26 September 2022 09:07 am Views - 107
By Kelum Bandara
Former Sri Lankan Ambassador to Russia Udayanga Weeratunga said plans are in place to bring 13 planeloads of tourists from Russia weekly starting from November 1 and one plane load from October 1 and stressed the need to keep the country free of protests and demonstrations for tourism to take off. Mr. Weeratunga told Daily Mirror that two Russian airlines - Aeroflot and Azur Air- would commence flight operations in October.
“If there are protests and demonstrations, they will get highlighted in international media. Then, tourists may not come. Therefore, I request those concerned to refrain from protests and demonstrations in the greater interests of the country,” he said.
He said there would be 13 flights a week starting from November 1. Besides, there will be a flight beginning from October 9.
“Each flight will bring about 250-300 tourists,” he said. We need to ensure steady supply of aviation fuel to Russian flights. We can keep the momentum of tourist arrivals till April, next year,” he said.