In 2017, Sri Lanka received a total of 78,873 tourists from the Middle East region with UAE as one of the fastest growing tourism market from the region with a total of 7,136 visitors.Currently there are 70 direct flight services a week connecting UAE to Sri Lanka suggesting the potential to grow and develop the market further is great, especially as travelers from the country on average have one of the highest travel spends in the world. This will result in not only return dividends for Sri Lanka's tourism and hospitality industries, but also for the retail industry.

"Sri Lanka has much to offer visitors from UAE with our distinctive, adventure-packed, eco-friendly, family-focused experiences and offerings, as well as our rich nature, heritage and culture, year-round schedule of festivals and special events, numerous parks and eco centers, luxury resorts and wellness centers, and romantic settings for honeymooners and couples. Our mission has done much to put Sri Lanka on the map and in the hearts and minds of UAE-based travel partners, and in combination with future promotions planned for the country and the region, I'm confident we will see many more visitors from UAE making Sri Lanka their next holiday destination of choice in the coming months," Perera added.

 In each of the cities visited over a hundred key outbound travel professionals attended the Sri Lanka Tourism workshops and seminars to learn more about Sri Lanka's touristic offerings and business opportunities to promote destination Sri Lanka to their clients. The Sharjah and Dubai-leg was attended by Sri Lanka's Consul General in Dubai and Northern Emirates Charitha Yattogoda. Meanwhile, SriLankan Airlines, the national carrier of Sri Lanka and a member of the oneworld airline alliance, is looking to spread its wings further in the Middle East, by rolling out the red carpet to the travel trade at the 25th edition of Arabian Travel Market in Dubai.