Amal Goonetilleke, Taj Hotels’ regional sales director for Sri Lanka and the Maldives, talks about Sri Lanka’s tourism sector.
What are the main attractions of Sri Lanka?
The beach, culture, nature, adventure, wellness. It depends on the market they’re coming from. The Germans come for the beach and a certain amount of culture. The British would do the beaches – they’re very strong on culture and nature and wildlife. Indians are coming here for weekends now – city breaks, to party and have great food, and some go to the beach. If you look at the Middle East market – I think that the beaches and the hill country attracts them a lot. The thing about Sri Lanka is it’s very small and within a short span you can experience a warm climate and a cool climate. You can see the two largest mammals – the elephant and the blue whale.
What role have airlines played in the industry?
Many airlines moved out of Sri Lanka, especially the European carriers. The global airline industry changed dramatically over the last 10 to 15 years. It’s nothing to do only with Sri Lanka. The competition that came in from Emirates, Qatar, Etihad and Oman Air was humongous. They used to have British Airways, KLM, Swissair flying into Sri Lanka and the Maldives. British Airways pulled out of both destinations, KLM pulled out, Swissair pulled out, so it’s not really because of the conflict. Post-war Sri Lanka has had increased flights coming in from Emirates, Qatar, Etihad, Oman Air. Obviously they are carrying passengers from their feeder markets. I’m sure it’s going to improve. British Airways is now touching down [again] in Sri Lanka.
Where is Sri Lanka attracting tourists from?
Tourism is doing well. Post return of peace, Sri Lanka has seen a huge growth in tourism. In terms of markets, many years back we were a destination that attracted predominantly European travellers. But if you look at the statistics today, Middle East is a huge market for Sri Lanka, then you have Russia, Ukraine, India. Now, the Americans are coming, the Australian market is coming.
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