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Muscat: A cruise on the Arabian Sea on a moonlit night is simply enchanting, and now, the residents of Oman as well as the tourists visiting the city will be able to relish the experience of cruising to Sri Lanka - the island of serendipity.
Come December next and Diethelm Travel Sri Lanka, a subsidiary of Hemas Holdings PLC in collaboration with FTI group, one of Germany's leading tour operators, will launch their first-ever cruise service between Muscat and Sri Lanka with stops in Dubai, Mumbai, Kochi and Goa, carrying up to 400 tourists from all across the globe. The entire journey will take 10 days.
Speaking to Times of Oman from Colombo, Abbas Esufally, chairman of Diethelm Travel Sri Lanka, said this will be a unique project which would bring in high spending clientele to Sri Lanka from Oman and would act as a viable springboard to showcase Sri Lanka as a multifaceted destination.
"Besides Sri Lanka, residents of Oman can also have a holiday at various destinations in India and Dubai where the ship will anchor,- he said.
The cruise service was scheduled supposed to start this winter (2012), but had to be postponed due to unavoidable circumstances. "We hope to start the cruise service from next year,- Esufally added.
Besides tourists from Muscat, the ship will also have travellers from Austria, Switzerland and Germany over a four-month period starting from 2013 winter.
"The FTI Berlin will be the first-ever cruiseliner of its kind to sail Colombo Port on a regular basis and will call at and depart from Muscat from next winter,- Esufally said.
Trincomalle port
Germany's FTI Touristik director operations Lal Wijesinghe said in a statement that FTI is looking at possibilities to berth at Trincomalee port or the newly built Hambantota Port in Sri Lanka.
"Given the profile of the mainly high-end clientele, a project of this magnitude is a vital shot in the arm for the Sri Lankan tourist industry,- he stressed. The FTI Berlin, with its 206 cabins, was built in 1980 and between 1986 and 1998 it played the leading role in the popular German TV-series 'Das Traumschiff' (The Ship of Dreams).
The vessel accommodates approximately 400 passengers and provides two restaurants, a bar, a lounge and a beer garden. It also includes an outdoor pool, an indoor pool and a spa, sauna, solarium and a fitness centre. Also, passengers can indulge in relaxing massages while on the cruise.
Speaking to Times of Oman, Lakshman Weerasooriya, the country manager of SriLankan Airlines-Oman, said this project would give a big boost to tourism in Sri Lanka which is keen to attract 2.5 million tourists by 2016. The country is already experiencing a tourism boom after the end of the near four decades-long ethnic conflict, in May 2009.
"Tourist arrivals hit a record in 2011 and continue to grow after the government scrapped the visa-on-arrival system in January 2012,- he said. From January to March 2012, tourist arrivals climbed 21.1 per cent to 260,525 over the same period a year earlier, according to Sri Lanka Tourism figures.
Sandy beaches
"From lush green tea plantations growing in misty mountains to miles of golden sandy beaches around the island, we have everything to offer guests so there is every reason for them to feel pampered and relaxed,- Esufally concluded. The approximately 400 passengers on each cruise will disembark in Colombo, while another 400 guests will start their cruise back to Muscat on the same route.
"All passengers disembarking or starting their cruise in Sri Lanka have the option of spending additional holidays in Sri Lanka - on the beaches or on round trips,- Esufally added.
FTI's Group CEO Dietmar Gunz said, "Colombo is a great port of destination and departure for the FTI Berlin in the upcoming winter season. We are assured to be successful with this innovative cruise routing between Muscat and Sri Lanka. It will support the touristic development in Sri Lanka a lot - as past experience has shown that successful ideas will attract more business-.
Esufally added that given the anticipated success of this venture, FTI Touristik is also exploring the possibility of including the ports of Trincomalee and Hambantota at Sri Lanka at a future date, thereby giving the project a greater dimension and taking it to a different level. "Past experience has shown that when a project of this nature is successful, other cruise operators follow suit, with the strong possibility of a 'snowball effect' in the cruise liner business opening Sri Lanka for rapid growth in the cruise market,- he added.
