AirAsia launches Kuala Lumpur - Colombo flights

The new connectivity between Colombo and Kuala Lumpur launched by AirAsia low cost airline will help the tourism industry in Sri Lanka to reach the target of 1.5 billion tourist arrivals by 2016, said Chairman of Sri Lanka Tourism, Bernard Goonetilleke. He was addressing the launch of AirAsia operations in Colombo last week.

After security situation in the country improved, the tourism sector is recovering and we expect an increase in tourist arrivals in the coming months. Adding Sri Lanka as a destination by AirAsia is important at this moment. This signifies its confidence in Sri Lanka as a tourist destination.

The inclusion of Colombo in a successful and massive network of destinations signals an impending growth in local tourism. We expect the entry of this strong player in the field will generate healthier earnings for tourism and related industries. Sri Lanka offers value for the money spent by tourists. In Sri Lanka there is a great variety of tourist attractions wildlife, archaeological sites and sunny beaches close to one another. This year we have invested in counter campaigns against travel adversary in the Europe and we will start our promotions in Malaysia next year, Goonetilleke said.

AirAsia daily direct flights between Colombo and Kuala Lumpur will begin on August 15.

The budget airline offers fares for one way as low as Rs. 4,090 (RM99) during the promotion which ends today. Bookings are exclusively online via AirAsia’s website www.airasia.com. Promotional seats are available between August 15, 2009 and April 30, 2010.

Air Asia regional head of commercial Kathleen Tan said “Colombo is an important destination for AirAsia to break into South Asia”. The low fares we offer will create new demand and stimulate travel.

Our entry into Sri Lanka took place at a good time as the country enters a new era of peace. We are working closely with Sri Lanka Tourism to boost the market because low fares will allow more people to travel. We are very excited about Colombo-Kuala Lumpur because there is a strong pent-up demand for the route, she said.

AirAsia is the leading and largest low cost carrier in Asia with an extensive network with 122 routes covering 65 destinations in 10 countries including London and Australia. It was recently named world’s best low cost airline by skytrax in a survey of 16.2 million traveller interview.

Tang said that AirAsia will promote Sri Lanka as a tourist destination in Malasia through media and its website. Despite the global recession which plunged other airlines into crisis situation, AirAsia posted impressive growth during the first quarter this year. Over 60 percent of our passengers are new and they include young travellers, elders who visiting relatives and friends, pilgrims to Macca, etc, she said.

(GW)