Innovation, unbeatable deals drive SriLankan Holidays growth

GROWTH: SriLankan Holidays, the leisure arm of national carrier SriLankan Airlines has posted a phenomenal growth in its first year of operations, following its re-launch last year.

Travellers snapped up holiday packages to popular destinations, with total revenues soaring to more than 400 million rupees in the 2006/07 financial year.

SriLankan Holidays offers a variety of exciting holiday packages to India and the Far East, while similar value for money deals are offered to Sri Lanka from India, the Far East and the Middle East.

SriLankan Holidays sold over 10,000 packages during the year over 50 percent to popular destinations out of Sri Lanka (outbound).

Thailand topped the list followed by Malaysia, China and Singapore, as passengers made the most of the value for money deals and regular flight frequencies to these destinations.

The holiday packages were largely bought by Sri Lankans and Indians who contributed over 90 percent to overall growth of SriLankan Holidays.

“The re-launch of SriLankan Holidays was a positive move for the airline and has contributed significantly to the airline’s performance in a difficult year with its innovative packages,” CEO, SriLankan Airlines Peter Hill said.

“We believe there is still untapped potential in the region for holidays and it will continue its growth momentum this year,” he added.

SriLankan Holidays is expecting a 100 per cent excess growth this year, led by outbound traffic from India and Sri Lanka, with the Far East continuing to be an important destination.

The focus of SriLankan Holidays is to offer all inclusive, off-the-shelf packages, at the best price in the market, supported by the airline’s strong route network.

SriLankan Holidays standard packages include economy class airfare inclusive of all taxes, return airport transfers as well as options for add-on excursions or extra nights.

“Consistency and service delivery were the biggest reasons for our success last year. Unlike ad-hoc promotions in the past, travel agents knew they could depend on our product,” General Manager for SriLankan Holidays, Amith Sumanapala said.

The other important feature in SriLankan Holiday’s success was innovation in terms of tactical offers.

The airline flies 90 times a week to ten points in India, 22 times a week to the Far East covering Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Japan, Hong Kong and China as well as 32 times a week to the Middle East.