Super luxury passenger vessel ‘Mein Schiff 5’ calls at Colombo Port with over 3,000 passengers.
The super luxury passenger vessel ‘Mein Schiff 5’ recently called at the Port of Colombo in Sri Lanka on her maiden call with over 3,000 passengers – 2,030 passengers and 945 crew onboard.
“Passengers on-board will explore Colombo and experience the city. The vessel will sail to Hambantota and the passengers will enjoy the Southern coast of Sri Lanka,” Sri Lanka’s Tourism Minister Harin Fernando stated via Twitter following the arrival of the vessel at the Port.
Operated by the TUI Cruises Fleet, the ‘Mein Schiff 5’ is a sister vessel of ‘Mein Schiff 3’ and ‘Mein Schiff 6’, which have both been called Colombo in the past.
Minister Fernando had further stated that the majority of passengers were from Europe.
According to reports, Hapag Lloyd Lanka, a subsidiary of the Aitken Spence Group, is the agent for TUI cruises and ‘Mein Schiff 5’ is owned by the German operator TUI cruises. Aitken Spence Travels is the shore excursion partner for ‘Mein Schiff 5’ in Sri Lanka.
OSL take:
The steady growth in tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka was given a further impetus by the arrival of super luxury cruise liners to the country transporting thousands of tourists to the country. The ongoing tourism promotional campaign that has helped place Sri Lanka as a must visit tourist destination has also shown an increase in the number of flights operated to the country by international airlines. The growth in the tourism industry is also indicative of the expanding business/investment opportunities in Sri Lanka’s tourism industry, especially in relation to the leisure and hospitality sectors. With the growing business potential in the sector, foreign businesses/investors could confidently explore opportunities in Sri Lanka’s tourism industry, especially in the leisure and hospitality sectors as well as in the development of supplementary infrastructure facilities.