subject: Sri Lankas Growing Airline Industry [print this page] During the year 2011, it was proved that Sri Lanka had the fastest growing aviation market in the whole of Asia. The island of Sri Lanka has a variety of culture and bio-diversity and has recorded a stunning increase in tourist arrivals since the war with the second fiercest group of terrorists in the world ended in a victory in 2009. Reports show that April 2011 itself had a growth of 66.7% of tourism. The center for Asia Pacific Nation compiled some data which shows that Sri Lanka has achieved a growth of 25.9% in airline seat capacity in May 2011 compared to the seat capacity of May 2010. This statistic awards Sri Lankas aviation industry to be the fastest growing in the entire market of Asia and puts it in front of the growth rates of other Asian countries like India, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia.
Sri Lanka is currently ranked 15 in the report mentioned earlier and it will not be a big challenge for the nation to come up to a higher level if developments keep taking place. These developments could include marketing tourist attractions better and opening up international markets for local carriers. The country should take advantage of its location and become a hub to tempt tourists to the island. Sri Lanka is situated almost in the middle of India, China and Indonesia hence the concentration of traffic should be tapped. The Indian and Chinese industrys national income in relation to air traffic is growing at a rate of eight to nine percent. We are at Indias doorstep and this development is important to focus on. Industry officials advice the country to observe how countries like Singapore and Dubai are using their location to switch their airports into hubs. In the past, Dubais tourism industry was just a fraction of Sri Lankas tourism industry. Today, it is most likely about ten to fifteen times bigger than Sri Lankas.
Many long distance travelers often prefer a direct flight to Sri Lanka when they want to visit the country. Hence introducing direct flights to Sri Lanka from cities like New York would prove to be very profitable for the airline industry. Heathrow is another big hub in the USA. Direct flights to Sri Lanka from Heathrow would also be a great idea for development.
