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Hemas signs agreement with IRCTC:
No drop in Buddhist pilgrims to India
Harshini PERERA
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Deputy General Manager Tourism, Indian Railway Catering and
Tourism Corporation Ltd.,(IRCTC), Arun Srivastava exchanges the
agreement with Director/General Manager, Hemas Travels (Pvt)
Ltd., Riza Ahamat. Head of Outbound Leisure, The Leisure Wing of
Hemas Travels, Jackie Weeraratne and Manager Operations, Hemas
Travels (Pvt) Ltd., Rapti Dirckze are also in the picture.
Picture by Sumanachandra Ariyawansa
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The number of tourists visiting holy places of Buddhist worship in
India on pilgrimage has not dropped though non-essential travel has
dropped due to the credit melt down early this year, said
Director/General Manager, Hemas Travels (Pvt) Ltd., Riza Ahamat.
He was speaking after signing an agreement between Indian Railway
Catering and Tourism Cooperation Ltd (IRCTC) and Hemas Travels (Pvt)
Ltd. Hemas is the local agent for the Mahaparinirvan Express- Buddhist
Circuit Special Train.
He said that in-bound tourism is growing steadily since Sri Lanka is
not rigid on visas and has flexible currency rates. Around 3,000
tourists from Asian countries visit Sri Lanka every month for various
reasons.
The tours to India have become popular among Sri Lankans recently and
the air fare too has come down due to the competitive packages offered
by different airlines. Therefore, we believe that many carriers will
come to Sri Lanka in the near future since Sri Lanka has become an
attractive leisure destination, he said. The situation will be much
better with the dawn of peace and many tourists have evinced an interest
in Sri Lanka.
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