Sri Lankas domestic air travel market has seen a resurgence since the dawn of peace to the island

nation in 2009. There are a number of airlines presently operating domestic flights within Sri Lanka offering scheduled service as well as charter flights. Main domestic airlines of Sri Lanka

SriLankan AirTaxi Helitours ExpoAir Deccan Aviation Air Senok Cosmos Aviation Daya Airlines

Main domestic airports of Sri Lanka

Colombo City, Ratmalana Airport (RML) Jaffna Airport (JAF) Colombo Peliyagoda Waterdrome Nuwara Eliya (NUA) Koggala (KCT) Bentota (BJT) Kandy (KDZ) Dambulla (DBU) Batticaloa (BTC) Trincomalee, China Bay Airport (TRR)

SriLankan Airlines Limited (previously known as Air Lanka) is the flag carrier of Sri Lanka. It operates to destinations in Asia and Europe from its base and hub at Bandaranaike International Airport in the Sri Lankan capital, Colombo. The airline's head office is in the Airline Centre, on the grounds of Bandaranaike International Airport in Katunayake, Sri Lanka.

Within the last two decades Sri Lankas tourism industry has grown dramatically as one of the main foreign exchange earners and employment provider. Since Sri Lanka depends enormously on tourism for its growth and development, this paper provides an analysis of marketing efforts within the tourism industry in Sri Lanka for foreign tourists. Sri Lanka has attracted visitors from abroad for many centuries. They came to Sri Lanka for various different reasons. Printed literature on Tourism, by word of mouth and other

communication channels developed a perception of Sri Lanka as a Paradise Island" (Selvanathan S. 2007). Although, tourism in Sri Lanka was addressed under different themes namely- political stability, war, child sex and so on, aspects of marketing is loosely concerned in the prevailing literature. As a tropical country, Sri Lanka has a variety of climatic zones, ranging from arid dry zone conditions to lush, mountainous regions adding to its other attractions (Ranaraja S. 2003). Sri Lankas wealth of natural attractions, featuring outstanding landscapes, distinctive system and high levels of biodiversity, business environment connected with friendly host community offers the potential to market the country as a distinctive international tourism destination. Tourism is a very fragmented industry and marketing a destination requires strong partnerships and a coordinated marketing effort among a wide and varied range of sectors, which includes accommodation, transportation and visitor attractions. Sri Lankan destination marketers have to work increasingly hard to create or maintain a share of the tourism market with the fierce competition of other countries. Among developing country experience, Sri Lanka's dependence on tourism has increased dramatically. Tourism became a major economic activity in Sri Lanka after 1977. Sri Lanka generates substantial revenues from the international tourism industry. Like any other economic activity, international tourism must be managed in accordance with sound marketing efforts in order to make it as productive as possible. Hence, marketing efforts including product, price, promotion, distribution, people, market segmentation, destination image building, destination branding and destination positioning are essential for success with the increasing competition from the rest of world.

In Sri Lanka, the tourism industry is a foundation of the nations economy, its fourth largest source of foreign exchange (2006: revenues US $ 450 million, arrivals 559,603) and a major

employer.

Questions of the research will be: 1. What are the factors affecting destination competitiveness of Sri Lanka? 2. How internal analysis, competitiveness analysis and customer analysis can link to destination image creation, brand building, destination positioning and destination marketing strategies? 3. Has Sri Lanka destination brand developed properly? 4. What is the tourists image on Sri Lanka? 5. Has Sri Lanka positioned in the international tourists market properly? 6. What are the market segments that exist for Sri Lanka? 7. How should Sri Lanka develop its destination marketing mix?

