Emirates honours Sri Lanka’s top travel agents

Emirates’ Top 10 agents in Sri Lanka with senior representatives of the airline 

Emirates has recognised its leading travel agents in Sri Lanka at a special gathering in appreciation of their support and dedication to the airline for the year 2023.
The awards gala dinner held at Shangri-La Hotel in Colombo was attended by representatives of Emirates’ top 20 travel agency partners and celebrated the airline’s sales achievements during the year.
Distinguished guests of honour included Ambassador of the UAE to Sri Lanka Khaled Nasser Al Ameri and Emirates Senior Vice President Commercial Operations West Asia and Indian Ocean Ahmed Khoory.

Speaking on the importance of travel trade partners in the airline’s sales strategy, Emirates Country Manager for Sri Lanka and the Maldives Rashid Al Ardha said, “Our travel trade partners contribute significantly to the airline’s achievements in Sri Lanka. Recognising the strategic role that our travel partners have to play in our sales and distribution efforts, we put a great emphasis on nurturing these collaborations. By leveraging their local expertise, we are able to address the demand for travel to and from and across our network. We are delighted to have the opportunity to be here today to recognise the partners who have steadfastly supported Emirates.”

“Emirates is committed to Sri Lanka and is optimistic about the future of its travel industry,” continued Al Ardha.
“Through our deep strategic partnership with Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau we’re playing an active role in promoting the island’s tourism and trade industries and broadening the nation’s appeal in key global markets, through our ongoing support of its strategy to attract 2.5 million tourists in 2024 and five million by 2029.”

Emirates Country Manager Sri Lanka and the Maldives Rashid Al Ardha

More than 175 guests, including business leaders from Sri Lanka’s travel trade, representatives of airport and aviation services and Emirates local office team in Sri Lanka were present at the awards gala, where 10 travel agency partners were presented with awards.
The top 10 travel agency partners honoured were Classic Travel, Inqbaytor Group, 2nd Chance Travels, Traveller Global, George Steuarts Travel, Acorn Travels, Metro Voyage, Mackinnon’s Travels, BOC Travels and MSA Travels & Tours.

Emirates, the world’s largest international airline, began operations to Sri Lanka in April 1986 and this year celebrates 38 years of supporting the country’s tourism and export industries with passenger and cargo services. The award-winning airline has carried more than 12 million passengers to and from Colombo in this period and currently operates two direct daily flights to Colombo as well as an additional daily service via Male, using a Boeing 777-300ER aircraft. 

Emirates is the only international carrier to serve Sri Lanka with First Class services – offering passengers world-class products and superior comfort in the air and on-ground. The airline has also invested in a dedicated Emirates Lounge at Bandaranaike International Airport  for the use of First Class and Business Class passengers as well as members of select tiers of Skywards, its award-winning frequent flyer programme.