that had flown down the athletes. Believed to be one of the longest continuing processions in the world, the ‘Perahera’ that took place in August every year, had dated back to 310 A.D. It had been a rich cultural display and a collection of symbolism of lore and traditions.
SriLankan Airlines had partnered Raid Amazones in 2022 soon after recommencing operations to Paris. The 20th edition of the event had taken place in the areas surrounding the iconic Sigiriya rock fortress, another UNESCO World Heritage Site which had been rich in ecological beauty, cultural heritage, and attributes of authentic village life in Sri Lanka. With the encore this year, Sri Lanka had become the only country in the event’s history to host the Raid consecutively for two times.
SriLankan Airlines, together with Connaissance de Ceylan, the official ground handling partner of the event, had gone all out to ensure that the French group had experienced the best in Sri Lankan hospitality. The airline and Sri Lanka had likely gained over EUR 10 million worth of publicity globally from the 21st edition this year. The anticipated media coverage had especially helped create more awareness of Sri Lanka as an adventure travel hotspot in France and the rest of Europe, where Raid Amazones had been sought-after, and had attracted adventure-seekers. For SriLankan Airlines, that had been the ultimate goal.
Watch the video: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?ref=saved&v=833707927925716
