ME grow by 20.1% in Q1, SL Tourism target Riyadh

Wednesday, 22 April 2015 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Whilst the country was celebrating New Year, Sri Lanka Tourism was focussed on building brand Sri Lanka in Riyadh and Damman and thereby pegging overall numbers from the Middle East said a communique from the Sri Lanka Promotional Bureau. “The overall thrust on 12 April by Sri Lanka Tourism was in the backdrop of the overall numbers increasing by 13.6% and the Middle Eastern market increasing business by 20.1% with Saudi Arabia way up at 37.8% and UAE at 16% and Oman at 42.1% but we are very concerned that these numbers don’t reflect the overall occupancy of the formal sector. This needs to be properly researched and a strategy in place to be captured,” said Sri Lanka Tourism Bureau Chairman Rohantha Athukorala. “The numbers are encouraging given that the middle eastern travellers are essentially summer tourists that will help iron out the off season occupancy issue in the formal tourism sector but the work we did last week in the Road Shows in Damman and Riyadh that attracted over a hundred top travel agents to engage the key 12 companies that went was very important and unique given that we did a market blitz in the whole region and got strong share of media to Sri Lanka than just taking part only at the Riyadh Travel Mart,” voiced Athukorala. The special nature of the Sri Lanka pavilion was that the country came first with Sri Lanka Tourism, Sri Lanka Airlines and Sri Lanka Tea Board in unison being in the Sri Lanka pavilion which is what Sri Lanka require said Athukorala. We will further extend this at Expo 2015 and then at the Arabian Travel Mart which the biggest fair that is in the Middle Eastern calendar for tourism development agenda.