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| Sunday, 1 December 2002 |
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| News Business Features Editorial
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Flying high in Jaffna by ASIFF HUSSEIN Now that the guns have fallen silent in Jaffna and peace is in sight, it will not be long before domestic tourism in this beautiful land catches on. Jaffna is a veritable travellers' paradise as we found out in a recent visit to this memorable place. The colourful bazaar-like Jaffna town with its numerous little boutiques abutting the thoroughfare, the beautiful Jaffna lagoon over whose blue-green waters flock birds of various hues, the white domed Jaffna library which once housed one of the finest collections in Asia, the historical Nallur Kovil which Hindu devotees throng in their thousands, the legendary Nagadipa Vihara in the island of Nainativu, said to be sanctified by a visit of the Buddha, and the famous freshwater spring at Keerimalai in the Northern Coast even now attract visitors from the south. Foreigners longing for a bit of adventure are also beginning to trickle to this long forgotten northern retreat. It is in such a context that the demand for air services to and from Jaffna has increased and it is only natural to suppose that airline companies should rush to meet this demand. Presently three airlines fly to Jaffna - Lionair, Serendib Airlines and Expo Aviation. Indeed, air travel to Jaffna is swift and convenient as we found out in our Lionair flight from Ratmalana to Palaly which took a mere one hour and 15 minutes. The shift to Jaffna on the part of airline companies reflects to a large extent, the enthusiasm and confidence felt by the travel trade and the business sector in general about the ongoing peace process. This is no better reflected than by Lionair's recent emphasis in catering to the needs of travellers to and from Jaffna. The increasing demand for flights to Jaffna has meant that Lionair has suspended its flights to the destinations it covered earlier such as Wirawila and Trincomalee, to focus solely on the Jaffna market. The airline recommenced operations to Jaffna on October 1 and according to Air Commodore Ananda Samarakoon, Director of Marketing and Sales Lionair, the results have been very encouraging. Samarakoon said their passenger profile falls into two categories - the first comprises upmarket corporate clients, personnel from foreign missions and NGOs and expatriates, and the second, domestic tourists and residents of Jaffna. Sri Lankan passport and National Identity Card holders receive a 35 per cent discount and all indications are that this two-tier system has paid dividends. Lionair has of late seen a marked improvement in its passenger load with a 60-65 per cent average load in its 48-seater plane at present. The airline also plans to shortly offer a one-day package tour to Jaffna which would involve a tour of the Jaffna town, Chavakachcheri and the surrounding areas, complemented by a seafood lunch at Bastians Hotel. This scheme has been implemented by Lionair for the past one month though in a rather irregular fashion. It is largely promoted among foreigners through word of mouth and leaflets by travel agents and depends on the demands of the passengers. It will however be made into a standard package shortly, assured Samarakoon. Lionair also plans to introduce a two-day tour which will be undertaken during the weekends. The package will involve tour groups visiting places of historical, cultural and religious interest in Jaffna town on a day excursion as well as an overnight stay in Jaffna, to be followed by a visit to Nagadipa and other places of interest the following day, explained Samarakoon. "Such tours, we can be sure, will go a long way to promoting Sri Lanka as an exciting destination among foreigners on the look out for something new," he said. Lionair is also in the process of setting up accommodation units for its travellers on the way to Jaffna town. Eight air-conditioned rooms would initially accommodate upto eight people by the end of the month. However, Lionair has plans to increase the number of rooms to about 20-25 within the next six months depending on the demand, said Samarakoon.Commencing operations to Jaffna was evidently not a difficult task for Lionair. Most of its senior staff and directors are ex-Air Force officers and like Samarakoon, have been an asset to the airline. Nevertheless, there are some issues that still need to be addressed before Jaffna becomes a viable and full-fledged tourist destination. Samarakoon contends that in transporting passengers from Palaly to Jaffna, the road and other infrastructure facilities are at present insufficient to cater to the traffic that is now moving towards Jaffna. He expressed the hope that the road and other basic infrastructure in Jaffna will be developed very soon. In this connection, the redevelopment of the Palaly airport, planned to commence next year, is a very positive development. |
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