Despite the coronavirus outbreak which affected the whole world, and precautionary warnings which were dispatched, it has not made a major impact on cruise tourism, for tourists tend to arrive by sea even at the moment. This fact was further proven as Sri Lanka was able to receive two more calls to port from two massive passenger vessels – the ‘Sun Princess’ and ‘Queen Mary 2’, which embarked on 4 and 5 February, respectively.
Special tourist information counters were stationed by the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB) in each vessel, with the intention of giving the visitors a glimpse of Sri Lanka, its importance as an ideal destination to travel and explore, best tourist locations to visit, and its cultural value.
The arrival of these two vessels subsequently highlighted the important role which cruise tourism plays in encouraging more tourist arrivals and boosting up the tourism sector. The officials of the Tourist Information Counters in both vessels were able to attract interested visitors to gain more information about Sri Lanka and its unique attractions. The arrival of these two passenger vessels brought a significant impact and a touch of elegance to the Colombo Port.
The Sun Princess makes her arrival in Colombo
The passenger vessel Sun Princess, belonging to the Princess Cruises Shipping Line, was the first to arrive at the Colombo Harbour on 4 February, coming from Phuket, Thailand. Most of the passengers on board were of Australian origin, but also carrying other nationalities as well. Malship (Ceylon) was the Sri Lankan shipping line while the Ground Handling was done by Lotus Destination Lanka Ltd. They were scheduled to travel to Mahe, Seychelles on 8 February after their tour in Sri Lanka.
During their stay, the passengers of the vessel were able to visit several tourist attractions including Akuressa, Bentota, Hikkaduwa, Negombo, Tea Plantations, Kandy Tooth Temple, Mount Lavinia Beach, Colombo City Tour and shopping in Colombo. Though it was a short stay the tourists enjoyed exploring the beauty and uniqueness of Sri Lanka which made them consider selecting Sri Lanka as their next travel destination. This massive vessel has the capability of carrying 2,200 passengers on board, and consists of 920 crew members. The vessel is equipped with every luxury facility to ensure that the visitors will have a perfect and comfortable journey which they will enjoy.
The Sun Princess is equipped with facilities such as three pools, five whirlpools, gym, lotus spa, beauty salon, sauna, aerobics spa, shuffleboard, sports court and deck 7 wrap-around promenade walk. It provides endless entertainment options such as a princess theatre, etc., and other facilities include shops, an art gallery, photo gallery, laundromat, and a medical centre. It also has three dining rooms, restaurants, cafés and bars. The vessel has every feature that an ideal traveller would really wish for – fully-equipped with the latest modern facilities.
Queen Mary 2 docks at the Colombo Harbour
The next to arrive was Queen Mary 2, which started its journey from Southampton, UK, and embarked on the Colombo port on 5 February. It was scheduled to travel to Phuket, Thailand, on 9th February. Most of the passengers included UK nationals, and on their stay they were able to visit Akuressa Tea Plantation, Galle Fort, Unawatuna, Martin Wickremasinghe museum, Kelaniya Temple, Mount Lavinia Beach, Colombo City attractions and also shopping in Colombo. On this tour, Shipping Agency Services Ltd. represented the Sri Lankan shipping line, while the Ground Handling was done by Abacombi Travel.
The vessel has the capacity of carrying 2,800 passengers on board including 1,254 crew members, and 150,000 of tonnage. This gigantic vessel belongs to ‘Cunrad Line’ Shipping Company and is of Bermudan origin, which is equipped with a large variety of facilities. The vessel is equipped with various facilities including five restaurants. The vessel also offers a range of other facilities including shops, a bookshop, boardroom, meeting room, photo studio, art gallery and a medical centre, among numerous other facilities.
During the month of January, most of the tourist arrivals by sea was reported by India, which recorded a total of 41,448. Cruise tourism has become another important source of revenue to Sri Lanka, which brings high spending tourists to the country and promoting the touristic value of the destination, which indicates that cruise tourism has added its contribution in order to boost the tourism industry in Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka Travel Feneteko