| Picture: Image Bank |
Sri Lanka has lost its position as Kuoni’s
top-selling wedding destination following last year’s
devastating tsunami.
According to Kuoni special services manager Phil Boswell, the US
is the main beneficiary.
“Quite a few people who had booked to go to Sri Lanka have opted
for the US instead,” said Boswell.
Boswell said Sri Lanka has started to see a recovery in bookings
in recent weeks and is now third in its top 10 wedding destinations
list, with Mauritius first and the US second.
Kuoni’s 2006 Weddings brochure includes several new US
options, including the Star Trek Wedding Experience at the Las
Vegas Hilton, with ceremonies taking place on the bridge of the USS
Enterprise.
Other new options include tying the knot with a picnic in New
York’s Strawberry Fields or in a Manhattan penthouse.
Boswell said Kenya has also benefited from switched bookings:
“There are direct comparisons with Sri Lanka. Price-wise Kenya is
very similar and it also offers plenty of culture.”
Kenya is the operator’s sixth most popular wedding
destination.
Cosmos is also reporting “renewed confidence” in the weddings
market to Kenya. The company has reintroduced a weekly Monarch
charter to its Kenya programme for 2005/06, which began operating
this week. It has also increased its range of hotels and introduced
a luxury safari to the Cosmos’ Distant Dreams brochure, which
went on sale last month.
A Rediscovering Sri Lanka campaign is due to be launched before
September which aims to restore booking figures to pre-tsunami
levels.
Tropical Locations managing director David Kevan said sales to
Sri Lanka were “gradually picking up”.
