SriLankan supports ME tourism drive

SriLankan Airlines actively supported the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotions Bureau (SLTPB) to organise a recent series of ‘Road Shows’ in five Middle Eastern cities to popularise Sri Lanka as a tourism destination.

The road shows were carried out in Jeddah, Riyadh, and Dammam in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Kuwait, from March 28 - April 5.

Deputy Minister for Tourism, Faizer Mustapha, MP, led a team which included officials of the Ministry of Tourism, SLTPB, member companies from the Sri Lanka Association of Inbound Tour Operators (SLAITO),SriLankan Airlines Country Managers in the respective cities and Sri Lanka’s ambassadors in the respective countries. Comprehensive briefings were made on Sri Lanka’s many attractions to travel agents, tour operators and travel media in each city, which included video presentations.

SriLankan’s Regional Manager for Europe, North America, Middle East and Africa Kaushal Seneviratne, said, “The Government has identified the Middle East as an important tourism thrust market.

As the National Carrier, SriLankan is supporting the SLTPB’s many efforts to promote Sri Lanka as a destination of choice, especially with the country fast returning to normalcy.”

This effort was also aimed at the upcoming summer holiday season from the Middle East where a large number of arab nationals with families who travel on vacation can be offered a grand holiday in Sri Lanka.

The National Carrier’s overseas offices in the region assisted with ground arrangements and each of the airline’s respective Country Managers gave a presentation on the airline’s services.

SriLankan actively participates in major tourism fairs in the Middle East, including the Arabian Travel Mart in Dubai, along with the SLTPB and the country’s travel and hospitality trade.

SriLankan flies to nine cities in the Middle East - Jeddah, Riyadh, Dammam, Bahrain, Kuwait, Doha, Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Muscat - with flying times to Colombo being three to five hours.

The airline also works in partnership with major Middle Eastern carriers such as Etihad and Saudi Arabian through codeshare agreements.