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| Sunday, 30 October 2005 |
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| News Business Features Editorial
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Tourist Board spreads its wings to New Delhi and South India by Surekha Galagoda
The Sri Lanka Tourist Board (SLTB) is planning to open an office in New Delhi and another office in another south Indian city early next year, said SLTB Chairman Udaya Nanayakkara. This is in a bid to promote Sri Lanka among Indians and attract more traffic. At present plans are afoot to increase tourist arrivals to one million and spending per day per tourist to US$ 150 by 2010 from the present US$ 85 per tourist. He said whatever the constraints be they man-made or natural we are working towards achieving our goal. The country was able to increase the spending per day per tourist from 63 US$ in 2003 to US$74 last year and 85 this year. Therefore the target is achievable. Since the South Asian region practises the open economic policy we can get the desired numbers within our region as long as the other logistics are in place such as permitting more Indian Airlines to fly to Sri Lanka and vice versa. By 2010 we are expecting 200,000 tourists from India and vice versa . At present Sri Lanka is the fourth largest generator of tourist traffic to India. India is one country that can give us the desired number of tourists and a better food and beverage yield. Nanayakkara said that Sri Lanka is not in the numbers game but we are in the yield game as we are more interested in getting down high yielding tourists to this country. Therefore our focus is on encouraging Free Independent Traveller (FIT) traffic while maintaining Group Independent Traveller (GIT) traffic. FIT traffic helps us get a better yield. The survey done in July by the SLTB indicates the shift which shows that 75% of the traffic is FIT while the balance is GIT. "I am really happy about this trend", the Chairman said. According to the World Tourism Organisation statistics by year 2020 China will produce the highest number of outbound and inbound tourists and to cater to that market we have already opened two offices in Beijing and Shanghai. ######### SriLankan voted best Airline again in SA SriLankan Airlines has been voted the Best Airline in South Asia for the third consecutive time by thousands of readers of the prestigious travel trade magazine group Travel Trade Gazette. "SriLankan Airlines has been voted unanimously as the Best South Asian Airline by the readers of TTG Asia, TTG China, Business Travel News Asia Pacific, Business Travel News China, and TTGmice," said Darren Ng, Managing Director of TTG Asia Media (Pte) Ltd. "Clinching this coveted award is evidence of SriLankan's dedication towards commitment and service excellence. The annual TTG Travel Awards, presented by TTG Asia, recognises the most outstanding individuals and organisations in the Asia-Pacific travel industry. TTG is a group of travel trade publications that disseminate the latest information on travel and tourism in Asia. Established in Singapore in 1974, TTG has offices in Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Jakarta, Manila, Hong Kong and Taipei. TTG Asia is one of the most widely read publications in Asia. TTG Asia Media is also the leading organiser and manager of travel events in Asia. "This prestigious award offers further proof of the continuing high standards that are maintained by SriLankan Airlines," said Peter Hill, Chief Executive Officer of SriLankan Airlines. "It is extremely significant that readers of TTG voted SriLankan as the best during this period, proving that SriLankan maintained its high standards even while our airline was undergoing a period of rapid expansion." SriLankan Airlines has in recent years achieved global recognition for its standards in excellence, winning prestigious titles such as "World's Best Airline" in a survey of Economy Class passengers, "World's Friendliest Cabin Staff", first runner-up for "World's Best Cabin Staff", "Best Overall Inflight Entertainment (for a fleet size of 20 or less)," "Best Airline Turnaround of the Year 2004", and "World's Most Efficient Operator of Airbus A330s (in the small fleet category)" in 2002 and 2003 from Airbus Industries. ######### Emirates Dubai stopovers enhanced Emirates Dubai Stopovers, an attractive hotel package marketed by Emirates Airline worldwide, has been enhanced to provide holiday makers even more options. In addition to pre-booking the package prior to departure, customers can now also avail of the packages on arrival at Dubai International Airport and choose from an expanded range of 54 hotels and hotel apartments, in the city and on the beach. The new packages are valid from November until October 31, 2006 and start from US$ 65.00 per person per night, sharing a double-room. The price includes buffet breakfast, a 96-hour visa hotel transfers and personalised meet-and-assist upon arrival at Dubai International Airport. The packages are available to all Emirates passengers regardless of class of travel. Speaking on the launch of the revamped product, Ghaith Al Ghaith, Emirates Executive Vice President, Commercial Operations Worldwide said: "Emirates Dubai Stopovers packages are great value for money and have been one of our biggest successes with sales increasing by double digits year on year. With the expanded hotel range and simplified booking procedures, we expect the enhanced product to be even more popular with our customers. ################ Austrian Airlines to operate three flights a week In Colombo recently to overlook preparations for Austrian Airlines on-line operations next month, Jimmy Sng, Area Manager - South East Asia, China and India said the decision for the airline to operate to Colombo was due to a number of reasons. "In the past we operated a classical charter business with Lauda Air which is a leader in charters," he said. "We would operate from November to March and once the season was over the charters would be stopped. However, we felt the country has stabilised, we realised the potential and Sri Lankan people are travelling more often, and this prompted us to operate as a scheduled carrier and not merely as a charter operator," Sng said. With the first Austrian Airlines flight scheduled to arrive on November 3, the airline will operate three flights a week. "We will start with a triangular operation - Colombo /Male/ Vienna, but if there is a demand for a non-stop operation we will go for it," he said. "We have had a lot of inquiries from October. Usually, October and November are good months and December is a dull month, but initial load factors are around 80% and we are already almost sold out". Of the total number of passengers booked to travel, 80% are to Sri Lanka
and 20% to the Maldives. "This is because Sri Lanka has an excellent mix to
offer visitors," "The people, history, nature and wildlife and predominantly
the beaches attract European visitors," he said. |
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