Tag Archives: Sri Lanka

The two-day Virtual Spanish Travel Show concluded successfully with more than 1,300 buyers from India, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh interact with 20 Spanish exhibitors. Spain’s first-ever virtual roadshow witnessed more than 3,200 one-to-one meetings take place between travel agents and tour operators, and suppliers that included regional tourism boards, hotels and DMCs.

The Tourism Office of Spain – Mumbai will be organising a two-day roadshow with 22 Spanish suppliers on December 2-3, 2020. The suppliers will be a mix of local tourism boards, hotels and DMCs, who will meet key travel agents and tour operators from key source markets of India, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. To attend as buyer, contact Jaspreet Kaur at jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com or 9650196532.

The re-opening of Colombo’s Bandaranaike International Airport has been suspended indefinitely. The airport was scheduled to re-open in August, but due to the rising COVID-19 cases in the country, operations and repatriation flights have been halted for the time being.

Sri Lanka Tourism is hosting a Virtual Summit today at 3:00pm, where experts will talk about Sri Lanka’s readiness to restart tourism. To register, please email to jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com or call +9650196532. Panellists include Arundika Fernando, State Minister of Tourism and Aviation, Sri Lanka and Kimarli Fernando, Chairperson, Sri Lanka Tourism.

Sri Lanka Tourism is hosting a Virtual Summit on Monday, June 22, at 3:00pm, where experts will talk about Sri Lanka’s readiness to restart tourism. To register, please email to jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com or call +9650196532. Panellists include Arundika Fernando, State Minister of Tourism and Aviation, Sri Lanka and Kimarli Fernando, Chairperson, Sri Lanka Tourism.

Sri Lanka, the island nation, is all set to welcome travellers from across the world starting August 1, 2020, as the country has successfully contained COVID-19. Announcing the same, Kimarli Fernando, Chairperson, Sri Lanka Tourism, has said, “Sri Lanka Tourism will provide international visitors with the highest standards of safety as we embrace tourists from across the world to experience the beauty of our paradise island once more. The Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) has put in place all precautions recommended by global health and travel authorities to re-open the country to tourists.” Sri Lanka has been on most of the travellers’ wish list for a long time, as it offers a diverse range of attractions, right from pristine beaches to lush green mountains and is known as an island that offers ‘unmissable experiences’. The country has announced that Colombo’s Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) and Ratmalana International Airport (RIA) as well as Hambantota’s Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (MRIA) will be opened from 1st August 2020 for international travellers from all nations. The issuing of visas will be only online and must be applied for prior to travel. T he online visa procedure and requirements for tourists from August 1, 2020 include: A negative PCR test report from an accredited laboratory taken within 72 hours prior to landing in Sri Lanka. A confirmed travel itinerary covering at least 5 nights at certified accommodations. A valid return air ticket Travel insurance with health and hospitalization cover A visa fee of USD 100 will be applicable Tourists will not have to undergo quarantine procedures. A mandatory health screening and sanitising process including a PCR test will be conducted at arrival Airports free …

FTAs from India’s top 10 markets increased at a CAGR of 5.5% during 2008–2018, reveals CAPA India. China’s rank improved to 7th in 2018 from 10th in 2017.  FTAs from Russia registered the highest CAGR of 11.2% during the last 10 years, followed by China (11.2%), Malaysia (10.7%) and Australia (9.0%). In 2018, Sri Lanka (16.5%) and c(14.0%) were the only two source markets (amongst the top 10) that saw double-digit year-on-year growth.

Finland witnessed a 15 per cent growth in Indian arrivals in 2018 and over 80,000 overnights, informed Jukka Holappa, Commercial Counsellor, Country Head—India and Sri Lanka, Business Finland, at VisitFinland and India Workshop 2019 held in Delhi on February 25. Speaking at the event, he said, “The numbers from India have been growing. At our roadshows in Delhi and Mumbai, we have 10 partners from Finland and are looking at a participation of about 70-80 agents in each city. Indians usually like to explore more countries in one single visit, often going to Russia and Estonia; we are hoping to get them to stay longer in Finland.” Holappa claims that the they are committed to support, educate and grow the business for their travel partners. “It’s our role to educate the travel agents on Finland but the Indian travel trade needs to educate us to manage Indian travellers as well,” he concluded. He also informed that Lapland is very popular with Indians as they love to see the Northern Lights.

The Maintenance, Repairs & Overhaul (MRO) Association of India (MAOI) has appealed to the Finance Ministry to, on priority, fix the lop-sided tax policies to create a level playing field between the Indian MRO industry and foreign MROs. The MAOI has stated that in the current financial year 2018 -19, the industry has registered negative growth. With 90 per cent of the MRO requirements of India being imported, the import driven policy has lost 90,000 direct jobs to countries like Sri Lanka, Singapore, Thailand, France and Germany. The MAOI has made recommendations to the government for the future and growth of the Indian MRO industry: reduce GST for Indian MRO services to 5 per cent to bring it on par with foreign MRO services. Alternatively, customs duty on MRO services (where such capabilities exist in India as per DGCA CAR 145 approved organisations list) should be applied at 18 per cent on all imports and grant of ‘infrastructure’ status to MRO industry. Bharat Malkani, President, MAOI, says, “Based on data from Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), the current fleet of 550 airliners is expected to grow to 1000 by 2023. The government is focused on creating new infrastructure and is encouraging domestic carriers to expand their fleet size. While this is a positive development for Indian Aviation, it has no bearing on its immediate ancillary MRO sector. This is because the present GST for importing MRO services to India is levied at 5 per cent, whereas the same services offered at home are taxed at GST of 18 per cent. Of the several requests we are making to the Ministry through the pre-budget memorandum, our highest priority is to have the GST …

Amid growing demands, the Government of India has included Madurai airport in the list of entry points where persons holding e-visa can enter India. According to a circular released by the Ministry of Home Affairs, visitors holding valid e-visa can enter the country without going to the nearby airport with e-visa on arrival facility. This facility is expected to benefit a large number of tourists from Malaysia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, the UAE, Mauritius, the US and the UK. Overall fourth in Tamil Nadu, the Madurai airport is the 26th airport to get the facility in the country.