Message from Italy to my loving Sri Lanka
One year after her visit, famous Italian travel blogger Diana Bancale praises great Sri Lankan hospitality and resilience in the face of a crisis.
Diana is an award-winning travel blogger/instragram travel influncer. Her travel blog is www.inviaggiodasola.com and also available on Istargram as @ inviaggiodasola.
The Italian-based female travel blogger is among the 10 best Italian travel bloggers and recognised at the Macchianera Awards (Itailan Internet Awards).
Her blog has well over 40,000 average visitors per month. She has been a popular female Internet figure in Italy, being featured in more than 100 interviews on national TV channels, radio, in newspapers and magazines. Since, becoming a full-time travel blogger and influncer (2014), she has travelled to over 40 countries covering all continents.
Diana was part of the first international travel bloggers and influncers group to visit Sri Lanka soon after the Easter attack during the first week of May, under the Sri Lanka Tourism’s Visiting Travel Blogger Programme 2019 .
While reassuring safety with her family back in Parma, Italy, Diana was recapturing her unforgettable memories in Sri Lanka and wanted to share her Sri Lankan experiences with the rest of the world. Visiting the island immediately after the devastating terror attack, she shows how the tourism recovery was.
“I want to send a big virtual hug to Sri Lanka and its wonderful people, that I was lucky to discover in 2019,” Diana stated in her message.
Only one year ago I was there, right after a huge challenge for the whole country and now another big issue to face. My condolences go to all the families that lost their loved ones.
We are all united during these hard times: Italy, Sri Lanka and all the countries in the world.
It has been an amazing experience. I still talk about it when I am asked about my favourite trips and countries in the world. It has been something magical: we passed from the big city to the mountains, from the beauty of tea plantations to the food markets and the charming temples. We got to see from very close wild elephants roaming free in the national parks with their babies and we eventually relaxed in the beautiful palm beaches of Negombo. We could assist to a traditional Hindu celebration and even tried to cook delicious northern Sri Lankan food during a cooking class in Jaffna! I felt so blessed to experience all these things in just one trip!
The Easter attack of 2019 was a few days before my trip but during the whole travel I felt so safe, difficult to realise what just happened there.
We found police control almost everywhere: in the hotels, in the streets, shopping mall, touristic attractions. They would check cars, documents and people, I have been under the impression that situation was under control.
As I always share with my audience, the most important thing to make a trip unique are the people you meet and the connections you get in a certain place. I loved the nature, the atmosphere and the beauty of Sri Lanka but what impressed me the most, I think it was the people.
I felt so welcomed and protected in every single location we visited. Nevertheless, the awful experience of terrorism, the people of Sri Lanka were still so cheerful, smiley and sweet with me and my colleagues from Japan, the USA and Russia.it’s something I would never forget.
I can’t wait to visit Sri Lanka again, soon after we pass this terrible COVID-19 situation. I still have so much to see and share my travel stories with my Italian and global travel audiences.
Till that moment, I dream of you ‘Sri Lanka’ and big thank to Sri Lanka Tourism for creating those unforgettable memories.”