Sri Lanka_ Emirates and the Sri Lankan Tourism Bureau signed a memorandum of understanding with the promise of collaborating their efforts in order to revive and promote tourism in Sri Lanka.
The MoU consists of several initiatives that are strategized to support and promote the island’s tourism sector while also keeping in line with the airline’s 37-year-long alliance with Sri Lanka.
The collaboration took place at Arabian Travel Market 2023 and the MoU was signed by
Emirates Senior Vice President Commercial West Asia and Indian Ocean, Ahmed Khoory, and Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau Managing Director K.P.P. Siriwardana.
Tourism and Lands Minister Harin Fernando, Ambassador of Sri Lanka to the United Arab Emirates Udaya Indraratna, Emirates Chief Commercial Officer Adnan Kazim, and Emirates Manager Sri Lanka and Maldives Chandana De Silva were among the dignitaries gracing the event.
Through the newly outlined MoU, joint efforts will be made to develop programs that improve the current travel and tourism trade in Sri Lanka while simultaneously enhancing both parties’ marketing and promotional strategies. The partnership is set to strive in various promotional and marketing activities with regard to promoting the island nation internationally, while Emirates also aims to showcase Sri Lanka to its global network of agents in various trades, and markets. Alongside these promotional ventures, special packages tailor-made to suit each customer fraction and familiarization trips in order to feature the island’s best offerings to various audiences will be implemented in the near future.
Speaking at the event Ahmed Khoory said, “Emirates launched operations in 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 a testament to our commitment to the country’s tourism and trade industries and to 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.”
With hopes of nurturing this long-standing commitment Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau Managing Director Siriwardana stated, “We are pleased to continue our partnership with Emirates to promote Sri Lanka as an ideal destination to travelers. 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.”
