Regional tourist promotion office in Dubai

Shirajiv SIRIMANE in UAE

DUBAI: Sri Lanka is looking at increasing the Gulf tourist arrivals by 100 percent at the end of this year Deputy Minister of Tourism Faizer Mustapha told the Daily News in Dubai.

He is attending the Arabian Travel Market, which begins tomorrow (May 1) at 10 a.m. at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre (DICEC).

“We are planning to open a regional tourist promotion office in Dubai similar to ones in the Europe to promote the region,” he said.

The Deputy Minister has also lined up several meetings with travel agents and the Press during the ATM.

“We are also meeting some prospective investors from the Gulf who are keen to invest in boutique type hotels in Sri Lanka,” he said.

The theme of the Sri Lankan pavilion for the ATM would be ‘Ceylon Tea. “This is brand name known all over and we are using it as a tool to market the country,” he said.

A special tea stall serving Sri Lanka tea would available while the National Gem and Jewellery Authority will display Sri Lankan products.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa has also requested to pay attention to non-traditional markets such as the Gulf, which were virtually ignored before.

“This is why the Ministry is investing Rs. 24 million for the promotion of the Arabian travel market in a organised way,” he said.

This year, 24 travel companies from Sri Lanka (the highest ever participation) would take part for the four-day event.

For the first time Canada will make its debut with Tourism Toronto heading a high-powered delegation along with the semi-government-owned Top China Travel (TCT), China’s leading inbound travel wholesaler.

Arabian Travel Market 2006 - the 13th in the Middle East’s premier annual travel and tourism show - has notched up another trade visitor record with some 12,067 industry professionals attending event, an 11.45% increase on the 2005 event with trade professionals from 99 countries attending the event.