Sri Lanka Tourism enters $40 bln cruise liner business
View(s):Sri Lanka Tourism is partnering top blue chip companies to enter the lucrative US$40 billion cruise liner business that is estimated to carry 22.3 million passengers with the market growing at 3.2 per cent in volume, a media release issued by the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau stated.
Carnival Corporation is the market leader with a share of 48.1 per cent followed by Royal Caribbean Ltd at 23.1 per cent, Norwegian Cruise Holdings at 10.4 per cent while MSC at 5.2 per cent, it was noted. SLTPB Chairman Rohantha Athukorala said in the release, “I was delighted to see MSC docking at the Colombo port with almost 2000 passengers.” Overall Sri Lanka tourism is at a high of 16.7 per cent growth in February and to date registering a 11.6 per cent growth with key markets like China bolstering a 86 per cent growth and India at 14.2 which are the top two markets for Sri Lanka for the year 2015, he said. Normally the average spend among cruise liner travellers was at $214 which is in line with the average spend of a UK traveller (without air fare) in Sri Lanka that attracted MSC to the Colombo Port, Mr. Athukorala said. Some of the key trends among the cruise liner passengers are digital connectivity when the ship is at high seas whilst catering to the individual dietary requirements is more an industry feature than an individual brand highlight, Mr. Athukorala pointed out.
He noted, “If we are to be in line with the $40 billion business we must work closely on a solid infrastructure that supports cruise liner visitors like shops close to the docking bay and attractive inbound tours to scenic locations be it wildlife, beaches or cultural sites.”
Currently, the one day excursions were mainly around the city and to Pinnawala; and with the launch of the free range zoo and the ability to see the largest mammals on earth – elephant and whale in one day brings out the key brand attribute of Sri Lanka namely Compactness, Diversity and Authencity, the chairman noted.