State Minister – The Island

Dubai, UAE – 8 May 2024: Emirates has reaffirmed its long-standing commitment to promoting tourism to Sri Lanka through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed with the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau at Arabian Travel Market 2024 in Dubai.

The MoU was signed by Ahmed Khoory, Emirates’ Senior Vice President, Commercial West Asia & Indian Ocean, and Chalaka Gajabahu, Chairman, Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau, in the presence of Harin Fernando, Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs of Sri Lanka and Nabil Sultan, Emirates’ Executive Vice President, Passenger Sales and Country Management.

Now in its 38th year of operating in Sri Lanka, Emirates will continue its efforts to support the island nation’s tourism agenda. Through joint collaborations outlined in the agreement, including the development of special packages designed to appeal to various audiences and familiarisation trips from key feeder markets, Emirates will continue to contribute to the nation’s tourist arrivals and wider tourism economy. In 2023, more than 1.4 million tourist arrivals were recorded for Sri Lanka, with Emirates playing a key role in the transportation of visitors to the island.

As part of its wider efforts to support the Indian Ocean nation, Emirates will also engage closely with travel agents and tour operators in key strategic markets to help showcase the destination’s offerings to customers across its global network.

Ahmed Khoory, Emirates’ Senior Vice President, Commercial West Asia & Indian Ocean said: “Sri Lanka is one of the very first destinations Emirates launched operations to so our 38-year relationship with the country is one we take special pride in. We remain committed to deepening our relationship and playing a key role in promoting Sri Lanka as a key leisure destination in our network and contributing to the tourism and trade sectors through our passenger and cargo services.”

Chalaka Gajabahu, Chairman, Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau said: “We are delighted to collaborate with Emirates to promote our destination as the airline has great connectivity to our key markets as well as emerging markets which generate tourism numbers to our country.  We will continue to showcase our unique tourism experiences to the world with the support of Emirates.”

Sri Lanka continues to be an important part of the Emirates network spanning more than 130 destinations. Emirates launched its services to Sri Lanka in 1986 and the airline currently provides two direct daily flights to Colombo utilising the Boeing 777-300ER as well as an additional daily service via Male. It is the only international carrier to serve the country with First Class services – offering passengers world-class products and superior comfort in air and on-ground.