Aitken Spence, SriLankan Airlines woo high-end Mumbai tourists

Charumini de Silva reporting from Mumbai

Aitken Spence Travels along with SriLankan Airlines recently kicked off a unique joint initiative to woo more affluent Indian outbound travellers based in Mumbai.

The effort is part of a broader push to attract more tourists from India, considered as one of the fastest outbound tourism markets.

The two companies last week launched to the trade two exclusive travel packages promote Sri Lanka targeting the mid and high-end Indian traveller for inbound travel.

The two exclusive packages have been worked out, namely ‘The Best of Sri Lanka’ and ‘Sun & Fun’ which will be on till 31 March. The launch in Mumbai saw 35 top Indian tour operators.

Aitken Spence Travels General Manager Suranga Ratnayake said that the company had invested around Rs. 17 million for this strategic promotion to market Sri Lanka as a destination as well as to promote their hotels.

‘The Best of Sri Lanka’, which is a five-day and four-night package that will give an Indian traveller insight into some of the beautiful places to visit and see, which includes visiting a few places of the Ramayan trails.

This package will also enable the Indian traveller to stay in some of the finest hotels in Sri Lanka such as Earl’s Regency Kandy, Heritance Tea Factory in Nuwara Eliya and newly-refurbished property of Turyaa Kalutara.

‘Sun & Fun’ at Turyaa Kalutara is a four-day and three-night exclusive package at the beach which allows tourists to enjoy time out by themselves, with many excursions for them to choose from.

The two packages will be combined with airfare by SriLankan Airlines, where the airline offers a 20%-25% discount on all Aitken Spence tour operators.

“SriLankan Airlines has contributed greatly towards making this promotion work and realising this they have offered extremely attractive air fares, therefore making an unparalleled partnership in promoting Sri Lanka as a destination that will give Indian travellers a blissful holiday opportunity,” Ratnayake pointed out.

In 2015, Aitken Spence Travels handled 120,000 clients, which is 14% of the total tourist arrivals into Sri Lanka via the formal sector. In addition, the firm holds a strong position in its cruise business, which accounts for 60% of total cruise business in Sri Lanka.

“Our aim is not only to promote Aitken Spence hotels but also Sri Lanka as a destination for a better future. This year we expect a 10% increase in our overall number of clients,” Ratnayake added.

He went on to say that this year the firm intended to have four key promotion campaigns targeting different market segments and destinations, of which India was one.

These two packages are designed for sought-after customers in the metropolitan areas of India such as Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Cochin and Bangalore.

Ratnayake added that depending on the success of the packages the firm was keen on continuing with adjustments in the second phase of it commencing on 1 April.

“Despite many Destination Management Companies (DMCs), Aitken Spence Travels has always been at the forefront of pioneering bold projects of this nature and we are confident that this promotion will be a steppingstone to a solid foundation to have a sustainable tourist influx to Sri Lanka, as turnaround time is faster in India compared to other parts of the world,” he said.

The campaign will consist of cinema and TV advertising as well as presentations to key agents covering all the main cities. The promotion will feature 50 cinema locations in major cities and states such as Mumbai, Karnataka, Bangalore, Tamil Nadu, Chennai, West Bengal, Kolkata, Delhi, Kerala and Cochin. 

SriLankan Airlines Western India Manager Udeni Perera said that they expected revenue of INR 910 million from the Mumbai station which is an increase of INR 70 million compared to the 2014/15 financial year.

“Mumbai as a station is performing very well with 450 seats on a daily basis despite the competition,” he added.

However, he pointed out that the cabin load at present was a challenge, especially when catering to the MICE market.

“We aren’t playing much with our pricing. Hence, with new big aircrafts expected in our fleet we will be able to deliver better performance in the future as the Western part of India has much potential to grow,” Perera said.

Indian arrival increase

He said that Indian arrivals increased by 30.3% to 316,000 last year compared to the 242,000 arrivals recorded in 2014.

Noting that Sri Lanka has many places to explore, he said the island nation presented the unique opportunity for travellers to see the world’s biggest mammals, the blue whale and the elephant, within a very short span of time.

Perera added that SriLankan Airlines, together with its sister airline Mihin Lanka , had 87 flights a week to 11 cities in India, which includes Chennai, Trichy, Trivandrum, Mumbai, New Delhi, Bangalore, Kochi, Varanasi, Bodh Gaya, Kolkata and Madurai.

Lotus Destinations Managing Director Nalini Gupta said Sri Lanka was well connected to the world and was a great hub in the South Asian region.

She went on to say that there was a combination of factors which worked well for Sri Lanka and despite the beauty which was very appealing to everyone the key factor was the warmth of the people. It also has a strong Indian cultural background that makes it attractive to Indians, who also want to experience its history. 

In addition, Gupta said that airline connectivity was advantageous and the firm had been working closely with SriLankan Airlines. 

“The numbers have been good and growing at a healthy pace. Sri Lanka, due to its close proximity to India and the fact that it has relaxed visa rules, is a hassle-free destination,” she added.

Elaborating further on cruise travellers, she pointed out that the Indians were suddenly discovering holidaying through cruises. “Most of them fly to Colombo and move to Singapore and Rome taking a cruise of ours; making Colombo a great hub,” Gupta noted.

Cox and Kings Ltd. Vice President and Business Travel Head John Nair said Sri Lanka was considered to be a destination which has something for everyone.

He said increased tourist interest in the wedding celebration and adventure segment was helping them. 

“Sri Lanka offers a wonderful experience to today’s traveller looking at a great value break thus, making it a destination of choice,” he stressed.

Nijhawan Group of Companies Marketing and Sales Manager Samantha Desouza said Sri Lanka had lot of potential to grow in terms of the MICE sector. 

Noting that a lot of MICE travelling is taking place from Mumbai, she pointed out that the sector would help Sri Lanka to develop high revenue-generating travel segments in the future. 

“Corporate travellers are always time-bound and prefer to stick to Colombo, whereas free independent travellers (FIT) are game for stepping out and enjoying adventure and long-stay trips,” she noted.