BIZ

Tourists won’t come to ‘dead cities’ – Diana

Published

2 months ago

August 1, 2023

editor

State Minister of Tourism – Mrs. Diana Gamage says that Sri Lanka has welcomed 763,000 tourists during the first 07 months of this year, contributing to a significant income of approximately US $800 million.

She further emphasized the success of President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s program aimed at strengthening the national economy through the growth of the tourism industry. This accomplishment has played a crucial role in bolstering Sri Lanka’s foreign reserves, she added.

State Minister Mrs. Diana Gamage shared her perspective during a press briefing at the Presidential Media Centre (PMC) today (01) under the theme ‘Collective Path to a Stable Country.’

Speaking further, the State Minister further pointed out importance introducing new approaches and adopting innovative strategies to enhance the tourism industry. She emphasized the necessity of developing active cities to attract tourists with active nightlife, stating that visitors do not seek out lifeless destinations or dead cities.

“In order to attract more tourists, it is crucial to extend the operating hours of tourist destinations, allowing visitors to have a more enjoyable experience. This may involve keeping certain places open later into the night, providing various entertainment options, and facilitating activities that appeal to tourists,” she has pointed out.

Ms. Gamage also said as Sri Lanka plans to host the final competition of the World Travel Awards (WTA) in December this year with the expected participation of 117 countries.

BIZ

SriLankan enters into partnership with Virgin Australia

Published

2 days ago

September 28, 2023

editor

SriLankan Airlines has entered into a first-ever interline partnership with Virgin Australia that will strengthen the airline’s network in Australia and offer customers extensive connections across the land down under and beyond.

The new partnership reaffirms SriLankan’s commitment to Australia and will present customers the convenience of adding select Virgin Australia domestic or international connections to their SriLankan Airlines booking and managing a multi-airline itinerary under a single ticket.

Dimuthu Tennakoon, Head of Worldwide Sales & Distribution of SriLankan Airlines commented on the partnership by stating, “Australia has one of the largest Sri Lankan diasporic communities, which makes our Australian routes incredibly popular all year around and particularly with people travelling to visit friends and relatives or in pursuit of higher education. This partnership will help us make further inroads in the Australian market through improved connectivity and a range of other benefits for our valued customers.”

SriLankan Airlines currently operates daily from Colombo to Melbourne and from Colombo to Sydney on a thrice-weekly basis. The partnership will enable passengers flying SriLankan to Melbourne or Sydney to connect to the Australian cities of Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, Cairns, Darwin, Hobart, Hamilton Island, Launceston, Gold Coast and Perth with Virgin Australia. Passengers will also have the option of flying beyond Australia to New Zealand, Samoa and Fiji. It is a win for Sri Lankan and Indian Australians living in these cities too as they can now fly out from their local city to Sri Lanka or India with a single SriLankan Airlines’ booking. What’s more, passengers can enjoy a seamless journey with a single check-in, including for baggage, at the departure airport and beat transit check-in queues.

The introduction of domestic and international interline flights options with Virgin Australia would improve the accessibility to Sri Lanka for Australian outbound tourists as well. An important customer group for SriLankan, the partnership will unquestionably help develop Australian leisure travel to Sri Lanka. It will also provide easy connections for SriLankan Airlines’ passengers flying to Australia via Colombo from the Maldives, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

Since relaunching flights to Melbourne in October 2017 and Sydney in June 2020, close to a million passengers have travelled with SriLankan Airlines to Australia. The new partnership will enhance SriLankan Airlines’ service to Australia as the airline prepares to cruise to new altitudes above the land down under. For more information on SriLankan’s Australian operations visit www.srilankan.com

BIZ

Colombo International Book Fair 2023 kicks off

Published

1 week ago

September 22, 2023

editor

Sri Lanka’s largest book exhibition, ‘Colombo International Book Fair’, commenced today (22) at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH).

The book fair organised by the Sri Lanka Book Publishers’ Association will be held until October 1 from 9.00 am – 9.00 pm.