Economic benets of air services liberalization The economic impact of the aviation sector, in general, is strong and pervasive. It contributes about US$700 billion to the global tourism industry and to the logistics industry. The industry also has a catalytic economic impact as improved aviation connectivity can contribute to higher national productivity by enhancing access to markets, enhancing communications and interactions between and within rms, and Air services liberalization in South Asia Regional Economic Integration Challenges for South Asia during turbulent times 105 providing access to a larger labour/talent pool (Tretheway 2010). In a panel regression study covering 48 countries over nine years, Tretheway (2010) nds that a 10 percent increase in aviation connectivity per US$1 billion of gross domestic product (GDP) increases labour productivity by 0.07 percent. Recent history has shown that the economic benets of liberalized regional air services agreements are substantial and compelling. It is no coincidence that the most developed economic regions in the world enjoy liberal air services markets. Nations have long since recognized

that BASAs sti e regional progress, and steadily push for those agreements to be replaced by liberal multilateral agreements. The US was the rst to initiate liberalization of air travel, closely followed by the European Union (EU). In 1997, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), inspired by successes in the US and the EU, took signicant steps to liberalize regional air travel (Tham 2008). It may be argued that the rapid worldwide growth in air traf c over the last few decades is due to the removal of air services restrictions within economic regions. Accelerated development of air services (through the removal of restrictions) was prompted by the growing development in global and regional production networks and the advent of Just-in-Time (JIT) logistics (Tham 2008). These networks and processes required strong support services, such as air travel. Further, the growth in tourism and trade in newly industrialized and emerging markets necessitated speedy civil transport services. Regarding the different bene ts that relaxation of air services regulations could bring to South Asia, three key areas are identi ed and discussed below. 2.1 Creation of aviation industry jobs As stated previously, liberalization of air services stimulates growth, which subsequently creates more jobs in the industry. This, in turn, will have a catalytic effect on the economy as a whole (discussed later). The expansionary effect of liberalization (of air services) is best illustrated through a graphical presentation by Button and Drexler (adapted by Grancay 2009). In his illustration, Grancay compares the effects of liberalization on supply and demand within the air services market, both at present, and in the future. According to Balaz and Williams (2006), within the EU, the overall

number of employees in civil aviation increased from 435,000 to 489,700 after liberalization in the period 1988 to 1996. Liberalization, which creates increased air services, results in the creation of new airlines, branch of ces and airports. The new jobs created necessarily include ight 106 crews, administrative staff and ground handling staff. For example, the easing of the restrictive Bermuda II agreement between the United Kingdom (UK) and the US resulted in the creation of just over 25,000 jobs in the US and the UK by 2004 (InterVISTAS 2006 cited in Grancay 2009). In the long-term, liberalization will have a catalytic effect (discussed below), creating more trade and jobs, which results in economies of scale. These economies of scale will create a new price at the predicted equilibrium point. This phenomenon can also be illustrated as a chain as presented in Figure 6.1. Figure 6.1: Impact chain of aviation liberalization Source: InterVISTAS (2006) cited in Grancay (2009). 2.2 Trade and economic growth Removal of air services restrictions opens up new destinations and creates more frequencies and better ight connections, which result in new markets for international businesses (Grancay 2009). Piermartini and Rousova (2008) have found that trade development is positively correlated with increase in international air passenger transport. They state that passenger transport is important for trade because travel is necessary to set up and maintain long distance business relationships. Relaxation of restrictions and falling costs encourage travel, which expedite business negotiations and stimulates investment and commercial transactions in the long run. Ease of travel also encourages greater peopleto-people connectivity, which has indirect implications for stimulating

regional cooperation and commerce. All these factors are of particular signi cance in the SAARC region. Additionally, more comprehensive and cost-ef cient air connectivity complements and catalyses global and regional value chain development. Global value chains have transformed international production fragmentation worldwide, and rms are increasingly adopting new strategies of vertical integration and vertical specialization. Better air services connectivity intra-regionally, as well as between this region and others, would help South Asian rms better integrate into global production networks. Liberalization Traffic growth Economic growth Job growth New and better air services Air services liberalization in South Asia Regional Economic Integration Challenges for South Asia during turbulent times 107 Also, large multinational corporations treat proximity to airports as an important criterion in deciding where to invest (Grancay 2009). They

also consider ight routes and ight costs to and from a particular territory before making their investment decisions. Hence, by increasing ight frequencies and giving consumers greater choice in ight routes and travel packages, liberalization of air travel will encourage multinational rms to invest in the region. However, the bene ts should not only be looked at from an investment point of view. Air transport also enables businesses achieve higher ef ciency through exploiting economies of scale (Grancay 2009). Developments in air travel help strengthen destination networks, which in turn facilitate JIT processes, resulting in diminished warehousing costs. Further, ease of travel allows for freer transfer of human resource across the region and provides companies access to the best human resource. Finally, liberalization of air services paves way for changes in market structures (Grancay 2009). Producers and buyers get access to foreign markets; transport becomes more cost-ef cient and administrative processing is minimized, thus changing market dynamics and increasing competition.

