The Hindu Business Line : SriLankan Air banks on MICE to pull tourists in

Chennai March 14 To increase tourist traffic from India and, thereby, increasing its occupancy level, SriLankan Airlines along with the Sri Lankan Tourism Department and the Hoteliers Association of Sri Lanka, is planning to promote Sri Lanka as a weekend getaway and a preferred MICE (meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions) destination.

SriLankan Airlines recently announced a promotional package — Visit Sri Lanka — at Rs 9,999 per person for three days and two nights with "star class accommodation". According to Mr Mohan de S. Meegolle, Manager (Tamil Nadu & Karnataka), SriLankan Airlines, apart from the Visit Sri Lanka promotion, the airline also offers special packages to promote MICE tourism. It offers assistance in event management and has tied up with some Sri Lankan hoteliers and event managers for the purpose.

"As the Indian economy is growing at a healthy pace, we see a good scope for growth in MICE tourism as well — and we want to ride the wave," he said.

However, he said the airline has not tied up with any corporate houses here.

"Proximity, better connectivity and friendly policies such as `visa on arrival' would go a long way in attracting more tourists from India," Mr Meegolle emphasises.

According to him, SriLankan Airlines (51 per cent owned by the Sri Lankan Government, 43 per cent by Emirates and the remaining 6 per cent with the employees) is operating 95 flights a week to various destinations in India with Chennai being on top with 15 flights a week followed by Mumbai (14), Thiruvananthapuram (13), Kochi (12) and Tiruchi (10). The airline also operates to other cities, including Hyderabad, Delhi, Goa and Bangalore.

"At present, our occupancy rate is 80 per cent and our Chennai-Colombo service with 650 seats a day, is almost chock-a-block," says Mr Meegolle.

Asked whether the troubles in the island nation hampers the flow of tourists, he said it was not so and, indeed, the traffic in the past couple of years has been growing at 10 per cent, "and our intention is to grow the traffic further by increasing capacities."

Talking about the Visit Sri Lanka campaign, he said the airline has a big-budget to promote the special offer. "Apart from OOH (out of home) and print media, we are also planning spots in FM stations."

The Rs 9,999-fare is applicable to all connecting cities except Delhi. And the offer, intended to beat the lean season, will run till the end of April. "After which the European traffic will pick up," Mr Meegolle points out. Asked about the targeted traffic, he said, "The more the merrier."

More Stories on : Strategy | Airlines | Tourism

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page