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SriLankan Airlines flights to Germany on the cards

by Tharika Goonathilake

SriLankan Airlines may resume flights to Germany coupled with a dynamic promotional campaign to target upmarket tourists.

Towards this end, the airline will synergise its resources with the Sri Lanka Tourism Board to initiate an ambitious campaign to target upmarket clientele, as opposed to the current trend of sun and sea tourists. The airline, has also initiated discussions with top consumer magazines, corporate communicators and the media to rekidle interest among the upmarket tourists in Germany, which was one of Sri Lanka's top tourism generating destinations although it recorded a decline in numbers from 2000.

""We are hoping to pitch into a different clientele and rebuild a different market. The emphasis is to bring in more high spenders like the golfers, skiers, mountaineers and the adventure tourists, while serving the mass market," SriLankan Airlines, Head of Corporate Communications, Chandana de Silva told the `Daily News.'

De Silva said that, although the airline's decision to discontinue flights to Germany in 2001 was criticised by the travel industry, the decision was unavoidable due to economic constraints.

SriLankan Airlines, which was operating, three flights per week at the time, withdrew flights to Frankfurt, following the July 24 attack at the Katunayake Airport and the subsequent World Trade Centre incident. The move, came amidst much criticism by local and foreign tour operators, given Sri Lanka's dependency on German traffic, and the reduction in airline and seat capacity for German tourists to fly into the country.

"Following the July 24 incident, the airline had to maximise the use of aircraft, which had been reduced to eight, to focus on the most profitable routes on the network. It came down to economies of scale," De Silva said reiterating that "German traffic, at that time was more about numbers than actual yield."

However, buoyed by the peace process and the growing interest in Sri Lanka as a safe and diverse destination, with attractions that go beyond the sea, sand and sun, the airline, is optimistic of bringing in more high spending Germans to the country.

"Germany is a priority area for SriLankan Airlines. We are confident that we can resume flights soon," De Silva said.

Sri Lanka Tourism Board, International Affairs and Research Division Director Malraj Kiriella said the airline's decision augurs well for the country given the potential of the German market.

" Germany has been the leading tourist generator for Sri Lanka averaging around 70,000 to 75,000 tourists per year until 1998. In 1992 Sri Lanka recorded 95,930 tourists arrivals from Germany but a series of events have led to a decline in the German tourist traffic," he said.

At present, the bulk of the tourist traffic from Germany is brought to the country by German airlines LTU and Condor.

Nepal gears for Everest golden jubilee celebrations

KATHMANDU, (AFP) Climbers will not be the only ones making merry in the Himalayas this May when Nepal marks the 50th anniversary of the conquest of Mount Everest - runners, bikers, movie buffs and even bowlers will be joining in the festivities, according to organisers. While the focus will of course be on the famous mountaineers who have conquered the world's tallest peak, the Nepalese authorities are keen to attract less adventurous souls to the mountain kingdom as well.

"The celebrations are a very important tourism opportunity for us," said Ang Tshering Sherpa, president of the Nepal Mountaineering Association, which is organising the 50th anniversary bash.

Activities being planned include an Everest running marathon, rock climbing expeditions, a mountain biking rally, an indoor bowling tournament, a film festival and a football match pitching mountaineers who have summitted Everest against Nepalese film actors and actresses. The festivities have in fact already begun, with white water rafting, paragliding, an international golf festival and an elephant polo tournament in recent weeks.

For climbers, the authorities have laid on a subsidised expedition in May to three peaks, two of them - Mount Phari Lapcha (6,017 metres, 19,856 feet) and Mount Machhermo (6,273 metres, 20,700 feet) - still virgin, Ang told AFP.

"There has been a lot of interest in this expedition from all over the world," he said, including unprecedented keenness from South American climbers. "We have had applications from climbers in Europe, in Korea, Japan, Malaysia, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Mexico, Argentina and other South American countries," he said.

A number of climbers who have summitted Everest have also expressed interest in joining the expedition to the virgin peaks, he added.

The third peak of the expedition, which will commence on May 12 and end in time for climbers to join in the May 29 anniversary celebrations in the capital Kathmandu, is Mount Kyazo Ri (6,186 metres, 20,410 feet).

A record 17 teams, meanwhile, will attempt to scale Everest during the spring and more expeditions are likely due to the interest in the 50th anniversary party.

Among those attempting the Everest-sized challenge is Apa Sherpa, who will be trying to beat his own record of 12 ascents - all without oxygen. Apa will join a multi-denominational team of climbers, among them a Christian, a Buddhist, a Hindu, a Muslim, an atheist, a Taoist and a Jew, to spread a message of peace. Ang Rita Sherpa, who has climbed 10 times - also without oxygen - will be going to base camp for the occasion. The main festivities, Ang Tshering said, will be on May 29 when mountaineers who have summitted Everest will gather in Kathmandu for a day of reminiscing and partying.

"The star of the event, of course, is Sir Edmund Hillary," he said, referring to the New Zealand beekeeper who with Tenzing Norgey Sherpa became the first known humans to set foot on the peak of Everest on May 29, 1953.

Hundreds of millions of Chinese on the move for Lunar New Year

BEIJING, (AFP) Hundreds of millions of people were making the final dash home on jammed planes, trains or buses Thursday as China prepared to usher in the Lunar New Year.

But while Chinese have traditionally spent the Spring Festival period at home with their relatives, this year they are increasingly breaking ranks and travelling further afield, often as far as Australia.

Authorities have mobilized all available resources to cope with the estimated 1.82 billion trips that will be made over the holiday period, from mid-January to mid-February.

The Ministry of Transport has laid on extra trains and halted the movement of some freight trains to cope with the estimated 3.2 million to 3.4 million passengers who will travel each day next week, a 10.2 percent rise from last year.

Planes are also creaking under the weight with an extra 5,160 extra domestic flights being added to schedules, while many roads are crammed with overloaded buses and cars.

This has led to spate of deadly accidents which the Ministry of Public Security has attributed to poor weather conditions, speeding and driver fatigue.

At a Beijing station, the crush to buy a train ticket Thursday resembled a combat zone.

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Copyright 2001 The Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd.
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