Aitken Spence and SriLankan to tap more Chennai tourists

Text and pix by Shanika Sriyananda in Chennai

Offering a unique opportunity to explore what Sri Lanka can offer for the Indian tourists, Aitken Spence Travels has launched two exclusive travel packages to promote the country’s culture, the hill country, Ramayana trail and the beach.

Aiming to give an insight for the Indian tourists about some of the best tourist destinations in the country, Aitken Spence Travels, Sri Lanka’s leading destination management company, has teamed up with SriLankan Airlines in launching the two packages – The Best of Sri Lanka and Waves of Fun.

It was recently launched at a packed travel agents’ forum held in Chennai. This is a part of an ambitious effort to promote Sri Lanka across India, in which Aitken Spence Travels, Turyaa Kalutara and SriLankan Holidays have joined hands to launch the promotional campaign across several cities in India to attract more tourists to Sri Lanka.

“The campaign has started with the Thai Pongal festival and the promotional advertisements are on TV and on 50 Cinema locations in major cities and states such as Mumbai, Karnataka, Bangalore, Tamil Nadu, Chennai, West Bengal, Kolkata, Delhi, Kerala and Cochin,” Aitken Spence Travels General Manager Suranga Ratnayake said.

Being the largest tour operator, Aitken Spence Travels, brings in over 120,000 tourists to Sri Lanka. “This is 14% of the total tourist arrivals into Sri Lanka via the formal sector. We are in a strong footing in the cruise business and we handle over 60% of the total cruise business in Sri Lanka. Predominantly, Aitken Spence is an inbound operator and we have specialised in MICE, nature adventure sports and wildlife,” Ratnayake said.

According to Ratnayake, Aitken Spence Travels has spent nearly Rs. 17 million for the comprehensive promotional campaign to market Sri Lanka as well as their hotels – Turyaa Chennai and Turyaa Kalutara.

The Best of Sri Lanka

‘The Best of Sri Lanka’ – a five days and four nights package – would give the Indian tourists the opportunity of visiting the most beautiful locations in the island that includes sites of the Ramayana trails.

This round-tour program gives an opportunity for them to see the best of Sri Lanka within four nights.

The Best of Sri Lanka package includes a visit to Peradeniya Royal Botanical Gardens and to the Hanuman temple in Ramboda on their way to experience the cold misty hills in Nuwara Eliya. At the Tea factory and plantation they can enjoy tasting a cup of pure Ceylon tea. They will also have the opportunity to visit a tea factory to see the processing of tea.

The tourists will be accommodated in the country’s best hotels – Earl’s Regency Kandy, Heritance Tea Factory in Nuwara Eliya and Atiken Spence-owned Turyaa Kalutara.

During their tour to Nuwara Eliya, they will be visiting the Seeta Amman temple, the second point of the Ramayanaya trail and Hakgala Botanical Garden, which is known as the pleasure Garden of Ravana.

Turyaa Kalutara, which is the latest 200 rooms hotel opened by Sri Lanka’s largest resort operator, Aitken Spence Hotels, will be their next stay. There, the tourists visit the Turtle Hatchery in Kosgoda, where the sea turtles conservation is taking place in voluntary basis. The journey ends from Colombo, where they can do shopping and also explore the life in Sri Lanka’s Capital city.

Wave and Fun

The ‘Wave and Fun’ is the other exclusive package that mainly targets the Indian tourists who love Sri Lanka’s golden beaches. The four days and three nights at the Turyaa Kalutara, one of the finest hotels by the Aitken Spence will be an unforgettable journey to the South of Sri Lanka.

Spanning on six-acres of ocean-front land, Turyaa Kalutara is a five-star hotel with all the luxury facilities including exclusive menus to flatter an assortment of tastes and culinary preferences that the visitor expects. Situated 37 km off from Colombo, the hotel is just a drive away from the Galle Fort, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

During their two nights at Turyaa Kalutara they can enjoy a Mangrove boat ride at Madhu River, a bio-diversity hot spot in Balapitiya, where the tourists can enjoy how ecology and culture combines under the sun. They also can visit the Kotu Duwa, the small island housing a temple that dates back to ancient Sinhalese kings.

The third day, the travellers can enjoy the full day at leisure enjoying the hotel facilities to make their stay a luxury relaxing holiday.

Providing space for shopping is also key feature of this package to give the travellers the chance of buying locally made items and international brands available in shopping malls in the capital.

These two packages are promoted through SriLankan Airlines, which has introduced a comprehensive package inclusive of airfare for the Indian tourists. The airline offers a 20% to 25% discount for the Aitken Spence tour operators.

