British tourists undeterred by violence here

More and more tourists from Britain are visiting Sri Lanka despite the troubled times, Kuoni, a global travel company said yesterday, adding that its revenue from this market has grown by 30 percent. “Our year-on-year (May 2007-May 2008) revenue from the Sri Lankan market has risen by 30 percent while passenger traffic has risen by 20 percent. This is a very strong and favourable message for Sri Lanka,” noted Nick Hughes, Managing Director of Kuoni Travel Ltd, UK, a fully-owned subsidiary of the Swiss-based company.

Speaking to The Sunday Times during a short visit to Colombo, Mr Hughes said Sri Lanka is the number one destination for weddings worldwide and number two destination for honeymoons for Kuoni travellers.

“What is important is that weddings are planned well in advance and even with the difficulties you have, the British consumers are prepared to put their money where their mouths are for a crucial event like weddings,” he said, adding that violence happens across the world and doesn’t deter the British traveller.

During his visit, the Kuoni UK chief met Tourism Minister Milinda Moragoda and sealed a pact with SriLankan Airlines for a direct non-stop flight to the Maldives from Britain for Kuoni clients. Kuoni is among Britain’s biggest tour operator to Sri Lanka and probably the oldest, operating in this market for the past 40 years.

Sri Lanka was featured on the cover of Kuoni’s 2008 winter brochure which is the company’s main catalogue of global destinations. The 2009 brochure has dedicated 24 pages to Sri Lanka.