Ground-breaking initiative in Health Tourism

By Hiran H.Senewiratne

For the first time in the history of local tourism, a tour operating company has undertaken to venture into inbound Health Tourism to enable Seychelles tourists to bring foreign exchange into Sri Lanka.

“We have already launched this package after coming into agreement with leading Sri Lankan and Seychelles private hospitals and agents to kick it off soon, Chief Operating Officer, Ceyline Travels (Pvt) Limited , Charmini Abeywickrama said.

Abeywickrama speaking to The Island Financial Review said: “At a time Sri Lanka is craving for foreign exchange for the country we have taken the initiative to create a new avenue to generate forex for Sri Lanka; forex being a pressing need.

Abeywickrema added: “The launch of direct flights between Colombo and Seychelles has also helped our operation and we are looking at attracting more than 1,000 customers within the first six months of this year.

“They will also be coming along with caretakers or families and we expect this medical package to be responded to by more than 4,000 travelers from Seychelles up to 2023 end. A special tour package has also been offered to them as well.

“We will then repeat this package to African countries, aggressively promoting Sri Lanka as a Medical Tourism destination.

“With over 35 years’ experience in the industry, we will also promote religious tourism in Singapore, China, Korea and Japan from this year. We are marketing this to high- end clientele in these countries who will stay in luxury hotels with a minimum stay of around 10 to 12 days.

“We are looking at obtaining a GSA for a cruise liner, as we see an emerging market for this.

“Since Sri Lanka’s outbound market is picking up, we will also open a travel arm in our mother company’s Ceyline Shipping office in Dubai in the near future. We will then open our regional offices in Maldives, Seychelles, Myanmar and Philippines within the next 18 months.

“Ceyline Shipping was the first to accommodate seafarer crew transfers during the Covid-19 pandemic, helping to convert Sri Lanka into a hub for this operation and generating huge forex when the country needed it most. We are continuing this operation.”

Ceyline Travels, a specialized travel agent in Sri Lanka since 1996, was established to fulfill the travel needs of marine sector stakeholders and has diversified into other areas, such as, providing an array of both local and outbound travel services, to both corporate and individual travelers .