Emirates renews support to tourism revival in Sri Lanka

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Emirates’ SVP Commercial West Asia and Indian Ocean Ahmed Khoory and Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau Managing Director K.P.P. Siriwardana at the MoU signing ceremony at Arabian Travel Market 2023. Emirates’ Chief Commercial Officer Adnan Kazim (centre), Sri Lanka’s Tourism Minister Harin Fernando and UAE Ambassador Udaya Indraratna 

• Signs MoU with Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau, reaffirming its support tourism and trade industries
• Emirates has been serving the country for 37 years, carrying over 11 million passengers to and from the country

Emirates yesterday pledged its renewed support to promoting tourism in Sri Lanka through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed with the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau.

The agreement outlines a host of initiatives designed to promote the nation’s tourism and trade industries, and comes as part of the airline’s long-standing commitment to Sri Lanka spanning 37 years.  Sri Lanka Tourism Minister Harin Fernando, UAE Ambassador Udaya Indraratna, Emirates’ Chief Commercial Officer Adnan Kazim, Emirates’ Manager – Sri Lanka and Maldives Chandana De Silva witnessed the event.

Signalling the deepening of a strategic cooperation between Emirates and Sri Lanka Tourism forged in 2022, the new MoU details joint initiatives and opportunities for collaboration that will enhance each party’s marketing and promotional efforts to attract travellers to the South Asian island.

Through the MoU, Emirates will develop programmes to boost tourism to the Indian Ocean nation by showcasing it to customers across its global network. The airline will also engage in efforts to promote the country through its network of agents in key strategic markets, develop special packages designed to appeal to various customer segments, in addition to collaborating on joint familiarisation trips to raise awareness of the destination’s offerings to audiences in key feeder markets.

Emirates’ SVP Commercial West Asia and Indian Ocean Ahmed Khoory said: “Emirates launched operations to Sri Lanka more than 37 years ago, and it continues to represent a key destination for us in our South Asian network. This partnership is testament to our commitment to the country’s tourism and trade industries and in playing a key role in the revival of these vital sectors. We look forward to promoting Sri Lanka as a key leisure destination in our network and serving demand with our services.”

Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau Managing Director K.P.P. Siriwardana said: “We are pleased to continue our partnership with Emirates to promote Sri Lanka as an ideal destination to travellers. Emirates has played a major role in the revival of the tourism sector and we look forward to working with them to grow it further and make a positive impact on our economy.”

Sri Lanka continues to be an important part of the Emirates network spanning more than 130 destinations. Emirates launched its services to Sri Lanka in 1986 and since then has carried more than 11 million passengers to and from Colombo. The airline currently provides two direct daily flights to Colombo utilising the Boeing 777-300ER as well as an additional daily service via Male. It is the only international carrier to serve the country with First Class services – offering passengers world-class products and superior comfort in air and on-ground.