The Times of Oman: Latest News Oman, World & Business News, Sports & Movies!
Come December next and Diethelm Travel Sri Lanka, a subsidiary of Hemas Holdings PLC in collaboration with FTI group, one of Germany's leading tour operators, will launch their first-ever cruise service between Muscat and Sri Lanka with stops in Dubai, Mumbai, Kochi and Goa, carrying up to 400 tourists from all across the globe. The entire journey will take 10 days.
Speaking to Times of Oman from Colombo, Abbas Esufally, chairman of Diethelm Travel Sri Lanka, said this will be a unique project which would bring in high spending clientele to Sri Lanka from Oman and would act as a viable springboard to showcase Sri Lanka as a multifaceted destination.
"Besides Sri Lanka, residents of Oman can also have a holiday at various destinations in India and Dubai where the ship will anchor,- he said.
The cruise service was scheduled supposed to start this winter (2012), but had to be postponed due to unavoidable circumstances. "We hope to start the cruise service from next year,- Esufally added.
Besides tourists from Muscat, the ship will also have travellers from Austria, Switzerland and Germany over a four-month period starting from 2013 winter.
"The FTI Berlin will be the first-ever cruiseliner of its kind to sail Colombo Port on a regular basis and will call at and depart from Muscat from next winter,- Esufally said.
Trincomalle port
Germany's FTI Touristik director operations Lal Wijesinghe said in a statement that FTI is looking at possibilities to berth at Trincomalee port or the newly built Hambantota Port in Sri Lanka.
"Given the profile of the mainly high-end clientele, a project of this magnitude is a vital shot in the arm for the Sri Lankan tourist industry,- he stressed. The FTI Berlin, with its 206 cabins, was built in 1980 and between 1986 and 1998 it played the leading role in the popular German TV-series 'Das Traumschiff' (The Ship of Dreams).
The vessel accommodates approximately 400 passengers and provides two restaurants, a bar, a lounge and a beer garden. It also includes an outdoor pool, an indoor pool and a spa, sauna, solarium and a fitness centre. Also, passengers can indulge in relaxing massages while on the cruise.
Speaking to Times of Oman, Lakshman Weerasooriya, the country manager of SriLankan Airlines-Oman, said this project would give a big boost to tourism in Sri Lanka which is keen to attract 2.5 million tourists by 2016. The country is already experiencing a tourism boom after the end of the near four decades-long ethnic conflict, in May 2009.
"Tourist arrivals hit a record in 2011 and continue to grow after the government scrapped the visa-on-arrival system in January 2012,- he said. From January to March 2012, tourist arrivals climbed 21.1 per cent to 260,525 over the same period a year earlier, according to Sri Lanka Tourism figures.
Sandy beaches
"From lush green tea plantations growing in misty mountains to miles of golden sandy beaches around the island, we have everything to offer guests so there is every reason for them to feel pampered and relaxed,- Esufally concluded. The approximately 400 passengers on each cruise will disembark in Colombo, while another 400 guests will start their cruise back to Muscat on the same route.
"All passengers disembarking or starting their cruise in Sri Lanka have the option of spending additional holidays in Sri Lanka - on the beaches or on round trips,- Esufally added.
FTI's Group CEO Dietmar Gunz said, "Colombo is a great port of destination and departure for the FTI Berlin in the upcoming winter season. We are assured to be successful with this innovative cruise routing between Muscat and Sri Lanka. It will support the touristic development in Sri Lanka a lot - as past experience has shown that successful ideas will attract more business-.
Esufally added that given the anticipated success of this venture, FTI Touristik is also exploring the possibility of including the ports of Trincomalee and Hambantota at Sri Lanka at a future date, thereby giving the project a greater dimension and taking it to a different level. "Past experience has shown that when a project of this nature is successful, other cruise operators follow suit, with the strong possibility of a 'snowball effect' in the cruise liner business opening Sri Lanka for rapid growth in the cruise market,- he added.
The Times of Oman: Latest News Oman, World & Business News, Sports & Movies!
