Boost for tourism industry :
Air Asia launches Kuala Lumpur, Colombo flights
Ramani Kangaraarachchi
Air Asia, the world's best low-cost Airline launched its daily direct
flights between Kuala Lumpur and Colombo yesterday.
High Commissioner of Malaysia in Sri Lanka Rosli Ismail told a
gathering at the Hilton Colombo yesterday that the commencement of daily
flights between Kuala Lumpur and Sri Lanka was a timely decision as Sri
Lanka has entered a new era having successfully ended the war on
terrorism.
He said that with the greater connectivity from Air Asia around the
world in which Malaysia is one of the low cost carrier hubs, it would
play a greater role in boosting the tourism industry in Sri Lanka.
Malaysia will encourage more companies to invest in Sri Lanka and
will participate in the economic development specially in areas where
Malaysia has the know-how and expertise such as infrastructure
development, telecommunications, oil and gas industry. Malaysia will
strengthen bilateral relations between the two countries, he said.
The High Commissioner said the number of Sri Lankan tourists to
Malaysia has increased significantly - nearly 35 percent over the past
two years.
In 2008, 42,774 Sri Lankans visited Malaysia compared to 31,733 in
2007.
The number of Malaysian tourists to Sri Lanka too increased from
12,737 in 2007 to over 15,000 in 2008. He hoped that in the years to
come the number of Malaysians visiting Sri Lanka will increase with the
commencement of Air Asia's daily flights from Colombo to Kuala Lumpur.
Group Chief Executive Officer AirAsia Tony Fernandes said that the
airline has sold nearly 30,000 seats during the past two months and it
is a clear testament that Air Asia's low fares have empowered people to
fly.
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