Canadian High Commissioner Eric Walsh, AOD /Urban Island Chairperson Linda Speldewinde and the first group of Urban Island Experiences North American tourists
From left: Hemas Holdings Plc Director Abbas Esufally, AOD /Urban Island Chairperson Linda Speldewinde and Canadian High Commissioner Eric Walsh
Travellers at the Colombo Innovation Tower, meeting AOD designers and alumniinaugural group completes two weeks of inspiringly curated and designed deeply experiential trip hailed by travellers as ‘a journey of a lifetime’ Well-thought-out entry point using Sri Lanka’s creative resources and agricultural and craft heritage to interest the Canadian travel market
When the Urban Island boutique was launched in the Canadian capital Toronto in the exclusive neighbourhood of Rosedale just over a year ago, it became the only dedicated ambassador of Sri Lankan design, creativity and craft in the city.
As customers flocked to purchase all-natural products handcrafted and designed in Sri Lanka, Linda Speldewinde—the entrepreneur behind Urban Island—saw an opportunity to offer something even more unique; to share our island in a refreshing manner and do something meaningful for its customers. She envisioned something that would be a trip for the travellers’ soul, uniquely designed through the Urban Island lens, and give back to Sri Lanka a manifold in the process. The product would strictly target the high-end luxury traveller with a focus on the North American market, which Linda had identified for Sri Lanka. A clear win-win.
As a materialisation of this thought process, in January 2024, Sri Lanka welcomed a group of Canadian travellers on an islandwide journey to make a first-hand connection with the source of their favourite handmade pieces purchased back in Toronto. Between visiting the emerald hills of Sri Lanka’s sprawling tea country, climbing the legendary wonder of Sigiriya, beach, jungle safaris and all the other delights that make visitors fall in love with Sri Lanka, the group was also able to experience the Mandaramnuwara village where they were welcomed into the lives of artisans and farmers who make and grow their products from using natural processes and materials. This unusual experience, which every single visitor highlighted as transformative or a ‘magic moment’, was what made their visit to Sri Lanka deeply meaningful.
“It was a journey of a lifetime,” said Diana Soloway, a businesswoman and Torontonian thoroughly moved by the experience.
Now, this group is returning to Canada, determined to tell more people why they should visit this remarkable little island rich with culture, nature, opportunities for a real human-to-human connection and witnessing a way of life that is slower and closer to nature.
Although this unusual travel offer evolved just within a year since Urban Island opened up in Toronto, it was long in the making. It stems from Urban Island Founder Linda Speldewinde’s 2021 post-COVID strategy for the group to switch up Sri Lanka’s travel narrative and be part of it . The strategy revolved around highlighting the island’s most authentic facets combining craft heritage and traditional agriculture that draws parallels to popular travel pursuits such as nature immersion and sustainable tourism. It is this vision that comes into fruition now, with a strategic focus on the North American travel market, especially the Canadian.
Sharing her views at the closing cocktails hosted at the Colombo Innovation Tower (CIT)—home to AOD and the design ecosystem that Urban Island is part of—Linda stated that the idea was to create a real connection between the travellers and what they experience, from the people they encounter to the places they visit.
“When they saw the products seen at the stores in Canada here in Sri Lanka, with the artisans who made them, in their village, within their homes…and to the artisans to realise that these are their customers was really something…the connection was obvious and everybody was deeply moved. Today at the CIT, they met the young AOD designers who designed those products and who are behind taking design to the village; again, the human-to-human connection here was very meaningful to all these travellers who are all entrepreneurs, professionals and business owners themselves. Our vision is not just to bring more travellers, but to bring in meaningful travel that helps people see the wealth of resources that Sri Lanka has while bringing them into first-hand contact with Sri Lankans who are building and evolving our heritage like the artisans in the village and triggering new cultural movements like the AOD students in Colombo. This is the first time we did it, and this is something really special that we want to share with the world. This is not regular travel; this is a trip for your soul.”
At this event bidding farewell to the group of Canadian visitors who travelled through Sri Lanka with Urban Island, the Canadian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka and the Maldives Eric Walsh, was optimistic.
He commented on the significance of building person-to-person connections and Urban Island’s offer as an example of building Sri Lanka as a meaningful destination in the eyes of the Canadian travel market. “For people in Canada who purchase Urban Island products to not just see where the products are from, but even meet the people who designed and wove their products…isn’t that an amazing experience, in this globalised world, to have those personal connections? This to me is a wonderful example.”
Speaking at the gathering, special invitee, Hemas Holdings Plc Director Abbas Esufally commented recognising the potential of this market and its high-spending consumers. “It’s not a volume market, but a high-yielding one. They’re the kind of travellers we want to bring here,” he said.
Being a travel industry veteran, Esufally is also familiar with what Sri Lanka needs to address to attract the North American travel market. “Yes, the distance is a bit of a setback when it comes to this market, but it’s not a hurdle if it is done like what Urban Island has done by strategically combining with neighbouring destinations, like the Maldives for example, for this trip. We have to offer them more attractive combinations of experiences and place ourselves as part of bigger world tours, that make it worthwhile.”
Urban Island Experiences aims to present a fresh, and unique reflection of Sri Lanka through a ‘design thinking’ lens that successfully combines its traditional lifestyles, values and ingenuity reflected in heritage crafts and small-scale farming practices that accurately capture the lives lived by most Sri Lankans as much as those portrayed by more popular narratives involving ayurveda, historical locations, jungles and beaches.
By the reactions of the first group of travellers from this initiative, Urban Island Experiences got it absolutely right and is on its way to planning the next groups of travellers to the island.
Dana Zosky, businesswoman, Toronto: “It is the most magical and the most beautiful country in the world. When I thought about the journey to get here, it didn’t intimidate me because, you know, a lot of people from Canada travel to Australia or New Zealand or Africa or Asia, and it’s a little different. It’s an easy place to get to from Canada, so that should not be a deterrent. And it’s a beautiful little island that offers so much.”
Beth Bynoe, entrepreneur, British Columbia: “It was a special experience; we went into multiple villages where local artisans produce beautiful handcrafted items at the cottage industry level. Seeing women working from their homes, women being able to help families and work in their own time where they have available help… I’ll probably come back and see what the northern half of the island has to offer.”
Natalie Witkin, businesswoman, Toronto: “The beauty of Sri Lanka is the variety of experiences that I’ve had here. The animals, safari…the beautiful countryside, the vibrant city. The beautiful people—you are so kind and always smiling, and teach us so much. We were blessed when we got to meet local people and have that experience seeing how they work and live, feeling life, appreciating life, and the beauty that they’re surrounding.” Urban Island Experiences unlock North American luxury traveller market with strategic offer designed for Canada | Daily FT
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