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Showcasing the island nation....

BECKONING: Sri Lanka is wooing tourists from India

In its first ever joint initiative, Sri Lanka Tourist Board along with Sri Lanka Convention Bureau and Sri Lankan Airlines on Tuesday announced an aggressive campaign targeting the middle segment, high yielding corporates and conference travellers from India.

Announcing this at a conference here in the Capital, Sri Lanka Convention Bureau chairman Haniffa Ishak, who is leading a Meeting Incentive Conferences Exhibitions (MICE) delegation comprising hoteliers and tour operators for business-to-business sessions, said: "India is the number one market for us as more than 113,000 tourists from your country arrive in Sri Lanka every year. There is also an increased awareness among Indian tour operators about facilities available in our country. With over 14,000 hotel rooms available along with state-of-the-art amenities for conferences, conventions and exhibitions, Sri Lanka is one of the most favoured destinations."

To woo the "big wigs" of the corporate sector to the island country, the Bureau plans to organise trade and investment events next year and enhance advertisements through selected Indian magazines. To make travellers comfortable, Sri Lankan hotels are serving authentic Indian cuisines.

Stating that multi-national companies operating in India were giving a number of incentives to their employees, Sharuka Wickrama Adittiya, Sri Lankan Airlines area manager of Northern India, Nepal and Bangladesh, said: "This had opened a floodgate of tourists to our country".

"Our advantage is that we have close proximity with India. We don't have snow but we have mountains, coasts, beaches and reasonably priced clothes. We will soon have more tie-ups with Indian entities to make Sri Lanka an ideal travelling destination," he added. -- Madhur Tankha

-- Madhur Tankha

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