Office Address
123/A, Miranda City Likaoli Prikano, Dope
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+0989 7876 9865 9
+(090) 8765 86543 85
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123/A, Miranda City Likaoli Prikano, Dope
+0989 7876 9865 9
+(090) 8765 86543 85
info@example.com
example.mail@hum.com
Sri Lanka’s minister for tourism, land, sports, and
youth affairs, Harin Fernando, said on Friday 9 Feb that modalities are
being discussed between the two sides and could involve management contracts as
well.
Other airports being offered are
Ratmalana Airport in Colombo and Mattala Airport, the latter earning the tag of
the world’s emptiest international airport seven years ago.
“There are plans to work with Adani Group for the
management of airports,” Fernando told businessline on the
sidelines of the OTM travel show in Mumbai.
The plan to rope in a private partner
to manage airports comes amid a resurgence in tourism. Foreign tourist arrivals in Sri
Lanka doubled to 1.48 million in 2023 on a year-on-year basis. This, however,
has put a strain on the country’s airport infrastructure. It is hoped that a
private partner would help in expanding the facilities and improving the
passenger experience.
The Adani Group did not respond to an email query
on the topic.
If the deal goes through, it could be Adani Group’s
first overseas aviation foray. In Sri Lanka, it is already present in ports and
the renewable energy sector. The
Adani Group currently has a portfolio of eight
airports (including the upcoming Navi Mumbai airport) in the country,
serving 23 per cent of India’s passenger base.
“We are happy with tourism growth. In January, we received 208,000
tourists, and in the first seven days of February, we had 60,000 tourists. Our
numbers are trending well, and forward bookings are looking great,” Fernando
said.
India is the
largest source market for the country, accounting for 37 per cent of all
arrivals in CY 2023. The Sri Lankan government is also targeting wealthy
Indians to park their yachts at their marinas as a part of its marine tourism
policy.
“We are targeting 2.3 million tourists in 2024, and
we are quite hopeful we will reach the target. By 2030, we hope to attract four
million visitors. That’s why we have to go for massive development projects,”
he remarked.
