Described by the famous explorer Marco Polo as the finest island in the whole world, Sri Lanka is now well known as a tourism destination, particularly for European travelers.  In 2012, post office worldwide holiday costs barometer named Sri Lanka as the best valued destination for holidays. Tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka exceeded 1.5million in 2014.

Though Sri Lanka is rich with its natural beauty, it is not sufficient now days to compete with other countries in the industry. Therefore attracting tourists through the new concepts like ‘sport tourism’ will boost the whole industry, experts say.

Sport tourism refers to the experience of travel to engage in or view sport-related activities. The concept became very popular in every tourists destination recently.

To grab opportunities in the growing sport tourism market it is very crucial to have a flawless process of bidding for events, possible sponsorship opportunities and other elements involved in the planning and hosting of a successful sport event.

However in Sri Lanka such concepts are not applying in proper manner. University of Sri Jayewardenepura which has the number one ranked management faculty in South Asia region therefore tries to fill that gap by organizing events like ‘Strangers’.

'Strangers' is an event organized by the Department of Marketing Management of USJP exclusively for the 1st year students of the Faculty with the prime objective of creating a friendly bond with the fresh blood, making them familiar with the University life, and most importantly, building mental and physical fitness in them by letting them face challenges as a team, and also to take instant decisions suitable to various unexpected circumstances.

This year for the first time several participants from foreign universities will be join with the Marketing Team, an organizer told Asian Mirror. It will be an experiment for the sport tourism industry of Sri Lanka as well, he added.

‘Strangers-2015’, through their branding and promotions, will create a platform to promote Sri Lanka as a destination for sport tourism in a rich target customer base called foreign university undergraduates.

Understanding the importance of the core concept of ‘Strangers’, Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau has decided to join hands with Department of Marketing management of USJP this time as the main sponsor for the event.

Strangers 2015 is sheduled to be held on 11th and 12th June at Colombo and Kithulagala areas for the third consecutive year.