Honeymoons & Weddings: Sri Lanka slips from top spot

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”.