Reference: http://www.sawtee.org/publications/Book-15.pdf#page=122

Destinations
Main article: SriLankan Airlines destinations

As of September 2012, SriLankan Airlines serves 58 destinations in 33 countries,[5] and remains the largest foreign carrier into the Maldives, with at least 38 weekly flights between Male and Colombo. The airline is also considering Gan as a destination within two months.[20]

Fleet

SriLankan Airlines Airbus A340-300 landing at London Heathrow Airport

Aircraft in ramp area of Bandaranaike International Airport

An Airbus A330-200 taxiing in Kuala Lumpur International Airport

The second Airbus A340-300 of the airline. Aircraft acquisition plan for 20112015

SriLankan Airlines aims to boost its fleet to 30 aircraft over the next four years, and is currently in talks with both Airbus and Boeing regarding a deal that may consist of up to nine long-haul aircraft.[27] It has also leased four additional Airbus A320 aircraft.[28] Kapila Chandrasena said the carrier wants to add the Airbus A330-300 and the Boeing 777 models to its fleet to replace its Airbus A340-300s, with deliveries beginning in 20132014.[29] All of the current aircraft are to be renovated to suit to the needs of the modern times. Expects to place an order by the end of 2012 between Airbus and Boeing.According to the Minister, the government plans to increase the airline's fleet to 30 aircraft and will purchase five new aircraft within the next six months.

Sri Lankan AirTaxi

Main article: Sri Lankan AirTaxi

Sri Lankan Airlines began domestic air taxi service using two Canadian-built DHC-6-100 aircraft to increase tourism in the southern and central cities of Sri Lanka. It currently flies to Ampara, Bentota, Castlereagh, Dikwella, Hambantota, Kandy, Koggala, Nuwara Eliya, Tissamaharama, and Trincomalee, all from Colombo.[34] With the increasing number of passengers, more aircraft are expected to join the fleet for the air taxi service[citation needed].

Livery
The initial livery consisted of red stripes on a white fuselage, the tail being a solid red and sporting the corporate logo, a stylised peacock. This was the sole livery of the airline for nearly two decades, from 1979 to 1998. After SriLankan Airlines began a decade-long partnership with Emirates, the livery was change into a much simpler one, with an all-white fuselage, covered by blue 'SriLankan' titles, and the tail adorned with the corporate logo. Some aircraft have tourist advertisement's on the rear part.

Cabin
The Business Class seats come in either cream or dark blue, depending on the aircraft. The Economy seats are light blue in color. SriLankan provides an individual video player with 18 movies and 22 radio channels for Economy Class. Business Class customers receive this and over 30 movie titles in a variety of languages. Both classes are given the option of a "Satcom" satellite phone. Satcom allows a passenger to call anyone in another seat free of charge. SriLankan is capable of preparing meals for those with dietary restrictions, and Business Class passengers can pre-order any of the special meals available. On some flights, like Singapore to

Colombo, SriLankan prepares hot meals (such as chicken and rice or seafood with vegetables) for Economy Class, as the flight is long. From 2011, full flatbed seats will be offered in Business Class, on selected Airbus A330 aircraft.[citation needed]
Entertainment

New movies from Hollywood, old classics, and some films from India are available. Included are comedies, dramas, arts, sports, and children's TV. CTV is SriLankan's channel for children with programmes such as comedies and cartoons. SriLankan has 22 radio channels to provide music from around the world. SriLankan's radio channels cover the European charts, Golden Era, classical, jazz, and popular music selections from Sri Lanka, Arabia, India, and Japan. New games have been added, including puzzles, playing cards, and classic board games.[35] In 2011, SriLankan will install AVOD systems, provided by IMS of the United States, on selected Airbus A330 and A340 aircraft.[citation needed]

