Sri Lanka’s ‘buy-one-get-one-free’ tourism offer to include India
The ‘buy one get one free’ air ticket offer launched by Sri Lanka’s national carrier, SriLankan Airlines, is to be extended to cover the Indian market from next week.
The government of Sri Lanka last week decided to permit tourist arrivals from India following a three month ban due to the Covid 19 pandemic.
“We hope to start passenger flights to Chennai, Mumbai and Bangalore from next week under the ‘buy-one-get-one-free’ promotion,” SriLankan Airlines Worldwide Sales and Distribution Head Dimuthu Tennakoon has told the Daily FT.
Four weekly flights to Chennai, three to Mumbai and one to Bangalore will be operated under the new programme.
The latest Health Ministry quarantine guidelines effective from 12 August has permitted fully vaccinated foreign nationals arriving from India, including transits, requiring prior approval from Sri Lanka’s Foreign Affairs Ministry and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).
In the first seven months of 2021, there had been 1,127 Indian tourists visiting Sri Lanka and India continues to remain as the sixth source market for inbound tourists to Sri Lanka.
OSL take:
India was one of Sri Lanka’s key tourist markets when a temporary ban was imposed on tourist travelling to the island from India due to a surge in Covid 19 cases. However, Indian tourists are now permitted to enter Sri Lanka and is likely to regain its slot among visitors to Sri Lanka. Many campaigns have been launched to woo Indian tourists. There has been an overall increase in the number of tourist arrivals to the country since Sri Lanka reopened its borders earlier this year. Sri Lanka’s tourism industry was one of the fastest growing economic sectors in the country when the global Covid 19 pandemic brought about global travel restrictions. However, Sri Lanka’s tourism industry is once again on the path to recovery while building up as a business destination in the South Asian region. Given the positive growth in Sri Lanka, foreign businesses/investors could explore the growing business/investment opportunities in Sri Lanka.
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/30082021/Z_6 |