Emirates Holidays honours top eight agents in Sri Lanka

Eight Sri Lankan travel companies that have contributed significantly to the growth of Emirates Holidays in the local market were honoured at a gala awards ceremony in Colombo recently.

Hosted by Aitken Spence Travels, the Preferred Sales Agent (PSA) in Sri Lanka for Emirates Holidays, the tour-operating arm of Emirates airline, the awards ceremony celebrated the milestone achievement of Sri Lanka being judged the best station in Asia for Emirates Holidays at this year’s global awards of Emirates.

In appreciation of their contribution to this success, Sri Lankan travel agents were presented with framed certificates at the Emirates Holidays Sri Lanka awards by senior representatives from Emirates Holidays in Dubai and their counterparts at Aitken Spence Travels.

Speaking at the event, Michelle Perry, Emirates Holidays’ Manager Sales Commercial Operations said: “Our travel agency partners are hugely important to us. We want to build long term, mutually-beneficial relationships with our agents and look forward to creating more opportunities in the market to promote our products.”

Concurring, Devika Ellepola, Emirates Sales Manager Sri Lanka said the opening three years ago of a dedicated office in Colombo for Emirates Holidays had resulted in a noteworthy contribution from the division to the airline’s business in Colombo and that travel agents had driven most of that business. “Our latest destination will be Fort Lauderdale, Florida and we already have passengers from Sri Lanka booked on the inaugural flight on 15th December,” she said. “We will continue to count on our agents to support us on new routes.”
Aitken Spence Director Stasshani Jayawardena added: “We couldn’t be more proud of what the two brands – Emirates Holidays and Aitken Spence Travels – have achieved in just three years, despite the competition. Value for money has been one of the strengths of Emirates Holidays. As part of the award-winning Emirates airline, Emirates Holidays is unique in the market and has grown steadily year on year.”

The top agent for Emirates Holidays in Sri Lanka was BOC Travels, followed by Gabo Travels, BGA Air Services, Global Connection Travels & Tours, The Travel Port, Legacy Travels, Ben Galaxy Travels & Tours and Go Holidays, now rebranded Travel 7.

A dedicated Emirates Holidays retail office operated in Colombo by Aitken Spence Travels was opened in November 2013 at 315 Vauxhall Street, Colombo. It provides expert advice on Emirates Holidays products and services to the trade, as well as to consumers directly, and offers the most comprehensive choice of holiday options to the Middle East, Africa, Indian Ocean, Asia, Australia, Europe and the Americas.