Etihad Airways celebrates 10 years flying to Sri Lanka
Etihad Airways, the national airline of the UAE, is celebrating 10 years since it launched flights to Sri Lanka. Etihad Airways first launched flights to Colombo in 2004, and after a brief pause resumed flights on January 1, 2010, connecting Sri Lankan travellers to Etihad’s global network ever since.
The airline has carried more than 1.2 million guests between the two cities and beyond since 2010. Both corporate and leisure travellers have used the services between Abu Dhabi and Colombo and connecting cities across the Middle East, Europe, Africa and North America. These include Amsterdam, Cairo, Frankfurt, London, Manchester, New York, Paris, Rome, Toronto and Washington.
Through Etihad’s codeshare partnership with Srilankan Airlines, guests are able to transfer through Colombo to and from destinations across Maldives and South East Asia.
Etihad Airways Indian Subcontinent and Sri Lanka Vice President Neerja Bhatia said: “We are tremendously proud of Etihad’s achievements and contribution to Sri Lanka in just 10 years. In this short time, we have emerged as a highly respected airline brand, known for leading the way through innovation underpinned by Arabian hospitality.
Sri Lanka is an important market and sought-after destination for travellers across our global network, and we’re proud of the work we’ve done alongside key Sri Lankan tourism organisations and partners to showcase and bring this wonderful country to the world.”
As part of its celebrations, Etihad paid tribute to its top partners in Sri Lanka, including travel agents, government agencies, frequent flyers, the UAE embassy and the Sri Lankan public who have supported Etihad over the last 10 years.
“Thank you to all the people and organisations who have played a vital role in taking our success to new heights,” said Bhatia. “It is wonderful to be able to reward and acknowledge everyone who have supported us as Sri Lanka has a very competitive travel market and our success depends on maintaining and strengthening these close relationships.”
More than a dozen travel partners from the top ten leading local travel companies were also recognised for their ongoing support for Etihad at a special event in Colombo.
The event was attended by leading figures from the government, local business chambers, media, corporate partners, the travel trade, and Etihad’s most frequent flyers.
Etihad operates a next-generation fleet of over 100 Boeing and Airbus aircraft, flying to 84 passenger and cargo destinations across 55 countries, and was recently recognised as the “World’s Leading Airline 2019”, sweeping four awards at the World Travel Awards 2019.
Sri Lanka became the cynosure of all eyes at the 50th edition of Vakantiebeurs Travel Fair which was held from January 15 to 19, 2020, at Jaarbeurs, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB) participated in this event in collaboration with the Sri Lanka Embassy in the Netherlands, along with industry participants.
A tea counter and a dance troupe shared the Sri Lankan pavilion which was spread over an area of 100 square-metres.
Ambassador of Sri Lanka Embassy in the Netherlands Sumith Nakandala ceremoniously opened the Sri Lanka Pavilion by lighting the traditional oil lamp, in the presence of a distinguished gathering including Association of Vereniging van Kleinschalige Reisorganisaties (VVKR) Chairman; Small and Medium Tour Operators Association in The Netherlands Antonie Brinkman and few delegates from the Association, Benelux and Scandinavia Regions Market Officer Danojani Weerasinghe and respective industry participants.
14 Industry participants joined SLTPB for this event, including Hawk Holidays, Eco Team (Pvt.) Ltd, Andrew the Travel Company, Camlo Lanka Tours (Pvt.) Ltd, Zenith Expeditions, Airwing Tours, Journeyscapes Travel, Go Travel Fix, Sunway Holidays, Aitken Spence Travels (Pvt.) Ltd, Lion Royal Tourisme, Starron Tours (Pvt.) Ltd, Ayubowan Tours and Travels (Pvt.) Ltd and Butterflies (Pvt.) Ltd.
The Sri Lanka Pavilion had several highlighted items at the fair which captured the visitor’s attention and earned much praise.
The big board advertisement at the entrance of the fair was appreciated by the industry participants, and the tea counter at the pavilion drew more and more visitors to the Sri Lanka stand as it had a rather cold weather, and especially because of the refreshing and genuine taste of Ceylon tea, which is very famous with the Dutch community there.
The stunning cultural performances of the dance troupe, consisting of the Directorate of Army Band and Performing Arts, entertained the visitors, and they were excited to see the cultural glamour and talent of the Sri Lankan performers.
Moreover, special Sri Lankan performances were arranged throughout the fair, at allocated time slots at the cultural stage of the Vakantiebeurs Fair.
Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB) is a regular participant of this annual event, which is held each year to provide a platform for industry participants from all over the world to build important business partnerships, exchange ideas and advice on how to develop their products and businesses further.
Apart from participating at this annual fair, SLTPB also launched a digital billboard campaign in the Netherlands last year, and arranged a familiarisation tour for the delegation of Association of Vereniging van Kleinschalige Reisorganisaties (VVKR); Small and Medium Tour Operators Association in The Netherlands as key highlights for the Dutch Market.
Up to December 2019, tourist arrivals from the Netherlands were recorded as 38,993, which was a decrease of 31.8 percent, compared with the same period last year, which was 57,160.