Date:20/04/2003 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2003/04/20/stories/2003042000251100.htm

National

Increase in number of Indian tourists visiting Sri Lanka

By S.K. Ramoo

BANGALORE APRIL 19. The number of Indian tourists visiting Sri Lanka is on the rise in the last few months, thanks to the ongoing peace process.

Responding to the boom in the tourist traffic from India, the Sri Lankan Airlines would be launching new services linking Kochi to Colombo from April 22, Peter Hill, Chief Executive Officer of the airline, said.

In an interview to this correspondent recently at the popular hill resort, Nuwara Eliya, Mr. Hill said the services from Kochi would be thrice a week initially. In recent months, India had emerged as the ``fastest-growing market'' for the Sri Lankan Airlines, overtaking the United Kingdom. The three flights a week from Bangalore to Colombo would be increased to four from April 23.

The airline would be re-launching services from Karachi from June. Plans were afoot to launch services either from Beijing or from Shanghai during the year-end or from the beginning of the next year. The Chinese Government had bestowed on the Sri Lankan Airlines the ``preferential destination status''.

The airline had drawn up plans to increase the frequency of operations to London, Paris and Frankfurt, he said and added that it would be taking an earnest ``relook'' at South Africa to commence its flight operations.Its expansion plans in India depended on the Indian Government's response. Mr. Hill felt that friendly relations between the two countries was an encouraging factor. The airline could increase the capacities from India and was currently operating flights from New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore, Tiruchi, Thiruvananthapuram and Gaya. It was looking at the future with ``cautious optimism.''

Despite the adverse factors such as the Iraq war and the outbreak of SARS, the occupancy of seats touched 72 per cent.

The airline has been sponsoring the Governor's Cup horse race at Nuwara Eliya for the past four years mainly to make the hill station a popular holiday destination for overseas tourists. This year, a period fashion show in-between races made it glamorous. The annual racing event was being touted as a kind of ``mini Ascot'' attracting a large number of race-goers, racing professionals and thoroughbreds. The Governor's Cup has emerged as the most prestigious event in the country's racing calendar.