Sri Lanka Tourism in global cruise push in Busan, Korea

Wednesday, 3 June 2015 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

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Sri Lanka Tourism will sponsor the Seatrade Cruise Asia conference in Busan, Korea

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The Sri Lanka Delegation to the premier cruise fair – first step of a new market development

Sri Lanka Tourism in its new thrust in partnership with SLITO and THASL has chalked a new marketing plan and ventured out to capture a new market segment, cruise tourism, said Sri Lanka Tourism Promotions Bureau Chairman Rohantha Athukorala.

The segment is worth 21.7 million worldwide guests with Sri Lanka registering 50,000 plus for 2015, he added.

For the first time Sri Lanka Tourism will be present at the top B2B cruise fair Seatrade Cruise Asia hosted by Busan Port Authority, Busan Metropolitan City, Korea Tourism Organisation and Korea Marine Leisure Network on 11-13 June.

The event will feature a showcase exhibition, conference and travel agent training. The conference will focus on the growing momentum for cruise tourism in Asia as well as cruise shipbuilding today and in the future.

Sri Lanka’s delegation will include industry veteran Bernie Dole and 10 leading operators in Sri Lanka for the top cruise liners of Celebrity, Royal Caribbean and MSC which constitute over 50% of the cruise liner market globally.

“We will sponsor one of the segments at the conference where top speakers like Alan B. Buckelew Chief Operations Officer, Carnival Corporation Plc, Michael Hackman EVP, Marine Operations and New Ship Building, Genting Hong Kong Ltd, Anthony H. Kaufman SVP, Asia Operations, Princess Cruises, Ki-tack Lim President, Busan Port Authority, Zinan Liu Vice President China and North Asia, RCCL and Chairman, CLIA North Asia, Oliviero Morelli President, Japan, MSC Cruises,” said Athukorala.

“The Seatrade Cruise Asia conference program provides an opportunity to assess the pace and direction of growth in the world’s fastest growing cruise sector and for a country to engage the key itinerary planners to include Sri Lanka into the future cruise itineraries,” said Athukorala who believes that this segment can be developed to cross the 100 visitor mark within the next two years.

“The cruise travel business better known as the ‘floating marine resorts of the world’ that attracts the most wealthy globally, has doubled in business for Sri Lanka with 14 cruise liners calling the country in 2012/13 registering visitor arrivals of 19,615 cruise travellers whilst in 2013/2014 Sri Lanka attracted 22 cruise liners into Sri Lanka with visitor numbers going up to 27,317 whilst this year the numbers have spiked to 40 cruise liner arrivals and overall visitors expected to be 50,000 plus in 2015.”