Chandana de Silva, Emirates Area Manager Sri Lanka & Maldives addresses guests at the airline’s gala dinner for top agents in Colombo.

Emirates, a global connector of people, places and economies, has honoured travel agents in Sri Lanka in characteristic elegance and style, at a gala appreciation dinner at Waters Edge to celebrate the airline’s partnership with the trade.

The award-winning airline hosted nearly 200 representatives of the leading travel agencies in Sri Lanka to an evening of fine dining and scintillating entertainment in acknowledgement of their contribution to the airline’s success in 2014.

A selection of fine wines and gourmet dishes that mirror the inflight cuisine on board Emirates flights was accompanied by the music of a jazz quartet and some of Sri Lanka’s most talented vocalists at this stylish event, with which Emirates will bring the financial year to a close in Sri Lanka, a destination it has served for 29 years.

Delivering the welcome address at the gala dinner, Chandana de Silva, Emirates Area Manager for Sri Lanka and Maldives said this period represents a truly phenomenal journey for the airline. “When Emirates operated its first flight to Sri Lanka in April 1986, Colombo was the fourth destination on its network. Today, Emirates connects Sri Lanka to a global network of 147 cities in 82 countries,” he said. “The role the airline has played in supporting the growth of tourism and the Sri Lankan economy in general, is therefore, immeasurable.”

“Throughout this journey, you, our loyal travel agents have been an integral part of our growth, for which we are extremely grateful,” Mr de Silva added. “We look forward to your continued support in the years ahead, which I can assure you, are going to be very exciting indeed.”

Emirates employs more than 1,300 Sri Lankans in its operations in Dubai, nearly 150 of them as cabin crew on flights around the world.

In 2014, the Airline invested further in the Sri Lankan market, opening its first branch office in Kandy, making it easier for residents and travel agents of the hill country capital and the central highlands to interact with the airline. Emirates currently connects Sri Lanka to the world with 34 flights a week from Colombo — 27 flights a week westward to the Maldives and Dubai and a daily flight eastward to Singapore.

Source: http://www.island.lk/index.php?page_cat=article-details&page=article-details&code_title=120979

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