Chennai fastest growing market in Southern India

SriLankan Airlines Manager for Tamil Nadu and Karnataka S.P. Mohan said that SriLankan Airlines had over 310,000 arrivals from India to Colombo, last year and Chennai is the fastest growing market in Southern India for the airline. 

“It is a 30% increase. We see the Sri Lankan tourist market as a growing concern and crucial business hub for multinationals,” he said.

SriLankan Airlines operates 27 frequencies on the Chennai – Colombo route and enhancement of its flights is a method of capitalising the increase in passenger traffic from this region.

“SriLankan Airlines operates a total frequency of 87 flights per week to seven cities in India from Sri Lanka. This reinforces the significance of the Indian market for SriLankan Airlines, especially Chennai. The addition in flights is a result of growing passenger traffic between the two countries,” he said.

Mohan said that the SriLankan Airlines’ operation into India reaffirms its commitment to India and will strengthen the deep commercial and bilateral ties between India and Sri Lanka. “With the number of frequencies, we will appeal to both business and leisure customers aiming to provide convenience and better connectivity,” he added.

SriLankan Holidays Sales Manager in Chennai P. Rajesh said that Sri Lanka is a round-the-year market and a large number of Chennai people travel to Sri Lanka.

“The number of South Indian travellers to Sri Lanka is increasing rapidly. This is mainly because of the similar cultural environment, the country is green and people are friendly,” he said.

He said that all flights from Chennai are full and compared to previous years, there is a marked increase in South Indian people flying to Sri Lanka.

“Unique packages like Ramayanaya Trial made us easy to promote Sri Lanka as there is a huge interest among the older generation. Sri Lanka’s golden beaches, especially the Trincomalee white beach, have become popular among the South Indian honeymooners. Colombo is also popular for the night life for those who want to have a break after a hectic schedule. All these have turned Sri Lanka a popular tourist destination among the Indian tourists,” Rajesh explained.

According to Rajesh, they normally sell the Kandy-Colombo-Nuwara Eliya package but most of the people want to take the packages that promote UNESCO heritage sites, Dambulla, Sigiriya and coastal areas like Bentota and also the wildlife sanctuaries.

Sri Lanka needs more hotels

“Once there are more good hotels in Jaffna, it is easy for us to promote a package to Jaffna as many want to visit the famous Nallur Hindu Temple,” he said adding that Sri Lanka needs to have more hotels to accommodate the rapidly increasing South Indian tourists to the country.

“More hotels have to come up in Sri Lanka. During the peak season we have difficulties in getting rooms,” he said.

“Our clients say they love to visit Sri Lanka as it is a clean and neat country with friendly people and they feel they are at home when they are in Sri Lanka.”

Trans Lanka Air Travels Ltd. Executive Director S.K. Mittal said that Sri Lanka is always a favourite tourist destination among Indians and South Indians and after the North became peaceful the Indian tourists travelling to Sri Lanka has increased by many folds.

“I can say it is a 100% growth. When we say 100% we can see traffic from Chennai. It is almost 3,500 passengers flying to Colombo monthly. It was 2,500 maximum earlier and started growing from 2014. People want to travel to Sri Lanka mainly as it is next door,” he said citing visa on arrival and the beauty of the country as other reasons for the rapid flow of Indian tourists to the country.

“Our clients say they love to visit Sri Lanka as it is a clean and neat country with friendly people and they feel they are at home when they are in Sri Lanka,” Mittal, who is in the travel business for over four decades said.

He said that when considering the South Indian region, there is a huge potential in Bangalore and Karnataka to attract more tourists to Sri Lanka. “Because of the IT industry, there is lots of leisure traffic. 

They travel for two to three days and are willing to pay any amount. We have MICE happening in Chennai and Bangalore,” Mittal pointed out.

The Chennai based tour agent who has been in the growth of the business from the era of Air Ceylon, Mittal said that Chennai people prefer to fly with SriLankan Airlines when they travel to Sri Lanka.

He said it is a one-hour flying time and the visa on arrival facility has also made an impact to increase the number of Indian tourists to Sri Lanka.

He said that the packages like Ramayana Trail introduced by the Aitken Spence have also contributed Sri Lanka to become a popular destination among the South Indian tourists.

According to Mittal, Sri Lanka needs more vegetarian restaurants to tap more South India tourists to the country. 

“Sri Lanka needs more hotels in four and three star categories for the middle class Indian tourists,” he said.