Tuesday, February 5, 2013

SLTPB welcomes luxury vessel “Mv Queen Mary 2” with 2,300 tourists on board




Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau, (SLTPB) welcomed the vessel “Mv Queen Mary 2” yesterday, at a brief ceremony held at the Colombo harbour.

 The luxury carrier, owned by a UK based company, had more than 2,300 tourists on board, consisting of USA, British, Australian, New Zealand, South African and Canadian nationals. The local excursion tour operator Gemini Tours and Travels, was thereafter busy with escorting the tourists from the ship to prearranged destinations such as Kandy, Pinnawala and the Colombo City.

By 11 p.m. yesterday, the vessel is scheduled to leave for Malaysia, its next destination. “Mv Queen Mary 2” consists 13 decks, inclusive of state-of-the-art swimming pools and an auditorium. Theater a gym, restaurants, a Casino, Saloon, Spa Center and 1,300 luxury rooms. Having set sail from USA on January 10 this year, the vessel had been berthed at Cochin, India, just before resuming its journey to Colombo.

According to SLPA officials, more than 27 such luxury carriers have already been programmed to tie up in Colombo by the end of 2013. The good news to those involved in the tourism sector is also vital to the economic development of the island, which has high expectations in boosting the local tourism industry

source - www.dailynews.lk

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