Hoteliers, tour operators and airlines to offer special rates to attract tourists

The meeting in progress  

• Re-opening of schools and lifting curfew completely seen crucial for normalcy
• Gomes says load factor remains a concern for airlines

Sri Lanka’s hoteliers and tour operators during a meeting with leading airlines have reached an agreement to offer special promotional packages to attract tourists to the country, Sri Lanka Tourism Chief, Kishu Gomes said. 

The Board Of Airline Representatives (BAR) which includes Emirates, SriLankan, Singapore Airlines, Turkish Airlines, Air India and Cathay Pacific had participated in the meeting, which was headed by Tourism Minister John Amaratunga.  However, the launch date and the specifics of the promotions were yet to be finalised. 

The Hotels Association of Sri Lanka (THASL) President Sanath Ukwatte said that the priority of the industry is to communicate the security situation of the country and to get travel advisories relaxed before going ahead with any promotions.   

He also noted that the country’s return to normalcy with the re-opening of schools and lifting curfew completely would bring confidence to the world on the security aspect.

During the meeting, a senior Army intelligence officer had conducted a detailed security briefing on the latest situation of the country and the progress of the investigations on the Easter Sunday bomb attacks to airline representatives. Since Easter Sunday, several airlines had reduced their frequencies while others have maintained their usual frequencies. 
However, Gomes said that the load factor remains a concern for airlines. (NF)