SriLankan, first airline to launch Whale Conservation Project

Shirajiv Sirimane in London

SriLankan Airlines became the first airline in the world to launch a whale Conservation programme along with the World Whale Conservation body at the World Travel Market.

The agreement in this regard was inked by SriLankan Airlines Chairman Nishantha Wickremasinghe and a top officials of the Whale Conservation body.

Under the agreement, SriLankan Airlines would help to bring down exports to assist in Whale Conservation and to conduct awareness programmess towards Whale Conservation.

"We will also air videos on Whale Conservation on all SriLankan flights," he said. He also thanked both the Jetwing Group and Keells Hotels for their continued support for this project. "We would first concentrate on the Mirissa area and then look at Trincomalee and other areas," he said.Chairman, Sri Lanka Tourism, Baswara Gunaratne said that today Sri Lanka is gaining popularity as a major whale watching destination and more people are getting involved in it. Three of the much sought after areas for whale watching are Mirissa, Kalpitiya and Trincomalee.

Dolphin and Whale watching sessions are held during November to April in down south.

Sri Lanka may be one of the easiest places to watch whales, allowing it to become a global top spot to watch blue and sperm whales."Due to the fact that Sri Lanka has declared Mirissa as a Whale Conservation area," he added.

Officials of the World Whale Conservation Association thanked Sri Lankan Airlines for coming forward to promote ventures of this nature. "Guides who endeavour to give the best deal to tourists some times tend to take their vessels very close to the mammals which may scare them and drive them to deep sea. With this initiative the guides would be briefed on these gray areas," he said.