SriLankan launches tourism drive in Italy
SriLankan Airlines has launched a marketing drive in Italy to promote
the twin destinations of Sri Lanka and the Maldives among Italian
tourists.
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The national carrier |
Sri Lanka's national carrier actively participated in the BIT Travel
Mart in Milan last month, one of the world's largest travel fairs, which
drew 153,000 visitors and 5,000 exhibitors from 140 nations. The Sri
Lanka Tourism Promotions Bureau and members of the Sri Lanka Association
of Inbound Tour Operators (SLAITO) also participated in the event from
February 19-22.
"We want Italian tourists to know that we are back in Italy. Our
participation at BIT was very successful, and a large number of Italian
tour operators will begin featuring Sri Lanka and SriLankan Airlines'
services in their brochures. We expect significant Italian tourist
traffic to Sri Lanka starting this summer, and also on SriLankan
Airlines through Colombo to our other destinations, especially the
Maldives," The Airline's Regional Manager Europe, North America, Middle
East and Africa Kaushal Seneviratne said.
The national carrier is closely supporting the Government's plans and
policies to revive tourism and investment in Sri Lanka, which has
traditionally been a popular destination among European tourists.
It was the first time that SriLankan took part in this fair since
2001, underlining the airline's determined efforts to capitalise on the
Italian leisure travel market. Italy is one of the largest origins of
tourism into the Maldives. SriLankan offers fast connections via Colombo
to the Maldives.
SriLankan re-launched services between Rome and Colombo last
December, and now operates a thrice-weekly service on Airbus A340.
Seneviratne said: the flights are already highly popular with the
approximately 100,000-strong Sri Lankan community in Italy, and also
with Sri Lankan Catholics on pilgrimage to Rome. And through these new
marketing efforts, we expect to tap into the Italian tourism market.
We are now planning a series of road shows in cities such as Naples,
Salerno, and Palermo to further enhance awareness of Sri Lanka and the
airline, and we also intend arranging familiarization tours to Sri Lanka
for selected Italian travel agents."
"The presence of the SLTPB and members of SLAITO made it easy to have
comprehensive discussions with Italian operators and tailor-made tour
packages on the spot," Seneviratne said.
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