Sri Lanka has once again been featured as one of the leading destinations for leisure travellers in the United Kingdom by Emirates, the award-winning Dubai-based international airline.

An exclusive luxury holidays brochure produced by Emirates for the UK market devotes 12 pages to Sri Lanka, one of 14 destinations featured in the 2012 edition.

Produced by Emirates Tours UK, the tour operating arm of the airline in the UK, the glossy catalogue titled ‘2012 EXCEPTIONAL’ describes the island as ‘a land bursting with colour, energy and history.’

The Sri Lanka section provides a description of the country’s many attractions, historic sites, cultural heritage, wildlife, hill country and beaches, and features 12 hotel properties located in the Cultural Triangle, the hill country and the western and southern coasts.

It offers a wide choice of customised tour packages as well as an eight-day tour labeled ‘Essential Sri Lanka’ priced between £ 1,759 to £ 2,429 per person and an 11-day privately-guided tour titled ‘Discover Ceylon’ from £ 2,359 to £ 3,255 per person.

Chandana de Silva, Emirates Area Manager for Sri Lanka and the Maldives said: “The latest Emirates Tours UK catalogue is an excellent demonstration of the commitment of Emirates to promote travel to Sri Lanka, a destination the airline has served for 26 years.”

He said the brochure is targeted at high-end travellers, and is in addition to the annual ‘A World of Choice’ catalogue produced by Emirates Holidays, which also features Sri Lanka.

Emirates has operated services to Sri Lanka since April 1986 and now connects Colombo to the airline’s global network of 122 destinations with 28 flights a week. The airline recently invested Rs 200 million on its own premium lounge at the Bandaranaike International Airport for the exclusive use of its First and Business Class passengers and Gold members of Skywards.

The other destinations featured in the 2012 Emirates Tours UK catalogue are Dubai, Oman, Maldives, Mauritius, Seychelles, Thailand, Malaysia , Singapore, South Africa, India, China and Australia – New Zealand.

In the 2011-12, ‘A World of Choice’ catalogue of Emirates Holidays, Sri Lanka has been accorded another 12-page spread and is the first destination featured in the 503-page publication, which is available at Emirates sales offices around the world.

The winner of more than 500 prestigious international travel and aviation awards, Emirates operates 14 direct flights a week from Colombo to Dubai, seven flights via Male to Dubai and daily flights from Colombo to Singapore, offering First, Business and Economy Class services. In 2011-12 the airline added 11 new destinations to its route network, took delivery of 22 new aircraft and flew 34 million passengers.