Kuwait travel delegation visits Sri Lanka
With the view of promoting Sri Lanka as a high-end tourism
destination, Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB) organized a
familiarization tour for tour operators and media personnel from the
State of Kuwait, together with Sri Lanka Association of Inbound Tour
Operators (SLAITO), The Hoteliers’ Association of Sri Lanka (THASL) and
Oman Air.
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The visitors during the FAM tour |
Accordingly, a familiarization tour was organized in last week
followed by one-on-one business meeting session with THASL, SLAITO and
ASMET on Novenber 30 at Monara Restaurant of the Sri Lanka Institute of
Tourism and Hospitality Management (SLITHM – Hotel School).
A number of tour operators, including Ramsis Travel Co, Caesars
Travel Salmiya Br1, Al Shualah Travel, Badur Travel, Aldeera Travel &
Tours, Caesars International Travel Co and Kapico Travels & Tourism Co
WLL, participated in this familiarization tour, which provided a
comprehensive picture on the potential of Sri Lanka as a high-end
destination.
During the familiarization tour, SLTPB endeavoured to create the
image of Sri Lanka as a full-fledged destination. Thus, the four day
travel plan was specially arranged to cover the areas of Dambulla, Kandy,
Nuwara Eliya and Colombo. Representing media, two senior journalists;
Leslie De Souza from Arab Times and Jinse Moorkanattvkaran Jose from
Kuwait Times, took part in the tour. Sulaiman Al Maskari, the Country
Manager of Oman Air, was also an active participant in the tour. SLTPB
also took steps to arrange a Business Networking Meeting as a part of
this familiarization tour, with the participation of 26 tour operators
of Sri Lanka, who are currently active in the region of Middle East.
Commenting on the experience, the visitors said; “we got a huge
opportunity to feel the real beauty of Sri Lanka. We also had the great
chance of meeting the local tour operators of Sri Lanka and to build up
business networks. Sri Lanka has a great potential ahead to attract the
tourists from Middle East.”
By the end of October this year, the number of arrivals to Sri Lanka
from Middle East amounted to 40,523. For 2013, the target has been set
to 65,000 arrivals, which is seemingly accessible with the number of
promotional activities executed under the guidance of the Ministry of
Economic Development. |
