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Sri Lanka seeks to attract more Mideast visitors
Sri Lanka has identified the Middle East as one of the two new key markets in its efforts to develop its tourism industry, which has been weakened by the years of civil conflict.
- By Shakir Husain, Staff Reporter
- Published: 00:43 May 9, 2008
Dubai: Sri Lanka has identified the Middle East as one of the two new key markets in its efforts to develop its tourism industry, which has been weakened by the years of civil conflict.
At present, Britain and India are its major source tourist markets and accounted for about 200,000 visitors in 2007.
"We are looking for more tourists from the Middle East and Russia," Sri Lanka Tourism managing director Dileep Mudadeniya told Gulf News.
There has been an 80 per cent growth in the number of visitors from the Gulf in the first three months of 2008 compared with the same period last year, he said.
The overall number of foreigners visiting Sri Lanka remains small, the country's target is to achieve modest one million tourists per year by 2014.
Mudadeniya said Sri Lanka wants to attract more long-staying visitors. The average stay for British tourists is 10 nights, while for Indians it is five nights.
The number of visitors from the Gulf to Sri Lanka last year was about 10,000, with the UAE and Saudi Arabia being top markets.
"Our target from the Middle East is an annual growth of 30-40 per cent. With eight flights per day, Sri Lanka is easily accessible to people from this region," Mudadeniya said, adding that the overall growth target for foreign tourists is 10 per cent per year.
Militancy
He said most areas were safe for travel and foreign tourists have not been targeted by LTTE militants since the conflict began 25 years ago.
The Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau is setting up a representative office in Dubai to support the country's tourism promotion activities in the region.
In conjunction with SriLankan Airlines, the bureau yesterday announced a holiday package for Middle East travellers by offering a free hotel stay to one child, aged below 12 years, for every paying adult sharing the parent's room between the June-August period.
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