The Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB) has selected Dubai as the base for its Middle East headquarters as part of its efforts to consolidate on the strong growth from the region which increased by 80.6 per cent in the first quarter of 2008.

The announcement was made on the opening day of Arabian Travel Market 2008, the Middle East's premier travel and tourism event in Dubai.

The Dubai office will be the sixth office in SLTPB’s international network of overseas offices which includes the UK, India, Germany, France and Russia.

“The opening of an office in Dubai underlines a crucial aspect of our long-term approach to develop powerful ties and build effective partnerships across the region,” said deputy minister of Tourism for Sri Lanka Faiszer Mustapha.

Mustapha remarked that the SLTPB has chosen Dubai as it ranks as the commercial and tourist heart of the Arabian Gulf region and has a historical trading tradition that continues, as the city has developed into a regional hub.

“We have taken many factors into consideration before deciding on Dubai including its strategic location, free enterprise system, first-rate air transport links, well-developed business Infrastructure, state-of-the-art-telecommunications and sophisticated support services,” said SLTPB managing director Dileep Mudadeniya.

The opening of a new SLTPB office in Dubai will maximise the opportunities emerging throughout the Middle East while strengthening support for the travel trade in the region.

SLTPB’s Dubai office will co-ordinate all of Sri Lanka’s tourism promotional activities in the Arab markets including exhibition participation, marketing visits, presentations and road shows, advertising, brochure distribution, public relations, as well as familiarization visits to the island for influential business and travel journalists.

The office will also function as the preliminary contact point and enquiry processing centre for travel trade companies and tourists in the region. – TradeArabia News Service