Shangri La Colombo

• ‘Horizon: Sri Lanka’ will take place this June as dnata and Emirates Holidays report 200% increase in bookings to country in 2024

dnata Travel Group, a leading Dubai-based travel services provider, part of the Emirates group, is launching a travel industry event in Sri Lanka this June, ‘Horizon: Sri Lanka’, hosted by senior representatives from its global brands, amidst growing demand for travel to the island country.

For dnata Travel Group brands and its partners at Emirates Holidays, outlook for travel to Sri Lanka has been increasingly strong in 2024, with passenger bookings up more than 200 percent compared to 2023 levels. The UAE and UK continue to represent the most prominent source markets seeking to travel to the country.
New event, Horizon: Sri Lanka, aims to connect dnata Travel Group brands, including UAE-based dnata Travel, UK-based Travelbag, its corporate travel division (dnata Travel Management), its partners at Emirates Holidays and others, with the local travel and hospitality industry in Sri Lanka, to increase global travel bookings to the country. 

dnata Travel Group Global Ground Services Divisional Vice President Sebastien Doussin commented, “A key element of the strategy for our global travel brands is to continue to increase our presence and strong industry connections across the Indian Ocean, as we remain one of the most prominent producers of room nights to its range of attractive destinations. Horizon: Sri Lanka marks the third event we have held across its island locations, following successful editions in the Maldives and Mauritius. Our events compliment the Strategic Plan for Sri Lanka Tourism 2022-2025 to engage in joint promotions with airlines, travel agents and tour operators. We hope to encourage future collaboration across the industry and further boost tourism.

At our upcoming event, business leaders from across the dnata Travel Group will showcase opportunities for growing tourism to Sri Lanka in key markets, including the promotion of its diverse attractions, cultural richness, air connectivity, diverse accommodation offering, affordability and more – to position the country as a year-round travel destination of choice for our travellers.” 

Organised by the dnata Travel Group in partnership with Emirates Holidays, senior representatives from the tour operating arm of Dubai-based Emirates airline will also attend the event to reveal latest plans relevant to the travel industry in Sri Lanka. It will take place on June 3, 2024 at Shangri La Colombo. 

Other key opportunities

The other key opportunities in focus for the Sri Lankan market and dnata Travel Group brands at Horizon: Sri Lanka will include: 

• Multi-centre holidays: Positioning Sri Lanka as part of wider, multi-centre trip planning, to capitalise on strong customer demand across dnata Travel Group brands for destinations such as Dubai and the Maldives, all accessible and serviced by Emirates. 
• Niche market segments: Promoting Sri Lanka’s diverse range of products, which can attract various niche segments such as sustainability, eco-tourism and wellness.
• Luxury segment growth: Using latest technology to connect with smaller boutique hotels to market and support further growth of the luxury segment. 
• New source markets: As emerging markets seek out new beach destinations, seek potential opportunities for new source market entries to Sri Lanka.
• Optimise sourcing and distribution: Using the most suitable contracting method for each product and to optimise distribution through the dnata Travel Group’s various brands and channels.