Cruise Ship Visits to Hambantota will triple Next Year

Hambantota International Port Group (HIPG) will kick-off a tourism campaign to attract cruise liners to the port for 2023/24 in the coming year. Currently, the number of cruise ships scheduled to arrive at the port in 2023 is expected to triple from 2022 numbers, an HIPG news release said last week.

“Looking at the prevailing global trends, we see an increase in routes kicking-off from the Middle East and concluding in the Far East. Hambantota therefore, is an attractive destination in the chain of ports being marketed on the cruise ship packages as it offers a unique experience.

“The instant you land in HIP, you can see greenery and no built-up area, unlike most other ports. Many visiting crews of vessels have noted that the port is well organized, green and clean, which they find to be a significant advantage. A second attraction is that one can see and experience a lot in just half a day, thanks to organized tours.

“We also intend to set up duty free shopping opportunities for tourists visiting the port. We are well positioned to actively promote HIP as a cruise ship destination,” says Johnson Liu, the CEO of HIPG.

Captain of the Azamara Quest Johannes Tysse, in an interview with NewsFirst, also said the Hambantota International Port was clean, organized, structured and much better than many other ports they’ve been to.

The end of 2022 saw two cruise ships berth at the Hambantota International Port. While the Mein Schiff 5 was on a 46 day cruise from Dubai to Singapore visiting several ports in Egypt, Jordan, Oman, Dubai, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Vietnam and Thailand, the Azamara Quest was on a two week cruise from Dubai to Singapore, and called in Mumbai, Cochin, Colombo, and went on to Aceh in Indonesia. Prudential Shipping are the ship Agents for Azamara Quest.

Thhe release said visitors to Hambantota can experience organized tours to Yala, Bundala, Hambantota Botanical Garden, Ridiyagama Safari, Bird’s Park, Shangri-La’s Hambantota Golf Resort & Spa, City tours of Hambantota, Kataragama, Mulkirigala, Udawalawe wildlife park and historic Buddhist temples. They can also have myriad experiences of beaches in Tangalle, Hambantota and Galle and even go up to Ella. Free individual travellers can experience the south taking in the sights using local tuk-tuks.