Srilankan Airlines Eyes To Revive Tourism With Fam Trips
(MENAFN- Bangladesh Monitor) Dhaka: SriLankan airlines has organised several fam trips or“familiarisation trips” recently and will continue to do so to boost tourism in the country.
The Covid-19 pandemic, political instability and an economic crisis in the country have severely battered its tourism sector, with operations of its national airline also taking a hit.
However, SriLankan is hopeful of a resurgence in travel demand, expecting a much higher footfall in 2023.
Sri Lanka's national carrier has participated in several fam trips recently to help resurrect the tourism industry in the country. A familiarisation“fam” trip is usually organised for travel agents and media representatives to acquaint themselves with the destinations and regions for selling or promoting these to travellers and local media.
The carrier organised several such trips in the last quarter of 2022, resulting in a few group bookings. Such a trip took place in November, 2022, inviting 170 travel agents and some media representatives from around the world including from Bangladesh.
On the note, Richard Nuttall, CEO, SriLankan Airlines, expressed that he feels these trips are important for the participants to explore the destinations up close. The carrier also plans to organise more of such trips throughout 2023.
Reports cited him saying,“We are doing all we possibly can to get people back. The challenge at the moment is not so much that (people did not know about) the attractions in Sri Lanka, but that the international media has been sensationalising matters. We need tourists to understand that they are not taking food away from Sri Lankans. Rather, tourist expenditure can allow Sri Lankans to generate more income to feed their families.”
SriLankan Airlines has been anticipating a significant increase in passenger traffic in 2023. The airline's chairman Ashok Pathirage, as per reports, said,“Network-wise, we are in the process of restoring our capacity to pre-pandemic levels and plan to add more capacity once our fleet is strengthened. We look forward to reestablishing our services to the fullest for the Chinese market in 2023. Our operations to India will also be increased in 2023.”
MENAFN09012023000163011034ID1105401184
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.