Considering the rapid growth of passenger traffic between the two countries, Sri Lanka is currently negotiating for new Bilateral Air Services Agreement to replace the existing pact with the Kingdom. This would enable the two national carriers, Saudia and SriLankan Airlines, to enhance flight frequencies between the countries.
Besides business visitors, around 15,000 Sri Lankan workers and their families in the Kingdom travel to and from Colombo.
SriLankan Airlines currently operates five flights per week from the Kingdom to Colombo providing convenient connections to major Indian cities and Southeast Asian destinations. The flights are on Mondays and Wednesdays from Riyadh and on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays from Dammam. SriLankan Airlines has expressed keen interest to expand its services to Jeddah, which would not only give a major boost to expanding bilateral trade but it will also be a boon to Sri Lankan Haj and Umrah pilgrims.
To coincide with the National Day, the airline has offered an attractive package to Colombo beginning this month. The offer includes round air ticket with hotel accommodation by SriLankan Airlines flights from Dammam on Sundays. “This is an attractive offer for those who wish to travel to the island for the next two months,” Riza Yusuf, country manager of SriLankan Airlines for Saudi Arabia, told Arab News. He added that the package could be tailor-made to suit customers’ convenience and accommodation will be in reputed hotels on bread and breakfast basis.
To make travel more convenient to visitors, SriLankan Airlines has introduced air taxis for its passengers to reduce the travel time on the island’s roads. Fawzan Fareid, airlines’ manager for the Central region of Saudi Arabia, said this is in addition to the “excellent onboard service” the airline offers its passengers. “A trip which would take four hours on the road, could be covered in 30 minutes by air taxis,” Fareid said, adding that the airline’s passengers are charged a modest fare to move within the island.
The airline continues to serve an important function in ferrying the vast majority of travelers and cargo to and from Sri Lanka.
The national carrier brought in 121,729 passengers in November 2006, a healthy 67.2% of the 181,092 arrivals at BIA. Although there are approximately 20 other airlines operating regular services and charters through BIA, they collectively carried only 59,363.
SriLankan also transported 115,005 outbound passengers from the Bandaranaike International Airport, which is 66.7% of the total of 172,385 departures. Other airlines totaled 57,340.
“We at SriLankan Airlines are well aware of our pivotal position in the country’s economy. The management and staff of this airline take great pride in supporting the country through thick and thin, as we have in difficult situations in the past such as the tsunami. It is our aim to continue playing a key role in facilitating travel to and from Sri Lanka at this crucial period when the travel trade is under severe stress,” Peter Hill, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of SriLankan, said.
SriLankan now serves 50 destinations in 28 countries, and is carrying out a series of promotions to encourage travel to Sri Lanka. A recent promotional offer of discounted tickets drew an excellent response in Europe, and the national carrier’s 10 destinations in India continue to send a steady flow of holidaymakers from the neighboring subcontinent.
The national carrier also plays a key role in transporting Sri Lankans to and from the country, including business travelers, government officials, migrant workers, Sri Lankans living overseas, and leisure travelers. SriLankan Airlines has invested more than Rs. 350 million in advertising campaigns overseas in the last two years to promote Sri Lanka as a tourist destination, among its many strategies to encourage travel into the country.
Recently, it launched its campaign in London, “You can see the world in Sri Lanka,” a Rs. 10.2 million monthlong series of media and Internet advertisements that ran through January.
“As the national carrier of Sri Lanka, SriLankan Airlines continuously emphasizes the need to project a positive image of the country throughout the world. The airline has invested and will continue to invest heavily in promoting Sri Lanka as a travel and tourism destination,” said Hill.
SriLankan organizes a number of international events in Sri Lanka, such as golf, surfing, and rugby tournaments, which bring much exposure to the country.
The island has some 11,000 quality rooms and it is studded with quality hotels such as Grand Cinnamon, Taj Exotica, Light House, and Kandalama for the comfort of luxury tourists. President Mahinda Rajapakse opened a five–star hotel in Koggala. The Fortress Hotel situated in the southern tip of the island is 120 km from the capital.