Sri Lanka Tourism set for another record breaking year

Monday, 2 December 2013 00:01 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

2012 peak of 1 m tourists surpassed as Russian couple given warm welcome

During the first 11 months of this year, the Sri Lankan tourism industry has surpassed the record breaking 1,005,605 visitors it attracted during 2012, marking another record year of tourist arrivals. Celebrating the achievement, Sri Lanka Tourism on Saturday held a special program at the Bandaranaike International Airport, where it presented a surprise gift to a Russian tourist couple who arrived in Sri Lanka for a holiday.

Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau Managing Director Rumy Jauffer, Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau Director Marketing Madubhani Perera, Board Member of Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau Mervin Fernandopulle, Sri Lanka Inbound Tour Operators Association President Mahen Kariyawasam, Small and Medium Tourism Entrepreneurs President Suresh De Mel and representatives from travel and tourism industry warmly welcomed the guests who arrived in Sri Lanka via flight UL 543 from Moscow at 6:15 a.m. The couple, Mikhalev Vitaly and Belova Tatiaua, husband and wife, were selected randomly and offered a six night/seven day free Sri Lanka holiday package. The duo can use it for their next holiday in Sri Lanka. The Russian couple arrived in Sri Lanka for a 17-day holiday and is expected to travel across Sri Lanka. The couple had chosen Sri Lanka as their destination after watching a television program on Sri Lanka aired by ‘Pathnethsa’ of Russia. Sri Lanka Tourism is planning to attract 2.5 million tourists by 2016 under the ‘Mahinda Chinthana’ policy framework, with the fullest guidance of Minister of Economic Development Basil Rajapaksa. The Sri Lanka tourism industry during the last few years is experiencing a rapid growth in visitor arrival figures, backed by a major promotional campaign launched by the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau, covering key tourism destinations. Having identified China, Russia, India, Japan, South Korea and Middle East countries as emerging markets, SLTPB executed a new series of promotional activities incorporating the new strategies of the Government. Compared to the previous year, the present number of tourist arrivals indicates a growth of 17%. Besides, the total revenue also surpassed US$ 1 billion. Among the series of promotional activities launched, the three-day mega promotional campaign, already conducted in 2012 in selected cities such as Mumbai, Bangalore, Beijing, Russia and also in many CIS countries, ranks very high.