Trade Bytes

Sachinam Holidays to promote Sri Lanka

Andrea Lopez - Mumbai

Inbound and outbound tour operator Sachinam Holidays is looking at bringing Sri Lanka closer to Indian travellers with its cost-effective packages for the summer season. Having recently been appointed as franchisee for Sri Lankan Holidays, the travel division of Sri Lankan Airlines, the company plans to take a larger number of outbound travellers there. Speaking to Express TravelWorld, Sachin Dand, proprietor, Sachinam Holidays said that Sri Lanka had a slew of products, making it one of the better holiday destinations. He added that the tourism board of the country was also working on initiating the 'Ramayana trail' as a new tourism product. "The country has affordable hotels in the star category and a good combination of beaches, hill stations and shopping, so much so that we have designed a three day package inclusive of a return air fare and accommodation at a luxury hotel at a competitive cost of Rs 15,000" says Dand.

In addition to this, the company also plans to strengthen its presence in the Middle East for tourism into Dubai, through its office there. Pioneers in the Gujarat market, 80 per cent of the company's clientele comprises of diamond merchants looking for business avenues in Belgium, Hongkong, Bangkok and New York. However, Dand opines that Dubai, due to better incentives being offered by the government for the diamond business, is opening up as a lucrative tourism and business destination for its high-end clientele. "Dubai has become one of the main outbound tourism destinations for us, we took 15,000 passengers to Dubai recently," says the company's managing director, Mukesh Dand. The company recently launched an online portal for domestic ticketing, and will soon be adding international ticketing and reservation to its online portfolio.