Friday Sep 11, 2026
Friday Sep 11, 2026
Friday, 11 September 2026 05:44 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
A 30-member delegation of leading travel agents from India’s Punjab Travel Agents Association (PTAA) arrived in Sri Lanka yesterday for a familiarisation program aimed at deepening tourism ties and creating new business opportunities between the two countries.
Hosted by Classic Destinations, the delegation comprises travel trade representatives from Punjab who are visiting key attractions, hotels and tourism properties to gain first-hand experience of Sri Lanka’s products and identify opportunities for future collaboration.
The visit also includes the PTAA’s Annual General Meeting, being held in Sri Lanka, adding a business and industry engagement dimension to the delegation’s program and strengthening ties with one of Sri Lanka’s key tourism source markets.
As part of the program, the visiting agents attended a Networking and Destination Presentation yesterday evening at Nuga Gama, Cinnamon Grand Colombo, bringing together Indian travel agents, Sri Lankan tourism and hospitality partners and other industry stakeholders.
The event provided a platform for Sri Lankan tourism stakeholders to present the country’s diverse range of destinations, accommodation and experiences while engaging directly with the Punjab travel trade on potential business opportunities.
Cinnamon Hotels & Resorts Chief Operating Officer Kamal Munasinghe highlighted the cultural and historical significance of Nuga Gama and provided an overview of Cinnamon Hotels’ diversified portfolio across Sri Lanka and the Maldives.
The visiting travel agents said it was their first time in Sri Lanka and expressed positive impressions of the destination, particularly its cleanliness and overall standards.
They said Sri Lanka was “on par with countries such as Singapore” in terms of cleanliness.
The familiarisation program is expected to give the visiting agents a deeper understanding of Sri Lanka’s tourism products, accommodation facilities and experiences, enabling them to promote the destination more effectively among travellers from Punjab.
“The program also highlights the importance of closer cooperation between Sri Lankan tourism stakeholders and international travel agents in promoting Sri Lanka as a preferred destination and developing new business opportunities in the tourism sector,” said Classic Destinations Ltd., Head Chalaka Gajabahu.
India remains one of Sri Lanka’s single biggest tourism source markets, with Indian travellers accounting for 395,377 Indian tourists or 25% of total tourist arrivals year-to-date (YTD) and during the first six days of September 2026, India accounted for 9,894 or 31% arrivals. The Indian travel trade also play a key role in promoting Sri Lanka through tour operators and travel agencies.
The engagement with the Punjab travel trade comes as Sri Lanka seeks to deepen market-specific partnerships and convert growing interest from India into stronger visitor flows, longer stays and wider tourism spending.
The delegation’s exposure to Sri Lankan destinations and direct engagement with local tourism businesses is expected to support stronger product knowledge among Indian agents and create new channels for promoting Sri Lanka to travellers from Punjab.
- Pix by Upul Abayasekara