SriLankan catering
SriLankan Catering, although a 100%-owned subsidiary of SriLankan Airlines, is a standalone operation responsible for its own economic infrastructure, management and profitability. Under the guidance of its chief executive officer, the companys prime responsibility is the preparation of in-flight meals for SriLankan Airlines. It also caters for foreign airlines, among which are Qatar Airways, Cathay Pacific, Singapore Airlines and Emirates. SriLankan Catering recently opened a laundry facility and took over the management of the Serenediva Transit Hotel, at Colombo's Bandaranaike International Airport.[citation needed]

Frequent flyer programme

SriLankan's first frequent-flyer programme was called Serendib Miles and was abandoned in early 2000. It then became a partner of Emirates' Skywards frequent-flyer program. However, this agreement ceased to exist when the partnership between the two airlines concluded on 31 March 2008.[36] SriLankan subsequently launched FlySmiLes, which has since added a variety of new reward partners to its program.

Reference: file:///E:/SriLankan%20Airlines%20-%20Wikipedia,%20the%20free%20encyclopedia.htm

Embraer:

Embraer S.A. is a Brazilian aerospace conglomerate that produces commercial, military, and executive aircraft[5] and provides aeronautical services.[6][7]

Headquartered in So Jos dos Campos,[8] Embraer is the third-largest commercial aircraft manufacturer in the world.[9] Embraer is a member of the Air Transport Action Group (ATAG). Its CEO, Frederico Curado, is the 2012 recipient of the Tony Jannus Award, given annually for distinguished contributions to commercial aviation.

History

Embraer 190

Seeking a domestic aircraft manufacturer, the Brazilian government made several investments in this area during the 1940s[11][12] and '50s,[11] but it was not until 1969 that Empresa Brasileira de Aeronutica (Embraer) was created as a government-owned corporation.[7] The company's first product was a turboprop transport, the Embraer EMB 110 Bandeirante.
Early growth

The Brazilian Government contributed to the early growth of Embraer[citation needed] giving it contracts[7] and helping to increase its product line, and the company sold solely to the domestic market until 1975. While military aircraft made up the majority of Embraer's products during the 1970s,[citation needed] by 1985 a regional airliner had debuted, the Brasilia.[13] Aimed at the export market, this plane marked the first of Embraer's highly successful small airliners.[6]
License-built Pipers

In 1974 the company started to produce Piper Aircraft light planes under license.[14] Piper first put together knock-down kits in their US factory for Embraer to assemble & market in Brazil & Latin America,[citation needed] but by 1978 most of the parts and components were being sourced locally.[14] Between 1974 and 2000 nearly 2500 license-built Pipers were produced by Embraer.[14]

Privatization

Born from a Brazilian government plan and having been state-run from the beginning,[11] Embraer began a privatization process[citation needed] alongside many other state-controlled companies during the government of Fernando Henrique Cardoso.[15] This privatization effort saw Embraer sold on December 7, 1994,[7][16] and helped it avoid a looming bankruptcy.[11] The company continued to win government contracts.[citation needed] The Brazilian government retains interest through possession of golden shares, which allow it veto power.[17]
Initial public offerings

In 2000 Embraer made simultaneous initial public offerings on the NYSE and BM&F Bovespa stock exchanges.[6] As of 2008 its NYSE-traded shares were American Depositary Receipts representing 4 BM&F Bovespa shares.[18]
Current ownership

As of 2008 ownership was: Bozano Group 11.10%, Previ (a Brazilian pension fund) 16.40%, Sistel 7.40%, Dassault Aviation 2.1%, EADS 2.1%, Thales 2.1%, Safran 1.1%, Government of Brazil 0.3%, the remainder being publicly traded.[19]
Product line expansion: military, regional & executive

In the mid-1990s the company pursued a product line more focused on small commercial planes than the military aircraft that had prior made up the majority of its manufacturing.[11] Larger regional airliners with 70-110 seats and smaller business jets soon followed.[6] Today the company makes for both defense and commerce.[6][7]
Military transport

