The Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB), in collaboration with Airport and Aviation Services, organised a special ceremony to celebrate 100,000 tourist arrivals from the Russian Federation through direct flights.
This was held at Bandaranaike International Airport on Monday by welcoming the passengers and crew arriving by the Aeroflot flight from Moscow. A total of 100,298 Russian tourists have been brought in to Sri Lanka jointly by Aeroflot, Azur Air and Redwings since October 10, 2022.
As of July, Russia has become the second highest source market for Sri Lanka.
The visitors and invitees were given a warm welcome by the Tourism Information Centre officials of the SLTPB and were escorted to the Lotus lounge with a cultural performance by a traditional dance troupe, which was highly enjoyed by the Russian tourists.
The distinguished guests at this occasion included Levan Dzhagaryan, Sri Lanka Convention Bureau Chairman Thisum Jayasuriya, former Sri Lankan Ambassador to Russia Udayanga Weeratunga, along with Thilak Weerasinghe (LSR), Rushan Fruard (Exotic Holidays International) and Kamal Deshapriya (Ceylon My Dream), who contributed as industry stakeholders for this direct flight operations. Captain Ermolaev Vladmir Vlaimirovich and the crew of Aeroflot, together with the tourism and aviation officials and media attended this event.
