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Thursday, 28 October 2021 05:32 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
The Government has approved five new airlines to operate into Sri Lanka before the end of this year, Tourism Minister Prasanna Ranatunga said yesterday.
Accordingly, Sweden’s Edelweiss will operate a weekly flight and Russia’s Aeroflot twice a week from 1 November, while Air France will fly three times a week from 3 November.
In addition, from the first week of December, Russia’s Air Azur and Italy’s Nyos Air will fly twice a week to Colombo.
The new airlines planned to operate into Sri Lanka are a reflection of the efforts made by the Tourism Ministry held internationally to revive the industry post-pandemic.
The Minister pointed out that the operations will be made subject to strict health guidelines.
“The aim is to enhance foreign earnings through the revival of the tourism industry and contribute to the national economy,” Ranatunga added.
He said international travel has begun following the administration of the vaccine against COVID-19 globally.
Nearly 16,500 tourists have arrived in the country between 1 and 24 October, boosting hopes for the crisis-ridden industry.
The initial arrival figures were released by the Tourism Ministry this week, and industry sources said the number was the highest for a 24-day period.
“If the trend continues, October is likely to record the highest monthly arrivals for this year,” they added.
September saw the highest arrival of 13,547 tourists; thereby boosting the first nine months’ figure to over 54,768.
The majority of these tourists were from India, the UK, Pakistan, Russian Federation, Germany, Maldives, Canada, France, the US, and Indonesia.
“With the easing of travel restrictions, there is a growing interest from global travellers to visit the country,” Tourism Minister Prasanna Ranatunga said.
