Sri Lanka Tourism hosted popular Polish celebrity, Dorota Aqualiteja Rabczewska’’ better known as ‘’Doda Queen ‘’ for a few days’ visit in Sri Lanka, in order to promote the destination and create awareness about Sri Lanka and it’s many travel and holiday opportunities to suit everyone’s need. She was accompanied by her fiancé Pachut Dariusz Michal and they stayed from 6th April to 20th April 2023, enjoying every moment of their stay and capturing the iconic tourist attractions throughout their tour. Their stay was facilitated by Anantara Peace Haven Tangalle, Uga Chena huts, Nine Sky by Tear drop, 98 Acres and Shangrila Colombo.
Upon their arrival in Sri Lanka, they were given a very warm welcome by the Sri Lanka Tourism officials and the guests were fascinated with the amazing hospitality and the warmth of the Sri Lankans. During their stay, they visited places such as the Dolphin & Whale watching with Sail Lanka, Galle Fort, Udawalawa, Athathuru Sewana, Ridiyagama, Yala, Flying Ravana, Uper Diyaluma Waterfall, Little Adam’s Peak, Snake Farm,Weherahena Temple and they were highly interested in the rich cultural , natural and historical resources which Sri Lanka offers.
Moreover, they also commented on the delicious Sri Lankan cuisine and Doda also expressed her thoughts on her visit to Sri Lanka in an exclusive interview in Sri Lanka. The details of her visit to Sri Lanka went viral on all Polish TV channels, Social media and around 40-45 newspaper articles were carried out in all Polish Newspapers about her visit. She is a well-known Polish Singer-Songwriter, actress, producer and has also received 1 triple platinum, 6 platinum, and 5 gold certifications for her albums and singles sales in Poland.
Nevertheless, she has won the MTV Europe Music Award around two times, and she was featured on CNN’s 2008 list of the 10 most famous Poles in history. She was also included on the list of the 50 best Polish female singers compiled by Machina in 2010, while Polish magazine Viva! Listed her among the 10 most influential women in Poland in 2011. Wprost named Doda one of the 100 most influential Poles in 2011 and one of the 50 most influential Poles in 2019. She was also featured on its lists of the 50 most influential Polish celebrities, and the 50 most influential Polish women, in 2015 and 2017, respectively. Forbes Poland included Doda in its annual ranking of the 100 most-valuable stars of Polish show business every year from 2006 to 2014 when it ceased. In 2011, Helen Pidd of The Guardian named Doda one of the most successful and most controversial Polish musical artists of all time.
She has 1.5 million followers on Instagram and also a large number of followers on other social media sites as well. has been active in the musical arena from 1998, whereas her genre mostly includes Pop, Pop rock, Rock. Regarding her visit to Sri Lanka , Doda said that she loves traveling and exploring the world , and getting to know a new culture , mentioning that it her favorite way of spending her free time. Her first impression of Sri Lanka and what she felt about the destination was the heat of the tropics and the hot climate, coming from ‘’Cold Poland ‘’. As some of her most interesting experiences during her stay, she expressed that visiting the temples, animals that they see in the zoo living here in the wild, the great food and the ‘’hot ‘’ocean, since the Polish sea is very cold. She had taken a special interest in the Spicy Sri Lankan food and said she was very fond of curry. Both she and her partner were glad to get to know the taste and fruits that do not grow in Poland like Jack fruit, Sugar apple and Mango. Every day during her stay, her fans had access to live story on her Instagram, keeping everyone exited. As a result, most Polish Citizens have expressed interest in visiting Sri Lanka after seeing the videos she had posted on social media. One of their favorite activities during their stay was to trek to the waterfall and have water filled fun through the day.
She also expressed her intention of visiting the central part of Sri Lanka and it’s leading temples and religious places on her next visit, and complimented on the beautiful fauna and flora of the destination. She mentioned that her purpose was to spread the message all across Poland, not to delay visiting this beautiful country, which offers not only beautiful sandy beaches, but also a great culture, safety for tourists, kind people and a lot of attractions. These expressions showed how much she had enjoyed her visit to Sri Lanka, and how much she wanted to encourage her fellow citizens to enjoy the opportunities which she had on her visit.
Arranging celebrity visits as these will encourage more Polish tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka and increase their interest of visiting and experiencing the destination. Poland can be a crucial source market to Sri Lanka given the necessary promotion and recognition, and also creating awareness of Sri Lanka as a world renowned travel destination through these celebrities, who cater to mass audiences.
