SriLankan to host over 150 international travel agents in Sri Lanka to promote tourism.
The Morning: The national carrier, SriLankan Airlines, as a prime promoter of destination Sri Lanka, in a bid to support the country’s tourism recovery drive, will be hosting over 150 international travel agents in Sri Lanka for a commercial conference and a travel mart in mid-November this year, a statement released in this regard read, adding that this will be the first time in recent history that such a large representation of the international travel trade industry has arrived in the country for an interactive initiative.
SriLankan Airlines Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Richard Nuttall said: “Now the country is moving forward, the travel advisories are lifted, fuel is available, and it is time for us to rejuvenate tourism back to experience the wonders of Sri Lanka. The time has come when as SriLankan Airlines, the national carrier, we would like to demonstrate and show our valued partners across the network that there was never a better time to visit and to raise awareness across the industry.”
Accordingly, the conference is stated to bring together the travel trade fraternity from across the SriLankan network, focusing on those who significantly offer Sri Lanka in their product portfolio. The visiting agents will be apprised of Sri Lanka’s tourism aspirations, the airline’s commercial outlook, and will be given first-hand experience on the country’s ground situation to reassure them of the island’s readiness and stature to host any type of traveller.
The conference will be followed by a travel mart, where Sri Lankan tour operators and destination management companies will be given the chance to interact with the visiting agents to explore business opportunities.
The airline currently connects a range of destinations into Sri Lanka which includes leading tourism feeder markets such as the UK, Germany, France, India, and Australia. The national carrier has continued to support the country’s recovery efforts in the face of all recent challenges and has effectively and proactively steered many initiatives to retain the faith of travellers on destination Sri Lanka.
OSL take:
Sri Lanka’s tourism industry is on the path to normalcy after facing the pandemic challenges and local tourism authorities as well as the national carrier are engaged in multiple promotional campaigns to woo more tourists to the island. Simultaneously to the promotional campaigns being carried out in key foreign tourist markets, a programme has also been launched to to host key travel agents from foreign countries in Sri Lanka. There has been a steady growth in tourist arrivals to the country as Sri Lanka presents an attractive tourist destination with competitive packages. Sri Lanka has also received exposure in the international media as a must visit tourist destination as well as one of the top 10 island destinations. All these are indicative of the growth and business potential in Sri Lanka’s tourism industry, especially in the leisure and hospitality sectors. It is this reason that has made international leisure and hospitality brands to express interest in Sri Lanka. There are also growing opportunities in the development of supplementary infrastructure facilities for the tourism industry. Foreign businesses/investors could therefore explore the expanding opportunities in Sri Lanka’s tourism industry.
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/27102022/X_1 |