|
|
 |
 |
 |
| Saturday, 31 July 2004 |
 |
|
 |
Business | |
| News Business Features Editorial Security Politics World Letters Sports Obituaries
|
To exploit industry potential : Lankan and Indian travel agents to tie up by Shirajiv Sirimane A historic Memorandum of Understanding was signed last week in Colombo between the Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) and the Travel Agents Association of Sri Lanka (TAASL) with an intention of working together for optimising the use of each others' expertise, experience and potential for the development of tourism traffic from Sri Lanka to India and from India to Sri Lanka. The agreement will bring rewarding returns to the outbound travel agents in Sri Lanka, said the President of Travel Agents Association of Sri Lanka Nihal Perera. This would be a major boost for the industry in both counties," he said. The 45th meeting of the WTO Commission for South Asia held in Colombo in July 2004, was a major travel, tourism and aviation industry event significant to the South Asian region." This event gave a good exposure for Sri Lanka," he said. The association is in the process of compiling a "Travel Trade Directory" which includes information of all inbound and outbound members as well as other tourism related information such as airlines, banks, hotels, jewellers, and other related service providers. The Directory will be distributed free of charge to all Sri Lanka Tourist Board, SriLankan Airlines offices as well as the Sri Lankan Missions abroad. The Association has brought the attention of the Airport Facilitation Committee over the problems faced by the members in parking at the airport car park, especially when Middle Eastern flights arrive or depart. The Association has also expressed the view that the facilities provided by the TAASL airport counter were not adequate and that unauthorised personnel were canvassing at the airport misusing airport passes. He said that in several international conferences it was emphasised that travel and tourism industry must unite. In the first quarter of 2004, air transport posted a 9.6 per cent improvement in passenger traffic a growth of 10.1 per cent in freight traffic over 2003, in the world. The passenger traffic recorded a 13.3 per cent increase in passenger traffic an increase of 8.0 per cent in freight traffic over March 2003. The association noted that March 2004 figures indicate exaggerated growth due to the combined negative impact of SARS and the outbreak of war in Iraq during March 2003. Traffic grew in all regions, with exceptional growth recorded by Middle Eastern carriers. Over the first quarter, Middle Eastern carriers posted results that were no less impressive: 30.7 per cent and 26.9 per cent for cargo and passenger traffic respectively. "More importantly, the industry is showing clear signs of its ability to match capacity to demand. We are moving in the right direction, however tremendous challenges remain," Perera said. |
|
News | Business | Features
| Editorial | Security
Produced by Lake House |
