Air Azur resumes charter flights from four cities boosting arrivals from Russia
Daily FT: Russia’s largest charter airline – Air Azur — resumed service to Colombo yesterday providing a much-needed push to the tourism industry to bring in Eastern European travelers this winter season.
Airport and Aviation Services (Sri Lanka) Ltd., (AASL) Azur Air will operate four scheduled flights weekly from Venukov, Tolmochev, Krasnoyarsk and St. Petersburg in Russia.
The inaugural flight touched down carrying 332 passengers at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) yesterday morning with a celebratory water salute.
The AASL and Sri Lanka Tourism officials welcomed the passengers and gave them Ceylon Tea sponsored by the Sri Lanka Tea Board followed by a traditional Kandyan dance performance.
Russia is the second largest source market for Sri Lanka year-to-date behind India, with 141,976 tourists which accounts for 13% of total traffic so far.
Azur Airline flew twice a week to Colombo from early December 2021 and November 2022 which helped Sri Lanka Tourism to draw a large number of Eastern European travelers.
OSL take:
Sri Lanka’s tourism industry is one of the fastest growing industries in the country with a steady growth of tourist arrivals recorded this year. The increasing tourist arrivals in the country has also resulted in many international increasing the number of flights being operated to Sri Lanka. The resumption of charter flights by Air Azur would see a growth in the arrival of Russian tourists to the country. These ongoing activities have resulted in the expansion of business/investment opportunities in Sri Lanka’s tourism, airport and aviation industries. The growth in these industries has opened up a host of direct and indirect development/business opportunities that present many lucrative opportunities for foreign businesses/investors. With Sri Lanka working towards becoming an emerging business destination in the South Asian region, these opportunities are bound to see a further expansion as well. Also, the growth and profits recorded by local businesses engaged in these industries further indicates the growing business potential in these fields. Foreign businesses could also look at the possibilities of forming partnerships or joint ventures with local businesses engaged in these industries with the aim of further expansion.
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/20231107/Z_1 |