Facilitating cruise tourism in Sri Lanka

Globally, the cruise industry is projected to continue to grow throughout 2019, with an estimated 30 million travellers expected to cruise, up 6% from 28.2 million in 2018. The interest in Sri Lanka as a cruise destination is growing with is scenic beauty, diversity of its product offering, access to sea ports located in Colombo, Galle, Hambantota, and Trincomalee, and the positive endorsement by Lonely Planet. 

Tourism Minister John Amaratunga, along with Tourism Advisory Committee Chairman Harry Jayawardena, is keen on developing this important tourism segment, in order to entice and attract more cruise ships to Sri Lanka. Much work needs to be done, and they wish to facilitate and encourage the Government for a cruise terminal and find ways to ease cruise procedures, spruce up the passenger terminal facilities etc. Though Sri Lanka has four ports, it is important to find ways of developing these ports to be competing with other reputed cruise destinations in the region. In order to exchange ideas and find ways the Tourism Minister along with a high-ranking delegation met Norman Rasel Son, Cruise Director of the luxury Cruise Ship Silver Whisper.   

The luxury cruise ship Silver Whisper, part of the Silver Sea Cruise liner company, called over to the Colombo Port on Monday 25 March. Carrying 300 high-end luxury passengers, who are on an around the world voyage, the ship first called over at the Trincomalee harbour on Friday 22 March, prior to calling over at the Colombo port on Monday. The Silver Whisper boasts of amenities of a grand resort. The charms of a stylish boutique hotel with world-class accommodations, shipboard conviviality and warm, individualised service, paired with the enhanced spaces and amenities of a larger ship. 

Majority of the cruise passengers indulge in shore excursions to take a break from the sea journey and explore the country. Shore excursions such as the Geoffrey Bawa tour, the Viceroy tour on the diesel engine locomotive, visiting the historical Kelaniya temple, spending the day with the Pinnawela elephants, and exploring the city of Colombo were undertaken by these clients before they departed.

In a background as this, Sri Lanka attracts around 60 cruise calls a year, out of which majority of the shore excursions are handled by Aitken Spence Travels, the leading DMC in Sri Lanka.

Those present who met with the Cruise Director Norman Rasel Son of Silver Whisper were Tourism Minister John Amaratunga; Tourism Committee Chairman Deshamanya DHS Jayawardena; Aitken Spence Leisure Sector Head Stasshani Jayawardena; Senior Advisor to the Minister Felix Rodrigo; Micato India Managing Director Michael Haidar Ali; and Controller General of Immigration and Emigration & Commissioner for Registration of Persons of Indian Origin Nihal Ranasinghe.