On April 19, 2007, Embraer announced it was considering the production of a twin-jet military transport, the Embraer KC-390. Work actually began in May 2009 with funding from the Brazilian Air Force.[20] Correios, the Brazilian postal service, has shown interest in buying this aircraft, in lieu of using commercial freight service for mail transport.[21][22] Using many of the technologies developed for the Embraer 190, the C-390 would carry up to 23 tons of cargo[23] and was aimed at replacing Cold War-era cargo aircraft.[24] While firm orders for this yet-to-be-produced hauler do not exist,[20] Argentina has asked for six examples and several South American nations have also expressed interest.[25][26]
Government subsidy controversy Main article: Bombardier Aerospace and Embraer S.A. government subsidy controversy

Brazil and Canada engaged in an international, adjudicated trade dispute over government subsidies to domestic plane-makers in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The World Trade Organization decided Brazil ran an illegal subsidy program, Proex, benefiting its national aviation industry from at least 1999-2000, and that Canada illegally subsidized its indigenous regional airliner industry, comprising Bombardier Aerospace.

Production bases and facilities

The company's headquarters and a production base are in So Jos dos Campos, So Paulo, Brazil. It also has production bases in the State of So Paulo at Botucatu, Eugnio de Melo (a district of So Jos dos Campos) and Gavio Peixoto.[27][dead link] It may have other production bases as well. The company has offices in Beijing,[28][dead link] Fort Lauderdale (US),[29][dead link] Paris,[30][dead link] Singapore,[31][dead link] and Washington DC (US).[29][dead link]
Non-Brazilian main facilities

Embraer Portugal/Europe (vora, Portugal).

Subsidiaries

EAMS - Embraer Aircraft Maintenance Services Inc. (Nashville, Tennessee USA) - maintenance services site. OGMA - Indstria Aeronutica de Portugal (Alverca do Ribatejo, Portugal) - aircraft component maintenance, repair and manufacturing, plus aircraft maintenance services. Embraer Aircraft Holding, Inc. - Its US headquarters are near Fort Lauderdale, Florida in a facility founded in 1979. Its external relations office is in Washington, DC.[32]

Joint ventures

Harbin Embraer (Harbin, China) - manufactures aircraft from the ERJ family for the Chinese market.

Aircraft types

Commercial

Lufthansa CityLine Embraer 195LR

Embraer EMB 110 Bandeirante Embraer EMB 120 Brasilia Embraer/FMA CBA 123 Vector Embraer ERJ 135 (37 passengers) Embraer ERJ 140 (44 passengers) Embraer ERJ 145 (50 passengers) Embraer 170 (80 passengers) Embraer 175 (88 passengers) Embraer 190 (110 passengers) Embraer 195 (122 passengers)

Military

EMB-145 AEW&C of Hellenic Air Force

Embraer EMB 111 Bandeirulha, a special version designed for maritime patrol, used by the Brazilian Air Force Embraer EMB 312 Tucano Embraer EMB 314 Super Tucano AMX International AMX Embraer R-99 Embraer 145 AEW&C Embraer 145 RS/AGS Embraer P-99 Embraer KC-390

Corporate

Legacy 600

Embraer Phenom 100 Embraer Phenom 300 Embraer Legacy 450 Embraer Legacy 500 Embraer Legacy 600 Embraer Legacy 650 Embraer Lineage 1000

Agriculture

Embraer Ipanema

Experimental

Embraer MFT-LF

Future

In October 2010, Embraer suggested plans to develop very-long-range business jets, entering a sector currently dominated by Gulfstream, Bombardier, and Dassault.[33] In May 2011, Embraer announced that it was considering building a larger airliner than the E-jets, with five-abreast seating.[34]

Licensed-version aircraft
Military

Embraer Xavante

General aviation

Embraer Sneca Embraer Corisco Embraer Carioca Embraer Minuano Embraer Navajo Embraer Sertanejo Embraer Tupi

Commercial aircraft deliveries

Year 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

Number Of 4 Deliveries

32

60

96

160 161 131 101 148 141 130 169 204 244 246[35] 204[36]

The numbers include military versions of commercial aircraft. Total delivered-backlog-options as of June 30, 2007: 862-53-131 145 Family, 256-399-719 170/190 Family

Reference: file:///C:/Documents%20and%20Settings/Omi/My%20Documents/Downloads/Embraer%2 0-%20Wikipedia,%20the%20free%20encyclopedia.htm