SriLankan Airlines has joined Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA). SriLankan Airlines, the national airline of Sri Lanka, was launched in 1979 and operates from its hub at Bandaranaike International Airport in Colombo. The airline currently has a route network of 99 destinations in 47 countries (including codeshare operations) in Europe, the Middle East, South Asia, Southeast Asia, the Far East, North America, Australia and Africa.
Ajith Dias, chairman, SriLankan Airlines said, “Sri Lanka is emerging as one of the most exciting tourism and MICE destinations in Asia. Sri Lanka’s MICE industry experienced a leap forward in the last few years recording over 144,000 MICE visitors to the country in the year 2014 of which majority has emerged from the incentive travel segment. The total tourist arrivals into the country exceeded 1.5 million in 2014 from mere 500,000 in 2009. At a time when we look at attracting tourists from new markets, our membership in PATA and our role in the PATA Annual Summit 2017 will provide an ideal opportunity to share insights and look for collaborative ventures to promote MICE tourism within the region.”
According to PATA, international visitor arrivals to Sri Lanka are forecast to reach above the two million mark by 2019, with tourism expenditures expected to reach US$ eight billion.